Starting Taxol Tomorrow

I am currently on Taxol and it is easier in a lot of ways than AC, no nausea and my taste buds while still sensitive are a lot better.  I'm not saying that Taxol doesn't have it's own SE's, but just make sure to keep in touch with your onc so that she/he can help you get through it.  I am actually feeling well enough that I may try to go back to work part-time (provided my benefits allow it). 

Linda - I get those shooting pains in my legs too!  The muscle and bone pain are my biggest problems.  Starting on day 2 I feel the stiffness setting in starting at my shoulders down my back, by day 3 -4 I can't stand for anyone to even touch me, shooting pains in legs and back and am miserable, day 5 feeling better.  Just when I'm feeling great again it's time for another tx.  All of the other SE's have become much more manageable.  Either that or the distraction of the muscle and bone pain keep me from thinking about the other stuff. I wonder why Taxol causes so much pain?

AC was terrible and I do feel better in a lot of ways with Taxol - I guess all of the drugs comes with their own SE's.

Michele - HOpe you're doing OK, check in and let us know!

My four rounds with taxol were already three years ago (isn't this great?) and what I remember is that I much preferred taxol to AC: no nausea! Practically the only side effect I had was bone pain, which was pretty bad, to be honest. But that was about all I remember. That, and the side effects of the steroids, but those are not to blame on taxol directly.

And just so you know, I am triple negative too and had postive lymph nodes, and I have been NE ever since my AC+T. It works!

Best,

Iza

TN, node positive and will hit my 5 year anniversary this May!

Hang in there!

i had four months of AC and two months of taxol, ended chemo in april 2009. for me, AC and T were two different animals completely, but the neulasta shot always made me feel lousy. what helped me most through taxol was hydroxyzine for the severe itching of my hands. i also took 1/2 oxycodone 5mg to help with the bone pain from the taxol. i documented every day of chemo and radiation on my blog: http://www.ddlatt.blogspot.com/ - hope it can help in any way. 

I was diagnosed in January 06 with a 2.5-cm tumor. At the time of diagnosis I had an enlarged lymph node that also lit in my PET scan, so my medical team ordered it biopsied and it came back positive. Then I did neoadjuvant chemo (4 AC + 4 T). Already after the second round of AC I started to notice that my lump was different (softer? smaller?). At the beginning I thought it was my imagination, but then my oncologist confirmed that it was indeed vanishing. Around the time when I started Taxol it was practically unnoticeable and my surgeon ordered a marker (don't remember the proper name) inserted so he would be able to find the area during surgery. Well, the radiologist who was supposed to insert the marker could not do it because he could find no tumor to mark. In late May I had a lumpectomy (the surgeon removed the area where the lump used to be) and an axillary node dissection. The pathology report came back as "complete response," meaning that there was no cancer left in the tissue removed, although they could tell for sure they had removed the "correct" area because they could see marks (???) from the biopsy done at diagnosis. They removed I think 9 lymph nodes and they were all negative.

Because of the neoadjuvant chemo I never got to know how many lymph nodes had been positive.

Then i had radiation (45 sessions) to the lumpectomy area and also to my supraclavicular area just in case, and that was the end of my treatment. Since then, I have only been to the breast center for scheduled checkups, and they all have been clear.

I consider myself really lucky! Although I do not consider myself cured. I still live... well, not in fear, but in a state of permanent alert. I don't think it will ever pass. The tough thing about cancer is that, even those of us that have the best possible treatment outcome, have to learn to live with this burden for the rest of our lives.

Hugs and hope to all,

Iza