Steroids

elesha

Ladies - 

I will have 12 weekly Taxol + Herceptin treatments before starting Herceptin at 3 weeks for a year.  Does one absolutely have to take Taxol with steroids?  I had to take steroids for poison oak last summer, and that was teh worst experience ever...

AlaskaAngel

elesha,

Unless there are studies that have been done on patients who received Taxol + Herceptin without steroids, it would be difficult to know the answer to that. Try to find out if there have been any studies, or whether the drugs are simply considered so inflammatory that medical providers haven't given them without giving steroid support for them.

I do know that prior to the use of the taxanes there were patients who refused steroids and got through treatment without them. But changing from other types of chemotherapy to using taxanes for stronger effect likely also means that they create more inflammation than the other drugs and require more use of steroids.

Wabbit

I had no steroids with my AC treatment.  But the taxanes are known for allergic reactions ... thus the use of steroids with them. 

You could probably ask your oncologist if they ever give them without.  I do know from having horrible reactions from contact dermatitis ... only times I've ever had to use steroids ... that allergic reactions can be very dangerous and are nothing to mess with. 

Hope all goes well with your treatment!