Her 2+ Stage 2a Er+ Breast cancer --on second chemo

Modmodgirl66

Hi, I'm new to breast cancer and to this community.

I was diagnosed in July 2021, family history and have undergone to A and C chemo treatments. I have 2 more of those A and C to complete. Then I switch to Taxol 1x a week for 12 weeks. Then Herceptin and Perjeta every three weeks. The idea is to shrink the tumor and then do a lumpectomy. I'm a 54. I'm scared about the Taxol and the side effects. I'm an artist and am worried about losing sensation in my hands.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

Aram

Hi Modmodgirl66, I am sorry you are here. I did AC and Taxol as well. I just finished my last weekly Taxol this week. I iced my hands and feet and I didn't have any neuropathy. I am not sure if icing helped or not with it but it is something I have seen on these boards and my MO mentioned it might help as well. We have an active weekly Taxol thread here as well which I got lots of help from:

https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/69/topics/788735

Modmodgirl66

Thank you!

Moderators

Welcome, Modmodgirl66! We're so sorry you find yourself here, but we hope this community can be a source of support and encouragement for you as you continue down this road. You are not alone!

The Mods

Melbo

I had Taxotere instead of taxol, and I believe taxotere is considered the harsher of the two. I did not ice my hands and only had very mild tingles, which did not affect function at all. I still have the tingles a year later — but my oncologist thinks they will eventually go away. (I was also on herceptin and Perjeta for the last year, which could also cause neuropathy — so it’s hard to know exactly which one caused it.)

Sorry you find yourself here.

LGR239

Echoing the icing during taxol and also suggest trying acupuncture. I started after my first round and found it really helped with alleviating my side effects (fatigue and mood specifically) and then when I started having numbness/tingling in a couple of my fingertips after round 4 of TCHP, doc started treating that too and while I still have the numbness, it hasn't gotten any worse and my fingertips don't actively tingle as much (if that makes sense). Its definitely something you want to address as soon as possible if you start having symptoms since preventative measures a lot easier than trying to reverse nerve damage.

My acupuncturist also gave me a couple hand exercises/motions to do to encourage blood flow (stuff like finger taps and finger rolls).

best of luck with the rest of your treatments!