Weekly Taxol group
Comments
-
Gamzu, sorry about your fissure. I have had many of those over the years. Probably get back on the miralax for awhile and let it heal. Hope you feel better soon!
0 -
Thanks, both of you. I restarted doing Miralax twice a day and it has been a huge help.
I thought I didn't have taste changes during Taxol but now I'm not so sure. I feel like I can taste pretty normally and that it never changed, but I'm suddenly wanting to put a lot of salt or sauces on everything and some foods that are naturally kind of bland are putting me off. I ate some roast today and had to pour chipotle mayo all over it. And the mere thought or smell of chicken is making me mildly nauseous.
I have not really had any neuropathy; maybe some barely noticeable numbness in my fingertips for a few days. I iced every time and took vitamin B6 per the NP's advice, but I've read about other people in this thread that did those things and it didn't help, so not sure why I was OK. My thumbnails are quite sore when pressed on, such as when peeling clementines, but I can't see any changes or signs that there is a problem. Maybe it will just go away.
0 -
Back when I was on Taxol this fall, my tastes were dulled, everything except salt tasted boring. My husband made something that apparently was super salty to him and our DD, but I thought it was wonderful. Happy to say that it went back to normal. Interestingly, all three of us just weathered covid...both of them had taste changes but I didn't. I thought that was kind of funny, like finally I caught a break for once!!
0 -
Good day everyone. I had multiple progressions on my last scans so off to the Xeloda group. I very much appreciated everyones advice. Best wishes to you all!
Movingsoccermom
1 -
i wish you the best of luck on the new regimen, movingsoccermom
0 -
Hi,
I have some questions if you ladies could help with? I'm scheduled to start weekly Taxol in Febafter my AC treatments. What are the major differences between the two as far as side effects go? Do you still have to take steroids with these infusions?
I really appreciate any input. Thank You so much! Stay safe!
0 -
Hi Bonnieblue,
I can’t tell you the difference bc I only did weekly taxol but I did have to take steroids. Paclitaxol has a high rate of transfusion reaction as well as allergic reaction. Most people end up taking Dexamethasone IV before, and Benadryl and Pepcid as premeds.
movingsoccermom- sorry you had progression. Good luck with the new chemo.
0 -
thank you 1982M : )
0 -
My skin is peeling off in large flakes down both sides of my torso and winding around onto my stomach. And I've got a rough, dry, rashy thing going on under both breasts. And, weirdly, in the corners of my mouth. Any idea what this is? Do I have a fungus or something? I've been prone to angular cheilitis on the lips before but this isn't the same. I had some of this around the midway point and it faded and is now back. I wouldn't be too bothered except that my radiation consult is tomorrow and I can't imagine what that might be like starting out with my skin already peeling off. Great.
0 -
I don't know why your skin is peeling off like that (should probably get it looked at), but when I had radiation the skin over my incision was peeling off because I had a bad glue allergy. They still radiated it and it didn't seem to affect the healing time. It was an itchy mess though....glue never again!!
0 -
For those who are a bit ahead of me, how long did it take before the nose scabbiness/bleeding got better after Taxol? Or is this something that continues with Herceptin? Everything else I've been able to manage well with over-the-counter solutions but nothing touches this. I have Sinex nasal spray but would have to use it basically constantly, and while I've seen some recommendations on this board for Vaseline in the nose, most medical sites on Google suggest that this is potentially unsafe. Of all the side effects, this is the one I want gone the most as I can't get rid of it with Pepcid or lotion or whatever. I'm only one week out from the last chemo so I wasn't expecting any improvement in anything to start until maybe next week.
0 -
My nose bleeds stopped shortly after stopping Taxol!
0 -
Gamzu,
I'm 5 weeks out now and thought it would stop… but it hasn't. I don't know if it's the dry weather? I'm in Canada and mid winter here. Or maybe it's the Herceptin? I'm not sure but I have crusty sore bloody noses still. I do put Vaseline inside it bc it helps. I have read that it’s not an intended use, but I don’t slather. Just a bit even helps.
On the plus side my hair is definitely growing! I definitely am getting hair. I still look bald, but now I have a hairline and some of the hairs don't look just transparent like the first ones to pop through did! Lol.
My neuropathy is still present but maybe a little less noticeable?
Hope your well and resting. Good luck with radiation! I am further behind you now bc I need surgery before I can have radiation and I don’t know if I’ll get it when it’s scheduled or if I’ll catch Covid in between…. boooo.
Take care!
0 -
Fanzine, dry noses and bleeding stopped right away. If anything, the Herceptin makes my nose run.
0 -
I finished AC last week, and start Taxol on the 26th.
I'm looking for some reassurance that the Taxol infusions won't be as bad as the AC. I've struggled horribly these last two rounds, to the point I'm questioning proceeding with the Taxol at all. My MOs response to my SEs is to prescribe even more medications with even more side effects (Norco for a headache when I have IBS-C, for example). It's just hard to imagine going to a weekly routine when it takes me so long to recover, plus I'm scared of neuropathy.
I might just be down in the dumps and overly anxious (they had to sedate me to accomplish the third and fourth AC), but I'll take any feedback. I'm normally a very optimistic person, but this sucks.
0 -
I can't compare to AC but I finished Taxol 2 weeks ago and did not have neuropathy. Maybe some very minor fuzziness in my fingertips every now and then that would come for a couple days and then fade, but it was so faint I was never sure if I was imagining it and it never impacted my functioning at al. I had ice packs on my hands and feet during each infusion and took vitamin B6 at the advice of the NP. It is a known side effect but it is certainly not guaranteed to happen and if it does, it may be very minor and transient.
Without AC experience I can only say that I have heard Taxol is usually much easier. I had some fatigue and minor side effects but never felt myself unable to function at any point. Having to go every week was a bit annoying but you get into a rhythm with it. I honestly did not find the experience that terrible; the only major bump was going into anaphylaxis during the infusion at week 9, but that ended up just being a bad few hours that passed. Switching routines is scary (I was scared even switching from Taxol to abraxane which is basically the same drug, and now switching from chemo to rads) but you can do this! You're getting through it.
0 -
Taxol is MUCH easier than AC. Hard to even compare the two. You should have much less side effects from Taxol than from AC. I did. It's still not a walk in the park, so to speak, but the nausea, etc. was much better. I did go through loss of taste, not being able to use metal silverware for awhile, and food in general, other than sour or spicy stuff, not tasting good to me.
I put it on my wall calendar and took great joy in marking each week off with a big, black X!
0 -
Thank you, KotchAJ. That is exactly what I needed to hear. None of these treatments are easy, but the last two rounds of AC put me in such a bad place physically and emotionally, I needed a little reassurance that the next 12 weeks might be even a tiny bit better. Ever onward!
0 -
Has anyone on 12-week Taxol only had bloodwork post-chemo to check if everything is rebounding to normal? I've had two Herceptin-only treatments so far and they've completely stopped doing any bloodwork. Wondering if I should ask for a CBC next time at least. Mostly interested in whether my crit, hemoglobin, ANC, and WBC have gone back to where they should be.
I posted about this in the rads thread but in case anyone else on Taxol ever finds themselves in the same situation: we all thought I had an allergy to Tegaderm during treatment. I broke out in an itchy rash one week under and around the dressing on my port and they had to use the hypoallergenic ones after that. Well, a few weeks later I started going into anaphylaxis from Taxol during an infusion and was switched to abraxane. I had Tegaderm stickers put on me before rads last week by a tech who didn't read my chart, and to my surprise, didn't react to them. They've been on there for over a week straight now, nothing. And today, after talking about it, the oncology nurse let me re-challenge with a Tegaderm bandage for my port for the Herceptin infusion, the same one that previously caused an itchy rash, and yet again, no reaction. So it appears I am not actually allergic to Tegaderm. It was probably the Taxol allergy slowly building up and causing my immune system to react to every little thing (at one point I got a rash after taking Sudafed PE). I'm very relieved because I have a few drug allergies and they almost never come up except in very specific circumstances, but an adhesive allergy would require constant vigilance in any medical setting. Boo Taxol. It better have worked for all the bother it's caused.
0 -
Hey gamzu,
No bloodwork at my last oncology appointment which was weird. I did go see my PCP and she did a CBC on me as she was curious and is addressing my thyroid, cholesterol and other general health issues.
I thought it was weird that there wasn't one done because I was curious to know where my levels were post Taxol.
I haven't gotten to see the results myself but did receive a call that I was in the normal range😊
0 -
gamzu- I get a CBC every six weeks post-taxol. Basically every other Herceptin session. My numbers were almost all back to normal at 6 weeks.
0 -
Has anybody done their Taxol infusions with no steroids? I had 20mg of dexamethasone with my first infusion, and 10mg with my second. My third infusion is tomorrow and my cardiologist is having them hold the steroid entirely. I don't anticipate any reaction, and honestly will be happy to lose the crash/SE's from the steroid. However, the staff in the chemo suite seemed a little paranoid these last two times, waiting a reallllly long time between finishing the steroid and starting the Taxol, so I wonder how they'll feel about no steroid at all.
0 -
Hi NNS121317
I went from 20 down to 7mg during Taxol. I wanted to go lower and couldn't get them to budge on it. I could NOT sleep and still had trouble with the lower steroid amount.
However, if your cardiologist has a reason that he wants it held, maybe he should call and speak with your oncologist's office about it? Maybe he/she already has. I'm sure that the chemo department is worried you will have some sort of a reaction without it, whether it's nausea, etc. ?
0 -
Anyone having anti-hormonal medication along with Taxol? Just wondering
0 -
I am <happily!> not on here much these days but have a few comments on the recent posts. Re: the steroid, I always took Zofran when I got home from an infusion--not because I was nauseous but because it helped me sleep that night. Re: the AI, I didn't start while I was on Taxol or doing rads but did start after that, so while I was still doing Herceptin.
0 -
I had my third infusion yesterday without the steroid, and it was fine, no issues at all. Not as many side effects this round either, I think most of those were from the steroid and not the Taxol.
0 -
NNS121317
Oh, that's wonderful news! I'm glad that the SE's were less than before.
0 -
OK I had my first of 12 weekly Taxols today, followed by herceptin (q 3weeks).
They gave me IV push Zofran, benadryl, then a piggyback of Dexamethasone.
OMG
with dexamethasone: did anyone else feel like ice cold peppermint was being poured on yr hoohaa and up onto yr chest?? I think I actually squawked out loud! luckily in my own little infusion room- it went away shortly, but I was NOT expecting that!
(I have numb bilateral foobs so they're already pretty icy to the touch- surprised I felt the peppermint up to my chest because of the numbness)
crazy! always something new and unexpected
0 -
that was the Dex.
I usually got it mixed in a bag of saline and the slow drip never gave that burning issue. One infusion, I had a new nurse from a different facility give me a push instead. She warned me that if she went too fast, I would notice down there. Thank goodness I had the warning because it was not pleasant. Only had to have that happen once.
0 -
Has anyone had to have they're taxol dose reduced? If so did you have to double the number of treatments to make up for reduced dose?
0
