Taxol & Herceptin; vision & varicose vein issues

ByUmom2

Hi, anyone out there on taxol & Herceptin have side effects like mine? My vision has changed. Going to optometrist in a few weeks. Also had varicose veins before, but since treatments they are worse. Also having to deal with the unpleasant hemorrhoids. I am 5 treatments down of 12. Not sure how much more my body can take. I also have a sensitivity to them. Have to take 2 days of oral steroids for rash, hives, and redness

Ingerp

A lot of women have changes in vision while on chemo. In fact I’ve read you shouldn’t make any prescription changes until six months PFC. I recently had an eye exam and they found increase pressure in my left eye. Not sure if it’s the chemo, Herceptin, or AI but I’m sure it’s treatment related.

ByUmom2

Thanks for the info. It is frustrating not being able to see clearly.

Moderators

ByUmom2 - Welcome to Breastcancer.org! We're sorry that you have to be here for this reason, but glad you found us!

Our main site has an article on Vision and Eye Problems that you might find interesting. Hope this helps! Looking forward to hearing more from you soon!

The Mods

LoriCA

My vision changed dramatically during/after Taxol. Used to wear progressives mainly for reading and computer work, but Taxol caused me to lose my mid-range vision too. I couldn't wait until 6 months after chemo to get a new prescription because it was bad enough to affect my daily life, I needed to be able to focus.

Re the hemorrhoids - make sure you are taking a laxative every day (unless of course you start having the opposite problem). I noticed your only doing Herceptin and not Perjeta - Perjeta usually takes care of that problem (sometimes to the opposite extreme) since it's affectionately known in some circles as "Poo-jeta".

vogonna

I know it's been a couple of years since you posted this question, but I just found it while searching the same question - I was on several rounds of taxol and a whole year of herceptin, and I have developed horrible varicose veins and bright red and purple spidery patches all around my ankles and even down the sides of my heels - it almost looks like rashes or large "wine stain" birthmarks. It only just occured to me that there might be a relationship so I plan to bring it up with my oncologist next appointment.