Weekly Taxol for Stage 4

Oh, of course, that makes sense. We lets hope this time it is easier for you!

90!  Wow. Keep on keeping on !

Forgive me if I'm posting in the wrong area.  My first time trying a discussion board.  Reading through the many discussions has been very helpful.  I was just recently diagnosed with mets to my sternum and spine (T3, T4, T11).  It has been 8 years since my initial diagnosis of breast cancer.  The new diagnosis hit me pretty hard!  Next week I will be celebrating my 3rd wedding anniversary with the most wonderful man ever.  I am 51, second marriage and absolutely loving life.  My husband has been great so far but I feel so bad for him to have to deal a new wife that went from scuba diving, biking, traveling to dealing with medications, treatments, doctor visits....

I just finished 15 radiation treatments to my sternum and spine.  It was actually a lot tougher than I thought it would be since I didn't have radiation the first go around with breast cancer.  I'm about to start a trial study that includes taxol once a week for three weeks then one week off with a total of 9 treatments.  I will also be taking an oral medication (trial meds) throughout the three months of chemo. 

What I'm most curious about is since this is stage 4 and no longer considered cureable but instead a chronic disease, what next?  At the end of this round of chemo, do they continue to treat the cancer with other forms of medication?  How do I keep it from spreading to other more serious places such as lung, liver, brain? 

Any info or advice is greatly appreciated.  I'm very much a planner and control freak and it is really hard for me to sit back and take things day by day.  I want to know what is ahead of me.

Thanks,

Dana

Thanks for responding. Yes, a biopsy identified the cancer to be the same breast cancer that was initially diagnosed in 2007. I had a right side mastectomy, AC-T, and Tamoxifen for 5 years. ER+PR-HER2- Stage 2a.

I'm starting the Taxol very soon. What did you find to be most difficult about the Taxol? Did you loose your hair? I'm an elementary PE teacher and hope to work as much as possible through the chemo. Which days did you find difficult after your infusions?

The trial drug that I may or may not be taking along with the Taxol is Alisertib and is an oral medication. The computer randomizes the patient who receives the Alisertib. I haven't found out yet if I will be receiving it. The benifit of the trial seems to be additional testing such as bone scans, blood test... more often and paid for by the trial.

How are you doing?

Dan

I felt pretty good on taxol, Dana. I prepared by getting all the recommended side effect meds in stock, but didn't end up needing them. I followed all the recommendations about taking care of skin, nails, mouth, etc. and had no real problems. The cycle went like this: On infusion day I felt drugged and sleepy from the benadryl. The next day I was on a steroid high and was able to leap small buildings. The following two days were crash days when I felt tired and off, like you feel when a flu is coming on. The next three days were my best days, especially the last one. I think this pattern is similar to what others have described. I was not employed, but I'm sure other women here can tell you how they manage working during taxol. Yes, I lost most of my hair everywhere. I guess you know all about that from your first time around.

The T in your previous treatment would have been taxotere or taxol, right? And does your onc think taxol is the best choice now, even though you had a taxane before? I did a quick google search, and it looks like alisertib is a type of kinase inhibitor, so it would be a targeted therapy that could help the taxol work better. Is that right? And you will know if you are getting it?

As far as after chemo, with ER+ it is common to take an anti-estrogen med. Since tamoxifen failed your med would probably be an aromatase inhibitor (pill), although faslodex (injection) is also an option. Some of us have a targeted therapy added to this (afinitor with aromasin, or Ibrance with letrozole or faslodex). If you are pre-menopausal you would also need some kind of ovarian suppression to use these.

(I am doing well now. I have some med side effects but have learned to adapt. I have been very lucky to have no evidence of active disease since my first three taxol cycles.)

welcome Dana and Rosieo. I have been on weekly taxol for 2 years now. It has kept me stable with not too many side effects. Fatigue would be the big one for me.

My first two rounds with breast cancer were ER+ so I had about 10 years of tamoxifen. My current cancer is from a more aggressive new primary and while I'm still ER+ my Onc feels I may now be resistant to hormone treatment and is reluctant to try one now although we may revisit that decision at a later date.

Good luck with your treatment I hope you have as good a response to Taxol as I have had. Keep us posted

I had gemzar for a year then was switched to taxol. With Gemzar your hair only thins. Taxol you lose all your hair everywhere. SE's with gmezar for me was horrible itching and occasional vomiting Taxol has been a bit easier except exhaustion on the 3rd day after the infusion, and the no hair really bothers me. haven't had carboplatin only get one drug at a time. Had an infusion of gemzar by vein which hurt a lot so had a port implanted which makes life a lot easier. Been on chemo since April 2014 . Tomorrow is my 32nd infusion of taxol. As my doctor says everyone is different and your SE's may be different than what I experienced, What does matter is that whichever drug keeps you going. Best of luck to you Rosieo with whichever you decide.

HI Roieo, Was switched from gemzar when lung mets increased in size a bit. Did the gemzar first cause DD's wedding was Aug 2014 and doctor understood that I wanted to have my own hair for the wedding. So far so good. Just posted on the bone mets thread how this past week has been for me. The good news is that my grand daughter was born yesterday morning. Getting ready to go see DD and baby. Takes awhile for me to get together had to paint my face, draw on eyebrows, fix my wig and dress in regular clothes. and still check the fridge to se what I need for the weekend. Charlotte

Hi everyone,

For everyone just starting chemo or will be in the future this might be something you could look into. I have just found some great results about a PPI or also called nexium increasing chemo response rate. This is the article. Nexium breast cancer study

Hope that helps some of you.

Texasrose, just had my 38th infusion of Taxol, Onc tells me that she will keep me on Taxol until a scan shows progression, or SE's. become intolerable. The SE's I have experienced are loss of hair, but it iis starting to grow back too bad the chin hairs are the first to show up. hair on my head is thin and sparse. I also have neuropathy in my feet and hands,if the neuropath interfers with daily life onc will switch me to something else. My diagnosis is ILC Invasive lobular carcinoma with mets to bone and lung.

Texasrose. I'm not Ned but I am stable and have been on weekly taxol for two years now. I have taken a couple of breaks over that time the longest being 6 weeks. I do get tired but I am still able to work and do most things. I'm am completely over going to the hospital every week though.

kt1966, shazzakelly, Terri and NYCchutzpah, it is nice to hear other that are on the same routine....gives me someone to reach out to with questions

NYC...your ONC sounds like mine. She has stated I will stay on this until there is either, progression, neuropathy or a reaction to the Taxol. I too have lost my hair (fuzz is growning back in now). I did loose my eyelashes and eyebrows. I did eyebrow tatooing since I had a hard time drawing a good line where the eyebrow was suppose to be. I wear false eyelashes...I think of them like putting a contact lens in every morning.

I am hoping to stay on Taxol for a long time with none of the other SE's. Like you KT1966 I don't want to burn through my chemo options too quickly either.

I do well on this....I occasionally have some tingling in my fingers and toes but it goes away after a few minutes. I have noticed a little fatigue...my normal speed is probably 150% so I am not operating at about 100%. I am a very active person and have a hard time just doing nothing. I work full time (10 hour days) for an Engineering firm, driving 1 hour each way. I try and exercise when possible....yesterday I was able to get 5 miles in on my treadmill...which made me feel really good!

Thanks again Ladies!

KT I hope your scan shows no progression and you get to have a bit of a rest now the move is complete. I find I get even more exhausted if i add anything extra to my usual schedule. Not sure how I would cope with moving I find getting groceries too much at the moment. No wonder you had a meltdown

I have a scan booked for Monday next week haven't had one for 6 months. I have a few more aches and pains than usual so hoping for no progression.

Hope everyone is doing well. I have chemo tomorrow number 98

Last Friday when I had my most recent infusion the nurse asked me how many more the onc wants me to do. I told her as long s it keeps on working for me, So far I have had around 37 or 38. Will be having another scan before the end of the year. Charlotte

My dose has been dropped again, which is a bummer because the TMs started coming down again. I was on antibiotics for my fingernails & the onc doesn't want me getting a systemic infection from the nail infections... I now have a topical ab to hopefully prevent further infections.

Hopefully the drop isn't too much & it still kick cancers ass. My scan next Friday may tell.

Hope your scan went well Shazza and that you all are doing well