Taxotere is a nightmare

I am on a weekly dose of taxotere for 12 weeks, just receieved my third treatment.  I am having the same side effects, i actually just began developing mouth sores.  I was unsure whether or not the side effects were due to the taxotere itself or the herceptin that i am also getting each week --it seems that they share similar symptoms. Wondering about everyone's experience with hairloss on this particular drug? 

 Stay strong!

Hello everyone, Just had a second opinion on Friday and new onco wants to do Taxotere & AC x6 or TAC.  I've breifly read thru this thread and now I think I may be terrified of it. Can you tell me about how many days the worse effects last.  I was hoping that I would be able to work during treatments, thinking I'd have to take a week off after each one.  Also, Chemo in general reduces your WBC - this is something that absolutely terrifies me, is there anything we can add to our diets and excercise routines to help increase naturally.  Also, excercise, will I be able to get up and do a little bit everyday, I've been told by so many how important that is. 

Thanks for any input.

Thank you for the information, it does actually make me feel alittle bit better.  TLC on myself??  That's a foriegn concept to me and one I definitely need to learn ASAP!

Hi Stephanie,

I did FEC and am now on Taxotere. I would go with the gel cap, I kept my short cut hair for almost three months, but if you're worried about reccurence on scalp, don't. Icemitts and iceslippers of course. For nails I have a base polish, strenghtening with siliceum in it, two coats as advised, and then lightblue, red, pink or whatever color that makes me happy (as long as it isn't metallic or pearly they said at my clinic). It's important to have nailpolish and some color, as the nails react to sunlight. This is a great brand, http://www.laroche-posay.com/products-treatments/Silicium/Nails-r52.aspx  Don't forget your toenails! 

I started chemo in January and my nails are still ok.  I also keep a good lotion in my fridge, for when I wake up at night with hotflashes. It's so good to rub your feet just a couple of minutes with something hydrating and cold :-) 

Chew ice and drink cold drinks during the IV, it really helps with mouth issues. I forgot with the first round of Taxo, but not the second. The difference is amazing! Gargling salt or sodium bicarbonate helps too. My oncs asked me if I took an antihistamine, I take Aerius (like Claritin) to help with eventual allergic reactions to T. I didn't do Neulasta, nor was it suggested; the body can produce white blood cells by itself even if it takes longer time with chemo. I prefer not to manipulate my body even more than I do with FEC and T. And I heard of the SE's aswell, personally I don't believe it's worth it. During IV I wear an iced eyemask to keep brows.

I don't know if you're getting a portable catheter, but EMLA is great to numb that area too.

I was prescribed to take half a dose of steroids (Prednisolone) for an extra three days in the mornings (with T I take two pills five times over three days)  to help with the SE's I experienced the first time. Today, five days after my second T I am up and about, tired but I can stand up straight! I believe a healthy diet, exercise between chemos, a positive mind, steriods (which aren't so bad after all!), massages, acupuncture and yoga helps me cope better with chemo. And of course, Stephanie, some drugs for constipation as you pointed out. Best of luck to you!

Emily, good for you! Right behind ya :-)

mccrimmon, YES......TLC!!!! Practiced on yourself!!!!  Try it, even in just little bits, but get used to it!  That is my perscription for you...

lago I have loved your avatar from the moment i first saw it 

Thanks all...so glad to be done chemo! Day 4 post chemo for me and the 25% reduction of taxotere hasn't made much difference as far as the misery but I think the steroid crash and neulasta contributes a lot more to the rough days than I realized. Counting the days until these bad days are behind me. Chemo fog is bad today...how many more of you will be soon joining me to celebrate the end of taxotere?? Neuropathy in toes isn't any worse. Legs are still weak but not any worse either.

mccrimmon324, it appears that Taxotere affects different people differently.  Some people have very few side effects. 

It seems that it causes some fatigue with almost everyone, ranging anywhere from relatively mild to disabling for a few days after treatment, but seems to be much improved prior to the next treatment, and usually completely resolves. I continue to have some fatigue, but that is also slowly improving.

The pain can also range from fairly mild to very severe, and I found that it was worse when the fatigue was worse, and they sort of result together. 

The neuropathy seemed to have some waxing and waning, and mine actually got much worse after my last treatment, with some symptoms worsening even as long as eight weeks after treatment.  I am five months past my last Taxotere treatment (discontinued after three doses), still having neuropathy that I am going to be seeing a neurologist for. 

My nails are still growing out and when the chemo lines grow out, that seems to be when they are most susceptible to trauma, and I have pulled them up multiple times as they are growing out, but never during the actual treatments.  (Toenails have not even reached that stage yet). 

I lost ALL my hair, and it is all coming back. 

I was never offered icing of my fingers or ice chips to chew on during infusion, and have not really seen any studies that indicate this to be helpful or harmful.  If I had known about it ahead of time though, I would certainly have tried it.  I did not discover this thread and all this information until I was finishing my last round of chemo. 

I did try using L glutamine to prevent neuropathy, and it may or may not have worked.  There are some other nutritional supplements that might be helpful but there is such minimal evidence in all of the medical literature.  I have a colleague who actually does research on neuroprotective agents, but they have not published the results yet, and it is still very early in this area of research.  I have encouraged her to continue her research and publish when she finds positive results so that they can be used clinically.

What I have found here is a very supporting group of women who will share their experiences with you, including the good, the bad, and the ugly.  And remember that the good is these drugs kill cancer cells.

I have been complaining to my MO and my PCP for months about my lack of energy and continued neuropathy, and initially I was told it would "take a little while"to recover, which I interpreted as being a couple of months.  When I finally kept complaining and persisting, they told me it would take a year to two years to feel better and get back to almost normal.  My PCP yesterday told me that it was likely that I would never get back to "normal" but that I would continue to improve.

Tracie, Tonlee, Lago, Marjie, Christine, thedvinemrs, and all the newly-completed and newly-starting, I send thoughts of lovingkindness, and may we all practice self-lovingkindness.

bdavis, my sister used to be a Mary Kay consultant, and was very helpful with the eyebrow pencil to help camaflouge the eyebrow loss.  Funny thing was that I didn't even really notice how very thin they got until I came out of the chemo fog about a month after the last treatment, and I never got around to actually using that pencil! lol!  I think the bangs from my wig came low enough over my forehead and I had other things to worry about, like whether it was slipping too far forward, backward or sideways to deal with the eyebrows!    I actually had only one wig mis-hap, and that was with my neighbor, so nothing embarassing in public, thank goodness! 

Tonight I am washing all my wig liners and my 2 wigs and will donate them to the "wig shop" at lour local cancer center which then provides them free to women who cannot afford them.  My hair is salt & pepper, very thick, about an inch and a half long, and is just as unmanageable as it ever was!  Some things never change.... lol.

Omaz... I iced the nails, but I think a benefit for me was maybe it helped with the neuropathy as well... I haven't had any problems in that field either.

I iced my fingers, and wore acrylic nails the entire time...no problems.

The woman in the chair beside me taking TCH didn't ice and she didn't have any nail problems either. 

Had exchange surgery and couldn't get a vein for IV.  They were there then vanished, nurse said from Tax.  they call them "ghost' veins.  I have a very bad bruise on my hand and dryness from where they tried to get the needle in first, they had to do it in my arm and it also bruised. Good luck with the neuropathy, it is so hard to deal with.