Triple Negative with BRCA1

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Chelle_1968
Chelle_1968 Member Posts: 8
edited June 2014 in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

HI all!  I was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. I have Triple Negative and carry the BRCA1 gene. I went in for my first chemo treatment on 9/18/09 and had an allergic reaction to Taxotere and couldn't continue treatment. I am supposed to meet with my Dr on 9/21/09 to determine a new route of treatment. Have any of you had an allergic reaction to Taxotere? If so, what chemo treatment plan did they switch you to?  Thanks for any info!

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  • ravdeb
    ravdeb Member Posts: 3,116
    edited September 2009

    I personally didn't have an allergic reaction but the woman having chemo next to me would turn red and have trouble breathing every time they would start her infusion with Taxol (not Taxotere). They would stop it, pump more steroids in and do it again and she got all her treatments...

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  • dlb823
    dlb823 Member Posts: 9,430
    edited September 2009

    Chelle ~  Switching to Taxol sometimes works, but I believe the infusion schedule is then much longer.  I don't have your stats, but I know that what sometimes causes the allergic reaction is not the drug itself, but the chemical solvents used in its manufacture.  One chemo drug that doesn't have any of those is Abaxane, and I have heard of women being switched to it when they can't tolerate Taxotere, but I don't know for which bc stats it's always appropriate.  It would be great if we could all get chemo without the chemical solvents, but evidently Abaxane is much more expensive than other chemo drugs, so health insurance co's balk at covering it unless it can be proven you need it.  So sorry you had the problem, but I'm sure your onc will get you on a better path  ~  Deanna

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  • tibet
    tibet Member Posts: 545
    edited September 2009

    I had strong reaction to Taxol the first time. Difficult to breath and threw up, short breath,.....and they slowed the infusion and infused with salient water or sth similar I don't remember anymore and I took anti-allegic meds and also meds put me to half way sleep. I finished all 12 tx.

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  • Chelle_1968
    Chelle_1968 Member Posts: 8
    edited September 2009

    Thank you all for your responses! My allergic reaction was within the first 10 min of infusion--the nurse stated they have allergic reactions almost every week with Taxotere so they made the other nurses stand close by when they started the infusion. My face turned red & had pain and pressure in my chest and back. They had to put me on Oxygen and give me a steroid to reverse it. Since the reaction was so strong, the Dr will not re-challenge me so I guess I don't get to use that med at all. Hopefully I will find something out tomorrow. I am just so disappointed that I can't use it..sounds like that is one of the most aggressive treatments for Triple Negative!

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  • jdash
    jdash Member Posts: 754
    edited September 2009

    dont worry  there are many drugs that are just as fine for treatment and i am sure they will find one for you    let us know how you make out 

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  • TuckerDog
    TuckerDog Member Posts: 1
    edited November 2009

    Chelle,

    I had a similar reaction - very scary - but it turned out OK.  They stopped the taxotere immediately and pumped in Benedryl.  Afterwards they resumed the Taxotere more slowly.  There were no more problems.

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