Taxotere/Cytoxan starting February 2012.

Hi, i had T/C for 4 rounds and then Taxol for 4 round, altogether 16 weeks of chemo and finished in December (every other week i had chemo).  Doing radiation for 6 weeks now.  Anyway, the T/C chemo is much harder to take, it is extremely toxic, sorry to say.  You will be extremely fatigued, and for me it took 10 days just to rebound from it.  Sorry to say, it will NOT FEEL  too great during these first 4 rounds.  And your hair will come out starting about the 2nd or 3rd week after the first treatment.  Good thing is you are not alone.  This will be over soon. Feel free to ask all the questions you need during this time.  Do you have a port or doing it by I V? 

Hello Feb BC Chemo girls,

I did my 2nd of 4 TC infusions yesterday. It's doable! You will not all have the same side effects, nor will any of you have all of the side effects! So far, my worst SE has been bone pain from the Neulasta shot, but, I learned a trick for that on these boards. Take a 24 hour Claritin 24 hours before your Neulasta shot, then the next day one hour before your shot and for 5 days afterwards. My MO confirmed that this works.

I've had no nausea, and I've been trying to get a little exercise every day, which, is true what the doctors tell you doing chemo...you will feel so much better if you remain as active as possible and walk! My hair started falling out on day 19 after my first treatment. It had been long, but prior to my first treatment, I got a pixie cut, which was kind of fun, picked out a wig that matches my real hair very well, and a lot of cute hats to wear. I think for me, the hair loss is the hardest thing, since it's an outward sign that you're undergoing treatment for cancer, and I don't feel sick!

I'm 43, married, have three young boys, run my own company with 75 employees in 3 locations. You can do this! It's not like the old days, believe me. And your MO has something to counteract any SE you may have, and they expect your calls, so don't hesitate!

Good luck and stay strong!

I had my first T/C this past Tuesday.  Three more to go.  It definitely is doable.  I took the day off for the infusion and the next day because I was tired and on Thursday and Friday I was at work.  On Thursday morning I felt a bit queasy and took a pill and was fine and it hasn't returned.  Yes, I am tired but I find the more I move around the better I feel.  This morning I had no energy but pushed myself to go out and shovel the snow and I feel much better.  I haven't cut my hair short either, I am holding out hope that I wont lose it all and there will just be some thinning, so we shall see.

I also did not have to do the Neulasta shot, my MO will wait and see what my blood count is next time.  He said not everyone needs it.

 My onco score was only a 20 but my Grade was a 3 and that is why they wanted me to do the chemo.  I never wanted to say in the future I should have so I agreed to do it.  After the chemo is over I will have the pleasure of 5 weeks of radiation followed by 5 years of hormone therapy.

Kim48  I was very apprehensive for my first treatment but was armed with tons of info from this board which was very helpful.  You will be fine.

Hey ladies - new member here!  Just got back from my first oncologist's appointment and he "prescribed" 4 treatments of Cytoxan and Taxotere.  I had CMF 19 years ago ( was recently diagnosed with a new primary) and he told me this would be much easier regimen - and I didn't find it so difficult THEN (except for the hair loss).  He warned me that the worst would be the bone pain from the Neulasta but that I could control it with meds. 

I expect my first infusion in the next weeks and hopefully done by late spring.

I look forward to your friendship and advice!

Joan

Yay, I tried to start a Feb chemo group a couple of weeks ago but only Momof3Boys replied.  Glad to see one actually starting now.  I was supposed to start on 2/2 but I got a call today that they're going to start me this Thursday - YIKES, I don't feel prepared.  Anyway, I figure its still close enough to Feb that I hope I can be with you all!

Hello Ladies - Diagnosed in October in the right breast, the hits kept on coming as they found cancer in the left breast in Nov, double lumpectomy in December, and now starting TC on Feb 16th.  Scared out of my mind....but I am going to be positive and take it as it comes.  I cannot believe how many tips I have already picked up on these boards for all the different SE.  

Hi Ladies!

New member here! So glad I found you! I had left mastectomy with reconstruction on Dec 20 th. My MO recommended TC - 4 cycles last week. I had so many questions during the 1^st appointment that we run out of time (after 2 hrs) so I will have to see him again tomorrow. I am so afraid of the chemo side effects. I too am very sensitive to the hair loss part. Just started getting use to the unusual looking left breast... now I have to take in a bold head 

Dear Feb 2012 sisters, I just wanted to stop by to share some words of encouragement.  I did 6 rounds of TC beginning Feb 2010 (followed by radiation).  Although everyone may react differently, I'll have to say it's doable and manageable.  As I worked through it, I scheduled chemo sessions on Wednesdays.  The steroids keep me going on Thursday/Friday at work, and I was usually very tired during the weekend.  By Monday I bounce back somewhat, well enough to go back to work.

Yes I lost all my hair, beginning around day 19 or 20 and it only took 3 or 4 days for it to be all gone.  I shaved it off and wore a wig. 

Drink as much water as you can, and then some.  Use medication for nausea (I always took the 3 pills given to me after each chemo session, one per day) - they really work.  I had to get shots to boost WBC every time - so I did it.  A sting in the tummy and some ache in the joints for a few days every time, but it protected me against potential infections.

And believe it or not, on the days you feel the most down, will yourself to stand up and walk around.  I felt better after that, even though in the beginning I would much rather just stay in bed.  If you work up a sweat - all the better, as you are ridding your system of the chemo drugs faster that way.

However difficult it may seem, it helps to keep the end goal in sight.  You are fighting for your life and you will win!!  You've made the decision to go this route so trust that it will help.  You can do it!

Information on this board gave me so much strength to go through it all and I am forever grateful.  Use these boards to learn, share, and vent.  Your family and friends will be supportave, but they do not know what it's like.  Sisters on this board do.  And that's irreplaceable.

Good luck.

I am so relieved to say that my first treatment today was uneventful. Thank you so much to those who took the time to give the newbies here such encouragement. Now I'll take it one day at a time. So glad that we have one another. We can do this.

How are the rest of you doing? Hope all is well. I'm still okay tonight, getting a bit tired! Steroids wearing off, so might be more tired tomorrow. Thinking of all of you!

Unfortunately for me, my first day of treatment today did not go well. After going thru the pre-chemo drugs, I ended up having a severe allergic reaction about 10 minutes after they started the Taxotere.  They had to immediately stop and get a critical care unit in to stabilize me as I essentially was going into anaphylactic shock.



Because I knew of the allergy risk and I have so many allergies, I made sure I was very aware of how I was feeling when they started the chemo drip.   First, I felt my throat get irritated but I wasn't sure if that was just one of the side effects. Then I started having problems swallowing so I had my husband get someone right away; my throat pretty much closed up right after that.  The room I was in was small so the nurses were right there and reacted quickly - it was astonishing just how fast they acted and got a rapid response team there to help out.   Very scary thing to go through but because I thought I might react, I caught it right at the start.  They pumped me up with more Benadryl, more steroids and Zanax plus put me on an oxygen tank.  Took about an hour for me to really feel better and now I'm just exhausted with a somewhat scratchy throat.



They're switching me to Abraxane instead of the Taxotere and will try again on Monday. The difference is the coating on the drug - Taxotere has a castor oil-derived coating while Abraxene has an albumin coating. Also, Abraxene has not been specifically approved for early stage cancer treatment; it has been for advanced stage breast cancer when other treatments have failed. Despite this, the underlying drug is the same as the Taxotere.



My sister found an article about incidents regarding similar reactions in breast cancer patients who get treated with Taxotere which states the following:



"Adverse event reports generally only represent from 1 to 10 percent of actual incidence, so the number of hypersensitivity reactions and deaths is likely significantly higher. The severe allergic reactions are believed to be caused by Cremophor, the chemical solvent - a derivative of castor oil -- that is used to dissolve some insoluble drugs before they can be injected into the blood stream.



Two patients who died from an allergic reaction had early-stage breast cancer, which had been surgically removed, and were being treated with Cremophor-containing paclitaxel to prevent the cancer from coming back. Both of these patients had received medications before the chemotherapy to reduce the risk of hypersensitivity reactions."



I don't want to scare anyone, but my advice is to be very vigilant in sensing what's going on when they start the chemo process. Most patients don't have problems but, if you're prone to allergies, be aware! While I'm not going forward with the exact same treatment as this discussion board, I would still like to be part of it as I think we'll stil be facing many of the same issues.

Like Momof3boys, I've had two of my scheduled four T/C infusions, with the 3rd scheduled for next Tuesday. I'd also be happy to answer any questions you might have; in fact, I'd be honored to help someone else, since so many women on these forums have helped me.

I agree with everything Momof3 said. Exercising, even a little, and drinking lots of liquid are important. After my first treatment, I had such severe diarrhea that I became dehydrated and had to go in for 2 bags of IV liquids. Since then, I've been trying to do better.

Generally, I've found that I feel pretty lousy for 10 days, then fairly normal for 10 days. Then the cycle starts again. Everyone's side effects are different, although many of us experience taste bud issues, fatigue and body aches if we take the Neulasta shots. The doctors usually are most accommodating about prescribing pills to help with most side effects, including depression and insomnia.

Good luck to all of you.  

I did 6 rounds of TC in 2009 and it was very doable!  I had my cocktail on Friday afternoon and would talk Monday off from work.  Then back to work.  I never had the nulasta shot...my blood levels were also great, I think because I jucied all the time.  Carrot and apple was the best.  Keep moving and it will be ok.  I agree the worst part was losing my hair. 

Best wishes all

Be Well

Balsie