taxotere side effects

RealityCheck

Did you take her to the hospital? If you haven't you might want to. That side effect is for the Oncologist to address.

MsW2012

Chelsea, any time there is a new symptom you're unsure about, call someone. Being Sunday, call the on-call physician. Your poor mom has been through so much. This might be one more thing that is easy to remedy. I hope so! Sending good thoughts and prayers.

ChelseaAshley

Thank you ladies.

I'm going to call the after hours oncology nurse. She's asleep right now and hasn't thrown up for about an hour. She told me she doesn't want to go to the ER (we were just there for trouble breathing and a heavy chest about 3 days ago) Everything was fine.

I'll keep you all updated

slg76

chealsyashley,

So sorry your mom is having a rough time.  I'm glad you are looking after her.  I agree that the Dr. needs to be called.  Even if the blood isn't a big issue, you need to find a way to keep her medicine in her so her pain doesn't get out of control which will then make the vomiting worse.  Good luck!!

AmyQ

Your poor mom, I feel so badly for you both. Sounds like you have received some good advice here.  I never had vomiting, thankfully.  Keep us posted on how she's doing.

blondiex46

Ches...I would take her to the hospital....she could be having an allergic reaction to the chemo....try to convince her to go.....she could get dehydrated....I used to spit up blood and it used to come out of my nose in the beginning not much now tho....good luck...

Wicklowlady

I have finished taxotere on 31st December but half way through chemo I got terrible pain in my shin in my right leg which was broken five years ago. I am limping since November and have seen Physio who 'thought' it was a weakened muscle that was putting pressure on the bone. Met oncologist today and she thinks its the taxotere . Anyone hear of this?

milkyway2

I had my last taxotere on feb i am still having joints pain n nerve pain i hate taxotere

Maddie57

Wicklowlady - I don't know for sure if it is the Taxotere, but am pretty sure it is from your description. It seems to find any weak area in your joints and bones and target that area. I had a very similar experience with some of my old areas of aches and pains. It also seems to make your fillings ache after a while - good luck!!!!

slg76

hi wicklolady,

I would not be surprised at all if the taxotere is causing your pain.  My  mom had joint pain for a long time after chemo and I had terrible joint/bone pain during my taxotere treatment.  Hope your pain is short-lived!

ChelseaAshley

Hi ladies,

My mom went to go for her last round of chemo today! So excited that this part of her journey is over!

However, I'm VERY upset with her oncologist though. She was supposed to have 4 rounds of TC and he told her today it would only be 3. She has had to go every 4 weeks due to side effects and he told her today because she is so "non-commital" that he will not allow a 4th round.

While I'm relieved this part of the journey is over, I'm so incredibly upset that he felt like he had the authority to just say, "Since you have chosen to go every 4 weeks, you're not getting your 4th round." It's like he's chosen to punish her. She has legitimately been so sick she couldn't go every 3. Both times she was throwing up on the day of infusion. (She has a stomach condition prior to all of this)

I've heard of many women delaying infusion due to SEVERAL things...so why is it SO bad that she went every 4?

Anyway, what do you ladies think? Do you think that's right/fair? I know he's her oncologist and should know best - I just feel like that was NOT his decision to make. He said chemo would do more damage than good? How so? I'm so confused and he had such a horrible bed-side manner today!

Should we seek a second opinion? It's kind of late in the game for that! He wants her to immediately begin radiation now and just gave her Arimidex to start after.

Thoughts?

Thanks!!

MsW2012

Absolutely get a second opinion! That was awful, his attitude. Once they agree on a plan, it's a done deal. There shouldn't be any tension once a decision is made. Also I would get another opinion about radiation. My two cents.

jeanieb2

Chelsea-Ashley - I totally agree with MsW2012, I would be finding a different doctor tomorrow, and having everything transferred to him.  My oncologist has actually suggest that I may want to go every 4 weeks, that way it would give me 2 weeks of feeling halfway good instead of only a week, so I do not see why he would not give her the last dose.  I would find someone else right away and get their opinion, you do not need to put up with that.  Remember, they work for us not the other way around.  I am sure someone can suggest another Doctor to go to.  Good luck and do not hesitate to call around tomorrow and get the ball rolling before she starts radiation.  Keep us posted.

slg76

I would absolutely get a second opinion.  The doctor may have a very good reason for not wanting to do another infusion but it is his/her job to work WITH the patient to come to a treatment plan that is acceptable to everybody.  I'm a big supporter of second opinions; these are huge decisions to be made and you will get more options by talking to more doctors.  Good luck!

Edel1701

Hi everyone. I am new to this site and have read many of the posts already.

My history so far. I found a lump in my left breast on 1st April 2013 and a ultrasound showed 2 lesions. After a long wait for a biopsy i was diagnosed in May with with IDC about 4-5cm and also a tumour in the lymph nodes about the same size.

I started FEC on 10th June and I give myself the Neulasta shot the next day.

I must say I have had minimal side effects from both chemo and Neulasta.

The worse I had with dose 1 was thrush under my breasts which I used Canestan cream for. I had no nausea or vomiting.

Dose 2 I had mouth sores and thrush which I took Diflucan to clear up and used the Canestan for external symptoms.

Dose 3 I just had a few mouth sores.

I have been very lucky and had no issues with Neulasta. I do have fibromyalgia and take several meds for that,so maybe this helped me through the muscle and joint pain from the Neulasta.

I start Taxotere today (it is 1.30am and I can't sleep). I am concerned that my lucky streak will end and the side effects will hit me hard.

I hope it goes well. I will ask for the ice packs for my hands and feet and see if that works. I will let you know.

Thanks for listening and good luck to all of you

Csperry823

Had Taxotere chemical treatments which ended 18 months ago. I had EVERY side effect and it was horrible. Today I still have neuropathy in my toes, body aches and still no hair or eyebrows... On the good side.. I'm alive and getting my strength back and wear wigs depending on occasion. I had Stage 1 HER2+ER+ ( estrogen based/fast growing)breast cancer and am now on one pill a day cancer preventative(Arimidex) for 5 years. This pill only caused tiredness, body aches and weight gain. But I'm better everyday!

slg76

Edel1701...good luck with your taxotere treatment!  How great that you have made it this far with little trouble.  I have to say that I had a terrible time with taxotere but I know this isn't always the case.  My doctors said that often taxotere is one of the easier chemos to deal with.  I had no nausea during chemo (AC and taxotere) but the taxotere gave me awful pain pretty much everywhere.  I tried to hold off with little pain medication...not sure why I did that.  I was much more comfortable and did better when I gave in and started taking pain meds regularly.  My best advise is speak up and ask your doctor for help if you get side effects.  

Csperry823

You just start to feel better and you have another treatment! The symptoms get worse as you go on with treatment! Good luck!

Worrywart9390

Chelsea, I am so sorry for what you and your mom are going thru, but I would like to explain what my oncologist said tome.........Chemo is there to help, in making a decision for which chemo/how many times you must see a benefit outweighing the harm it can do.   In my case tcx4 was my original treatment plan that we decided on (ACx4 plus 12 taxol we thought was too much side effect vs benefit for me and there was another, i forget what kind that we felt wouldnt  give me enough benefit but the side effects were few)  anyway i had terrible side effects, hospitalized for low blood count, severe allergic reactions, etc....after 3 treatments she called me in to reevaluate my treatment plan.  We could no longer continue with tc, but we went over other options, i was young enough to tolerate more, but we had to feel it would give me benefit and we chose one dose of AC.  i could have stopped, but with my triple  negative status we both felt this was my time to fight and i needed something else.   She also told me that many patients stop because of side effects and as long as they have 75% of treatment they fair pretty well...whatever that means!!

So I'm thinking that your mom had so many severe side effects, he was thinking it was too much for her and she would fair better stopping.  Not sure though and I think you certainly should seek a second opinion if you arent agreeing with him.   I just wanted to share my experience with you.

I hope and pray things go well for mom.

Angie

Edel1701

I am on day 4 since my first Taxotere and I feel tired and achy. My bones hurt. I know this is normal so that makes me feel better about it.

I also have heartburn. I used gavisgon liquid when I was pregnant with heartburn so it is my go-to remedy. Great suring the night as jo lying there chewing Tums.

Unfortunately we all have to go through this. You are all very strong and doing great.

MsW2012

Hi Edel, I used Gaviscon also plus Tums as needed. My stomach would hurt when I ate. After the first week my dr said it was the steroids so she cut my steroid dose in half, both the iv and the pills. That cured my stomach trouble completely. Stay in touch! -Elizabeth

lalenlou

I had horrible side effects from Taxotere.  Mine started 4 days after treatment.  It started out like the flu, then it changed to bad bone pain.  It felt like someone was twisting my bones inside my skin.  I just kept taking the hydrocodone that was prescribed.  It would knock me out, but that was better than feeling such horrible pain.  This lasted about 3 days and then I would start feeling a little better each day.  Taxotere caused me to have constant diarrhea each time I ate something.  My tastebuds got so bad that I was very limited in what I could eat or drink.  I existed on water, plain scrambled eggs, dark meat fried chicken (I know, that sounds weird, but it tasted good!), Boost drink, cooked cabbage (again, weird!) and a few Triscuits.  I could eat NO OTHER foods and I have always loved vegetables, pasta, burgers, you name it.  I was always hungry!  It got so depressing since I always loved to cook and eat.  I was very lucky in that I never threw up (the meds they gave me worked good for that.)  My hair and eyebrows started falling out 2 1/2 weeks after my first treatment.  My eyelashes hung on until my 4th treatment.  My bone pain became less traumatic with each treatment which is the opposite from so many other ladies.  I would just feel like I had the flu which was manageable.  It was not at all fun, but like my brother told me, "Think that it is killing all the bad stuff!  If you weren't sick, I would worry that it is not working!"

MsW2012

Hello sisters! Just checking in after a long time away. Lalenlou, the food thing seems to hit everyone. I couldn't stand to drink plain water but carbonated went down fine. My yes-list was mashed potatoes, chicken broth, eggs and PB&J sandwiches. Could not tolerate pretzels, fruits or vegetables. I finished Taxotere in January and my stomach is still not the same. I don't have as keen a sense of when I'm hungry or full. I'm still on Herceptin - last one day after tomorrow. Anxious to see which lingering effects go away after stopping the Herceptin. I still have joint pain, neuropathy, eye trouble, frail and sparse eyelashes, slow growing hair and nails - hey, I do have my hair back, yay! (I will check out the Herceptin forum.)

I would be interested to hear if anyone else had last-chemo jitters like I do. The Herceptin is so mild compared to the Taxotere and Carboplatin I was on before but there are still side effects. I get this feeling like my body has had as much as it can take and I really shouldn't have this last infusion. I have learned to listen to my body and my intuition, but maybe this last-chemo-jitters is a common feeling. Anyone else have similar feelings when your last one was coming up? I can imagine how awful I would feel if the cancer came back, leaving me wondering "if I had only gone ahead with that last one." Silly but it's bothering me.

Thanks -Elizabeth

jeanieb2

MsW2012 - I do not know if it makes a difference or not but I am sure your onco could tell you if it does.  My sister had BC back in 1993 and she was not able to take her last treatment and she has never had a recurrence.  I had the same thing in 1992 that she did and I took all of the treatments, and mine came back in 2009, so I don't think it seems to matter.  I actually felt the opposite back in '92, I was afraid to stop the chemo because I knew I was protected, kind of like insurance, but it was nothing compared to what this Tax does to me.

 I am on a chemo break right now.  I took my last Tax on July 29 and I hope to get 3 months off again like I did last time.  I am having lots of joint and bone pain today and have had it several times in the last month, I had a bone scan on 29 and it showed no signs of cancer and it was there before so the Tax is working for me, but the CT scan still shows cancer in the abdomen area.  My onco was very excited about the bone scan showing no signs since it had before.  He did say the CT scan showed stuff in the bones but it could just be arthritis because the bone scan did NOT show anything.  I go back this Thursday for my monthly checkup and markers.  If the markers have stayed about the same or have not gone up much I will be able to take this next month off also.  I am hoping to be off for a couple more months.  I just lost my eyelashes about 3 weeks ago and they are starting to grow in, I will never be able to have hair again because of taking the Tax off and on for the rest of my life, and that is ok, as long as I can keep moving that is all I care about.  I am excited for you to have your hair back, I am sure your eyelashes will be back before you know it.  Well please let me know what you decide to do and keep me updated on how you are doing. 

MsW2012

Hi Jeanieb2, it's good to hear from you. When I was going through the no-hair months I had a cute wig from a program called The Wig Source. It made me feel great at the time. At support groups I see women who are totally confident without covering up their heads at all. We are all different. I hope you get good news at your next checkup.

I still don't know what I'll do and I feel more anxious today than I did yesterday. My onc did say it was ok to skip a Herceptin last month when I thought I was going to be out of the country for a session. It turned out I didn't miss it after all, so maybe that's all the more reason I could skip this last one. My echos show a trend toward enlargement and mitral valve trouble, although everything is still "within the range of normal." The literature says heart problems can arise even three years after stopping treatment with Herceptin. That's the main reason for my anxiety. I will try to contact my onc and run it by her. I trust her judgment.

jeanieb2

MsW-2012 - I can understand your concern about the heart and I would be like you and want to skip the last one also, but on the other hand I would want to finish them all, so I would be 50% for and 50% against, I totally understand your concern.  I think the best thing is to let the onco decide since you trust her judgement.  Do you see the doctor before your treatment?  I always see the doctor before a treatment so if I have questions or concerns he addresses them before my chemo.  Hope you get an answer and you are comfortable with it.  Praying that whatever you decide to do is the best thing for you.  Let me know what you find out.

bcbarbie10

how is everybody here? Hope all of us are doing well. Please do check-in, even if finished with taxotere.

jeanieb2

bcbarbie10 - It is good to hear from someone.  I have stopped taking Tax, it was just keeping my cancer from progressing.  The onco said since I only have 10 good days out of 21 that it was not worth keeping me on it so my last treatment of it was January 16.  I have a CT and Bone scan on March 4 and will see the doctor on the 6th to see what we are going to do.  He mentioned Aramosin and Affinitor, I am not sold on the Affinitor, it has some side effects that I am concerned about, getting diabetes is one of them since my sister, dad, grandparents and cousins have had diabetes, so I need to discuss with him some of the concerns and what other options I have.  I have read that Affinitor has been a success with some of the women so will just have to see what happens.  How are you doing?  Are you completely done with chemo?  I am so glad you posted on here I have been wondering about some of the ones that helped me out when I first started on Tax.  I hope you are doing well and I will be checking back here to see how anyone else is doing.

bcbarbie10

jeanieb2, so very glad to hear from you! I hope your new regimen will be better and kinder to you. Im so done with tax myself. I have been through 34 infusions, including herceptin! I am now one year on tamoxifen and this hasnt been a party as i get terrible knee pains. Thankfully though, scans are still clear after 2 years of NED. Hang in there. We're tougher now. Keep in touch.

jeanieb2

bcbarbie10 - It is so good to hear how you are doing.  I did 6 months of chemo back in 1992 then went on Tamoxifen from May 1993 to May of 1998.  It really did not bother me at all.  I also did Femara from 2009 to 2011 and did not have a problem with that then did Xeloda alone for a year from 2011 to 2012, then I did Tax along with Xeloda until February, 2014 when it was not helping so I think I will be doing Aromasin along with Affinitor, unless he has changed his mind or if I change my mind and do another chemo that he may suggest.  I have read about Affinitor and it seems like people have had good luck with it but like all of them it seems after a while we need to switch to something else.  He did say I could probably go back on Tax sometime in the future.  The way I understand it is that the cancer can become resistant to chemo and you need to switch to something else and years later you can go back to the old ones again.  I just have to find out what all the scans say on Thursday and go from there.  I am sooooooo happy you are NED and have been for 2 years, that is just wonderful.  I see you took Cytoxan, I took that back in 1992 along with Methotrexate and 5FU, but have never taken Herceptin.  Keep me posted on how you are doing, I love hearing the news.  You helped me a lot when I started on Tax and I appreciate it.  It always helps to hear from someone that has taken it and how it affected them, that seemed to help me more than anything.  I am not having much luck on the Affinitor site, I will probably ask again when and if I start on it.  Take care.