Taxol and No Side Effects-is it working?

Pure

I have had 4 rounds of taxol. I get it once a week for 12 weeks.

I don't get tired from it.

I get no boin or joint pain.

I feel completly normal and good.

The inside of my nose is dried up but that's it.....

So, I am nervous it's not working. Shouldn't I have atleast had something? Am I just being paranoid?

PS

I did n't get any SE"S to the AUX either-except for tiredness and inability to sleep ( from decatron)

pupfoster1

This is a good thing I think!  I have heard that ladies that do the weekly protocol don't get many or any se's.  I am on the 2 week plan and had a lot of pelvic pain about 3 days after for about 3 to 4 days.  The rest of the cycle has been uneventful.  I've thought the same thing you did though, especially after feeling so cruddy during A/C.

Take care,

Sharon

clariceak

I'm on my 10th of 12 weekly doses and I had virtually no side effects.  I did have some blood in my nose after week 5 or 6 and just started losing my eyebrows a few weeks ago.

I think weekly dose is gentle on the body and around 1/2 the women do have bone or joint pain.  Just be glad you don't.

chinablue

I was completely miserable with taxol.  The list of se's I had is very very long.  I am close to 4 weeks out from my last treatment. I have no fingernails, neuropathy, loss of appetite, daily bloody noses, irritated eyes,  and of course no hair.  If you have no se's, please please please count your blessings!

KerryMac

They do say there is no correlation between effectiveness and severity of SE's.

i would just be grateful you are having an easy go of it! Remember you were young and healthy going in to it all too. That must help. Also the weekly dose is lower than that given to people on a two or three week cycle, so you may find it catching up with you a bit more once you are at the later stages.

jenn3

Some of us have minimal or no SE's and there are others like myself that had a lot of SE's.  I drank tons of water, walked, ate healthier on Taxol and the SE's still came.  It was so much easier in the first few weeks that I contiplated going back to work........then the harsher SE's started to show up.  I'm still suffering with terrible foot and leg pain and some joint pain and I'm 9 weeks PFC.  Like Chinablue said, my list is long..............

Good luck and be happy that you have no SE's - I'm happy for you!!!

jacee

Like Jenn, I had many s/e's with weekly taxol. Bleeding from nose, vagina, urethra, rectum, numbness in face, peripheral nueropathy, eye twitching, skin rashes.

I did NOT have..joint or bone pain, tearing of eyes, loss or discoloration of nails.

As you can see, we're all different.

Best wishes for continuing without side effects.

apple

your just lucky.. taking care of one's self, particularly in diet really helps.

kimber3006

I guess I'm middle of the road.  I've had some joint pain, but only enough to keep me awake at night a couple times.  I can't sleep the night after treatment, but the rest of the week I'm fine.  I do have free-flowing bloody noses about every other day, and a lot of stuffiness/sinus pain, especially in the mornings, but in the grand scheme of things, not a big deal.  Neuropathy has been minor so far (fingers crossed!).  My energy has been great compared to AC!  I keep remembering my oncologist stressing that it's cumulative this go round and it will be harder the further along we get, but hopefully it won't get much worse for either of us!

amoccia53160

Going for round 2 of Taxol in 3 hours!! This week I have had nausea and joint pain but that's about it.  The joint pain came on 3 days after the treatment and was pretty bad.  Motrin seemed to help for a few hours.  Be happy you have no SE's.  Wish it were me.  xxoo Annette

Frankie_

Pure, Everyone responds so differently with treatments.

KerryMac is right. There is no correlation between effectiveness and SE's. I have heard that weekly treatments may reduce SE's. Just consider yourself one of the lucky ones and try not to think more of it. I know it's hard not to second guess things at times when dealing with bc and undergoing treatments. I am suffering from every SE one can get from Taxol. I had 2 already, my 3/4 is tomorrow. I get DD every 14 days. My onc scaled my 2nd infusion back 10% due to my SE's. I have neuropathy so bad in my fingers/hands, feet/toes and my mouth/lips and tongue (Although this is RARE-usually seen in another type of chemo) I have been told my my Onc. Also, I have had bad bone/muscle/joint pain, where I have trouble walking -unsteady gait, broke out in hives (all of legs/feet and arms/feet). I have never cried so much before due to the friggin SE's. I hope that the neuropathy will disappear after my final treatment. I worry about it being permament SE. I take B-complex (as I heard ) this is helpful in treating the neuropathy. 

Frankie

Claire_in_Seattle

For me, Taxol has minor side effects compared to AC.  Some joint pain, two days of being quite tired, really minor allergic symptoms, minor spotting in my nose but I had that with AC.  My sense of taste is normal again, and it goe weird with AC.

Major thinning eyebrows and lashes, but that is what make up is for.  Some skin changes.

I can do some hills now cycling, and cycled 22 miles on Saturday/35 on Sunday so much more stamina.  Butt is sore right now, but from cycling, not Taxol.

This is with dose dense.....normal amount once every two weeks.