Weekly Taxol group

jjpope1

for the ones that are talking about neuropathy, I will tell you I do not ice and have had 2 flare ups in my feet. My chiropractor has a laser machine and we have used that on my feet and it has def worked and taken the pain away. I found the laser idea from a suggestion up here so I went straight to my chiro when it happen. It def worked for me and would be worth a try.

I ended up having to go to Dr Monday because I still was felling like hell. BP dropped, 6 lbs dropped so they did fluids and said they are reducing it by 20% my next 2 treatments. I have now started losing my eyelashes. Weds and today have been better days. Still not able to eat a lot. 2 more I just have to hold on and make it.

2019whatayear

big hugs Jjpope fingers crossed for less trips to the bathroom!

To the person whose post I can't see ATM who said they had itchy arms. Call your MO. Itching can be an allergic reaction, it might be nothing but Taxol has a high rate of reactions so call right away.

-Victoria

Laurencl

Snaffle,

I bought plain lunch box ice packs at Target. I put each foot on one and held one in my hands during infusions. My center did not put much stock in icing, but I never did get neuropathy or lost my nails.

Abbidoodle

Hi Everyone. I just had my 9th Taxol infusion yesterday. I have 2 issues. The 1st one concerns my nails and toenails in that they are "lifting" and separating from my nail beds. I just keep them short and clean as possible. I have recently started noticing certain toes that are very red, but don't hurt and it's not on my palms or soles. Today my little fingers are turning red. I have no tingling or numbness, however I have a history of peripheral neuropathy, most noticeably in my right foot and leg. Do I need to talk to my MO?

Martaj

Hello all,

I'm on my 8/12 dose of taxol, just starting to have neuropathy of my left big toe and my left thumb and tips of left fingers. I did not ice is it too late? Off to infusion shortly. I hate the side effects of these meds. Especially days 2 and 3 after chemo. Worse when I get every 3 weeks the three of Taxol, carboplatin and trial drug or placebo. On downward slope of phase 1. Thank god. Yesterday felt good enough for walk in beach with my trusty companion, my dog. It wiped me out but felt so good to get fresh air and breathe in the salt water.

Flo80

thank you so much did call her. Told me to keep a watch.

Ingerp

Re: nails--yes they will get funky, some more than others. A lot of us kept them short and painted. Not much else you can do about them. They will start to grow in more normal after a while.

mpv459

Finished my last taxol yesterday... 4AC and 12 Taxol done.. Thank goodness.. Radiation consultation in two weeks.. Ready to go already.. Woo hoo..

Snaffle53

Congratulations mpv!!!

ipenelope

Congratulations to everyone who has finished in the last week and who keep up the battle!!

Due to Tylenol being broken down in the liver, and Taxol affecting the liver be careful. Maybe try ibuprofen instead!!

Everyone keep up the living cancers asses fight!!🥊🥊

~Katie💗

dvhmouse

Had my very last Taxol on Wednesday this week, and while I’m having my regular weekly SEs, I know that they will start to subside a week from now. For those of you with neuropathy, I iced the whole time, but had to have my 10th treatment canceled because the neuropathy was starting to effect my ability to pick up small items. My last two treatments were also reduced, with about 3\4 of my normal dose for each.

Besides the neuropathy, my worst SEs were blurry vision to the point where I could not drive, Taxol rash on my hands and wrists that felt like a burn, see photo below, and diarrhea. The rest were manageable.

Today I met with my breast surgeon for the last time before my surgery and we found two small masses that weren’t there before. Scary! Particularly as we were never able to palpate the original mass that prompted this whole journey. If they find the cancer has spread, I will have to have both radiation and more chemo. Aargh!! I’m hoping it’s all gone by the time I have surgery in November. I will continue with Herceptin and Perjeta until the day before surgery, too.

Congratulations to those who have finished and be brave, fierce and know you can make it through for those still on the journey!!

Diane

Ingerp

Congrats to those finishing!!! Hope you do something fun to celebrate (as soon as you feel well enough to!)

DogMomRunner

Congratulations to everyone who has finished and positive vibes to those still in the process!

dvhmouse- I hope that those two masses are just pieces of the original and that it hasn't spread. Hopefully the targeted treatment will take care of it. Good luck to you on your upcoming surgery

Flo80

Hi I agree my liver enzymes went up as well. Doctors think it's taxol and they reduced my dose a bit as well

Flo80

Hi I hope it’s nothing and you finish your chemo soon. Praying for your good Heath and re

palmetto

I’m finished!!!! 4 AC, 12 Taxol DONE as of Thursday. I rang the bell like a champ. Now I wait for surgery on 10/28.

I’ve noticed this last time my fatigue increased a lot. I’m tired and foggy as I write, and Saturday was usually my steroid high. And ALL of my nails are now discolored and a few are very tender and pulling away from the beds. Yuck. But I’m done, so now I can recover.

Cheering the rest of you on as you complete treatment. Hang tough

kdrake1007

@Snaffle53,

This is what I used for icing my hands during Taxol.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B001QFZL1Q/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o08_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It stayed super cold for the whole infusion time. I wore thin cotton gloves and folded this into a rough tube with the Velcro band and put my fingers into the middle. I have only very slight neuropathy on my right hand because I ended up taking my hand out to often to get a drink or check my phone.

I used the fancy socks with the gel inserts and they did not stay nearly cold enough even though I swapped out the inserts every 30 minutes. Neuropathy in my toes that is very slowly getting better. I finished Taxol last October.

Just stopped in to the thread to give some encouragement. It was so hard last year at this time to see a future without treatment. The tastebuds will recover nd the eyelashes, eye brows and nose hairs will grow again! And you WILL see yourself in the mirror again!

Hang in there! And congrats to those who have finished this part of the treatment!

Kim

Martaj

congrats on finishing up Taxol. I can't wait!

LoveMy4Kids

Hello all - I am starting 12 weekly Taxol on Monday 10/7. I've already had 4 dose dense AC treatments, and 10 days ago I had right side mastectomy and ALND. Still very much recovering from that. I hope I feel much better by my Taxol start. I am trying hard not to dread Taxol and keep a positive mindset, but it's hard!

Thank you Snaffle, Jay, Kdrake and others who've posted links and photos recently about how they handled the icing. It seems like it's worked for a lot of people and worth a try. When I had my original chemo teach session with the oncology nurse practitioner a while back, she made a comment that indicated that she thought the whole icing for neuropathy idea was kind of ridiculous. I like and respect her, but I decided to do my own research. I've come to the conclusion that it's worth a try. Now I'm getting around to figuring out the particulars of how to do it. I may or may not have help each week, so I need something simple. I hope the chemo nurses have seen people do it before and support me.

I'm simultaneously grateful and sorry to be a part of this group!

2019whatayear

Congrats to everyone who finished this week!!! Celebrate for like a year! You deserve it!

I've got 10 more to go! Can't wait to be done-zo!!!!!!

mpv459

Kdrake..thank you for the encouraging post.. Just finished Thursday and I have a taxol rash, numbness in my toes, my 3d day depression, achieness and was thinking I will never be the same. Your post gives me hope.

Flo80

Two more dose dense Taxol to go and I see my surgeon on 25 October

ipenelope

Congratulations to those that have recently completed there chemo journeys!! Thoughts and strong vibes to those still on or just starting the path! You've got this!!

To those with upcoming surgeries breast of luck and hope the surgery gets rid of the area that's causing you issues and the recovery goes great!!

Tomorrow is 5 months pfc and just starting to lose my eyelashes again...sigh...

I hope everyone has a great week and keep up the fight kicking cancer's ass!!🥊🥊

~Katie💗

Ingerp

ipenelope--just an FYI that I'd been warned about several rounds of losing lashes and they did indeed thin around four and eight months PFC. That seemed to settle down by a year PFC. I've been using a lash conditioner and they're looking pretty normal!!

Martaj

in Honor of Breast Cancer Awareness my good friend won a helicopter tour of the RI coastline and gave it to me knowing I have stage 3 Triple negative breast cancer! It was beautiful!

Divergent

Marta- that's so great that your friend gave you the ticket for the ride! Those are great pics. Thanks for sharing.

jrominger

Martaj exceptional photos! And you are so very deserving of such an opportunity!!

teaka123

Flo80 My liver enzymes were elevated and ended up with being given a prescription for Potassium.

teaka123

Martaj I also would have a glass of wine with dinner most days. But, since my diagnosis stopped. I did have two times I thought I would have a small glass of wine (honest it was small) and both times I did not feel well - heartburn, etc. Won't be doing it again!

Martaj

teaka123,

I used to drink a glass of wine a day, sometimes 2 on weekends, stopped in July when dx. My liver enzymes were elevated, since giving up my wine liver enzymes back to normal. Miss my wine though. Can't taste it anyways

# 9 taxol/12 today. seeing the light at end of tunnel.