Weekly Taxol group

Ingerp

Thanks, Egads. I am officially FINISHED WITH TAXOL.

MuddlingThrough

Congrats, Ingerp.

JackyR

Yay Ingerp!!! Congrats on being down with chemo

JackyR

Congrats to you, mLghtn!!!

Ingerp

I get to hit the ground running next week. Check in with BS + echo on Monday. Thursday is like four appts to get ready for rads. Friday is first Herceptin only. I also see my MO on Friday and am expecting the conversation about whether she is changing her patients to six months of Herceptin.

Taco1946

Ingerp - you have been a poster child for taxol! Good luck with the rads.

Ingerp

Well thanks, Taco! I'm anxious to get going on rads, and hoping it goes as smoothly as two years ago. It really was not a huge deal for me, although I wasn't coming out of chemo then. Expecting just the hassle of having to go five days a week. Not the end of the world. . .

moth

I'm 2 weeks and a couple days post final taxol and I'm getting muscle pain in my hamstrings and pain in my hip joints.

Anyone else getting muscle & joint pain *after* taxol ended? How did you treat it?

Gussy

Has anyone heard from Nanahope? Last I saw she was having severe neuropathy problems. Hoping she is better.

Calee65

moth....

YES, it woke me up every night, my hip, knees, calves would just ache. MO told me 600 ml ibuprofen 4 x a day. It only lasted 1.5 - 2 weeks... so that was good! I still will have occasional hip/thigh bone pain during the day when I walk..so hopefully that will go away too.

moth

thx for that Calee - glad to hear that it's not unheard of & that it passes!

yellowb

kdrake1007, they warned me that I might feel badly on the Taxol right in the middle. That was true, for me week 5. But even that -- not that bad. And I never feel poorly the day of the infusion, the worst is really four days into the week for me.

mLghtn

Congrats Ingerp! And so nice to hear that you completed all 12 and tolerated it so well!

Volleyballmom2008

Got my port in today, if all goes well first taxol Thursday. As weird as it is, I am kinda of welcoming it. At least I will be helping myself at that point. This last month has been nothing but tests, bad news and more test and so on.

Ingerp

Volleyballmom it *is* good to get started. Once you know it's coming you might as well dive on in and get it behind you, right?

kdrake1007

Thanks, yellowb!

#2 Taxol tomorrow. Just ready to get done, one step at a time!

Kim

JackyR

Volleyballmom, let us know when you start and how we can help. Side effects have been different for all of us but we have some remedies we can pass along. I'll say that the day before, day of, and day after I drink at least 72 ounces of room temperature water (as recommended). It helps to flush out the toxins. I'm 7 in (5 to go!) and have had minimal neuropathy. We are here for you

nonahope

Gussy...I'm here...just haven't posted lately. I've been going to physical therapy twice a week for the neuropathy. It has helped quite a bit. But, I'm walking with a cane. I welcome the day when/if I can walk without it. I wouldn't wish this neuropathy on anyone. The burning has pretty much subsided, but the numbness and feeling like I have tight socks on is miserable.

To all the newbies starting Taxol, I've never had a problem other than the neuropathy towards the end of my 15 infusions. Good luck to all!

Hope

mobscene207

I'M DONE!

I started on Taxol (4weeks) before being switched to Abraxane (8 weeks). Today was my final chemo.

My side effects were manageable, and cold capping was extremely successful.

I have a lot more steps ahead in my journey, but for now, I'm celebrating.

Hang in there, everyone. You got this!

Ingerp

RAY RAH mobscene!! Feels good, doesn’t it? On to radiation

Naesha

Hello everyone,

After 4 doses of AC, I am now on Taxol and tomorrow is my 4th. Unfortunately, my lump in my LB has increased instead of decrease in size and seems like Chemo did not work on my lymph node lump as well. According to my original treatment plan, it was suppose to be first Chemo, Surgery and Radiation but since the lump size increased , there might be switch in the plan. The doctor is suggesting for Surgery. My OC is planning to use some other Chemo drug starting with Carbo something mixing with Taxol from tomorrow and see if there will be any impact on the size or not . If it works then we will continue with Chemo otherwise Surgery.

Since the Chemo did not work, I am worried that it might have spread to other parts of my body. I am getting the PETSCAN next week. This is so frustrating. Doc is saying that once the lymph node is removed, I will have the SEs of it as well which is obviously swollen arms.

Has anyone experienced the same situation? Could you please share if anyone has experienced the same situation?

-Thank you

JackyR

I'm so sorry, Naesha. I didn't experience anything like that but know someone who had the combo of carboplaxin, I believe, and taxol. If there's anything you can do to help neuropathy, that seems to be the worst for most. You'll be in my thoughts and I'll be sending positive, encouraging energy your way

yellowb

@Volleyballmom2008, are you at Perlmutter? I ask because I'm there, also doing Taxol first ... and no one else seems to be. I'm about to leave work for my 7th treatment.

Volleyballmom2008

Good morning everyone. My first treatment was okay. Got a little 10 minute fuzzy feeling like I was drunk, I think it was the benedrly they put in but other then that 1 down successfully, 11 more to go. I have been drinking a lot of extra water. I am not normally an active person but I heard walking can help a lot with chemo. Not sure if true, but can't hurt.

Mobscene, congratulations to you.

Naesha, I active sorry

Yellowb, I am in NY at columbia. I asked why taxol first before ac, because most people on here are doing ac first. They said it was there protocol. I am triple negative and my ki67 is 80 percent, so it is pretty aggressive so maybe that is why.

Any more pointers I would greatly appreciate.

yellowb

Volleyballmom2008, Oh, well: I was excited we might be at the same place, but no. My doc said we were starting with the Taxol because there was some very slim evidence that it was a better protocol for aggressive cases, but that if I went to Kettering I would start with AC.

That was the benedryl! Oooh, it's hard. I slept clean through my second infusion from it, even though it had been cut in half from the first time. There's nothing really notable about the treatments after they stop the benedryl, but I do wish I'd realized that the harder days when I'd be most tired are the 3rd and 4th days after I get the infusion, not right away. YMMV, of course.

I'm trying to think what else I wish I'd known: my hair started to go the day after infusion 3, though I still have about a third of it. A cold shower stopped the scalp pain immediately. Week 5 was when my blood counts got low, but I only had about 4 days of really feeling bad, and they started going up again. And on the very personal side, it turns out wigs, which I didn't think I'd ever want or use, are *fun* -- I especially recommend the cystersisters video wig reviews, very knowledgable.

Very best on your treatment!

moth

regarding exercise during chemotherapy, this 25 min documentary from Australia is pretty compelling

llupp

CONGRATS ON FINISHING

mobscene207

Totally agree with those who say exercise helps. I am doing my best to walk every day -- was not an issue until I developed an infection that completely knocked me on my butt! When I can get a couple of miles in, the bone pain is greatly reduced the next day. Plus the fresh air is good for my head

Volleyballmom2008

Question for my taxol girls. I had first treatment Thursday. I felt great Thursday and Friday, even Saturday morning. Then yesterday afternoon I got terrible cramps in my right leg that lasted all day. I took Tylenol it help a bit, today not too bad. Also had pizza yesterday and it went right through me. Anyone else with this.

Gussy

Hi Nonahope - so glad to hear that you are improving. I had a similar feeling and sometimes still do, of the ankle socks on. Right now dealing with advanced venous reflux in my legs that requires some minor work, hopefully. Skin starting to breakdown on my ankle so got to get it fixed. If it isn't one thing, it's another these days but at my advanced age I guess it's always going to be something. Keep up the good work with physical therapy.

Gussy