Taxotere

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BarbaraC
BarbaraC Member Posts: 3
edited June 2014 in Caring for Someone with Breast cancer

My mom was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She had a partial masectomy and went through her first chemo treatment 3 weeks ago. She had minimal side effects, today was her second treatment and she had a very bad reaction. She turned blue, had difficulty breathing and was very dizzy, almost fainted and had a burning in her stomach. They stopped the chemo and administered steroids to reverse the side effects. They also gave her oxygen. She seems to be ok now, but the oncologist mentioned that she may need to receive further treatments in a hospital rather than the office. They mentioned the medication that caused this was taxotere. They are going to evaluate her situation and get back to us on Friday.

I have tried to be very supportive being that Im an only child. Ive driven her to every doctors appointment, surgery, and tried to support her in her every decision along the way. Im very concerned about her having more allergic reactions to any new medications, or Taxotere again.

I was wondering if anyone here has had anything similar go wrong during chemo, if this is a normal reaction or something more serious. I want to be prepared but not make her nervous, even though im sick with worry since she has been diagnosed.

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  • otter
    otter Member Posts: 6,099
    edited October 2008

    Barbara, it is so kind of you to make the commitment in time and energy (and emotions) to help your mom through this.

    Taxotere and the related drug, Taxol, both can cause severe allergic reactions, even in people who have no other allergies.  Most oncologists whose patients are on Taxotere or Taxol have them take dexamethasone ("Decadron" is the brand name)--a powerful corticosteroid--on the days before, during, and after, the infusion, to minimize chances of an allergic reaction.  I received dexamethasone in my i.v. line just before each Taxotere infusion, and I took dexamethasone tablets for the next 2 days.

    Even with the steroid medication, some patients react to the Taxotere as your mom did.  From what I've read, the way your mom's chemo team responded was exactly the way such a reaction is controlled.  And, as your story points out, the reactions to Taxotere may occur with the 2nd infusion even when the initial treatment went perfectly smoothly.

    Just because someone reacts to Taxotere once does not mean a reaction will occur the next time.  Usually, someone who reacts as your mom did will be given extra premedications to prevent a reaction at the next treatment.  The chemo crew will watch very closely and respond immediately if they see something wrong.  It is also possible that your mom's oncologist will change the chemo drugs she is on, to avoid future reactions.

    I don't know about office vs. hospital treatments, because my chemo treatments were all given in a large cancer center that is part of a university hospital.

    I imagine how worried you must be.  Give your mom a hug for us, next time you see her.

    otter 

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  • BarbaraC
    BarbaraC Member Posts: 3
    edited October 2008

    Thank you so much for getting back to me. I was very worried about her yesterday. The reaction seemed to go away rather quickly. She is a little tired today, and broke out in hives last night, but is doing much better. She also takes the dexamethasone in her IV and in pill form the day before and after treatment. Hopefully she can continue to take the Taxotere, and be able to still receive treatments in the office. She was very upset yesterday that she may have to go into the hospital for her treatments, she enjoys being in the office with the other patients and the nurses. Its so frustrating now with the Holidays coming up, because this will set her back a week and now she may be receiving her next treatment right before Thanksgiving. Im trying to remain positive and just be as helpful as possible. Ill keep  you posted on what the oncologist says on Friday. Thanks again for responding, its comforting to know that other people have gone through what we are going through now, and came out of it ok. The whole process is very scary.

    Thanks again :)

    Barbara

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  • crazy4carrots
    crazy4carrots Member Posts: 5,324
    edited October 2008

    Hi Barbara:

    Just want to add that my onc nurse started out by administering the taxotere IV at a very slow drip rate for the first 10 minutes, just to make sure I didn't have a reaction (which I didn't).  Then she speeded it up.  This happened for each of the 3 tx.

    Taxotere is considered by many to be the "gold standard" for bc, but it does have several common (and not so common) side effects.  If your mom experiences any se's that her oncologist hasn't mentioned, check with us here; chances are very good that at least one of us has had them.  For example, no one told me about a runny nose and runny eyes!  I learned that here.

    But the good news is that we got through it, and so will your mom!  She's lucky to have such a loving and caring daughter.

    Best wishes, Linda

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  • fayem
    fayem Member Posts: 2
    edited February 2009

    Hi Barbara; I had a same reaction on my 2nd treatment yesterday and they stoped the chemo. I have a apointment with my doc. next week to see how she wants to continue with the treatment. I like to know what happend on the next treatment? Did they continue with same drug?

    She is lucky to have you. I am prioud of you of being such a caring human being. Love and light

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