Any words of wisdom for Taxol?

I did Taxol.  My doctor had me do 12 weekly treatments instead of one larger dose every three weeks.  She said they would be easier to tolerate.  I have to say she was right about the Taxol.  Much easier than the A/C and I vacationed, ate and drank like normal.  I really felt great!  Cell counts were good and didn't need neulasta.  My hair started to grow back while on Taxol too....very slowly, but started growing.

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Same here, 12 weekly Taxol after 4 dose dense A/C treatments.  They gave me Benadryl with each Taxol infusion so almost immediately would shut my eyes!  Hair grew back the last month of Taxol infusions. My onc told me hair would grow back and Taxol would be much easier on me.  She was right!  Best of luck!  Hugs

Ditto what everyone else said

Taxol, way better then A/C!!!!!!!!!!!

You get your life back, you can funtion much better. Congrats on almost being done with the worst!!

The red devil they call it!!!

It gets those nasty stray cells that could be lurking though!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

good luck!!!

Definitely easier than AC. I am having #8 taxol tomorrow. I have bone pain/aching for several days and some fatigue but I could barely lift my head on AC. Anything is better than that. Good luck!!

Same as everyone here.  I had 12 treatments, tho, and my last two or three tired me waaaay out, so watch out when you are in your 4 of 4, you'll need a few days off.  But NOTHING like AC.  I liked especially the advice about icing your hands and feet, becuz a year later and I've got some rather bothersome and permanent neuropathy in my feet.  Of course, I'm in my 60s, so I'm not like everybody else in stamina or repair time, that sort of thing.  I also had a little neuropathy in my right foot and ankle to begin with from a car wreck, so that explains a little of it.

Same with me - AC is much harder on  your system.  But Taxol was emotionally harder on me because I had to go every Tuesday and it felt like I never got a break.  I'm so glad the chemo is over but I miss my chemo nurses.  They are awesome!  So, it was nice to see them weekly! 

 I did get the discoloration on my nails (I didn't ice them) and a tiny bit of neuropathy.  The benedryl made me tired the first day and then the steroids made me wired the next day.  I guess when I got used to the schedule it was all over. LOL 

 Good luck!  It seems like it will never end but it will! 

Taxol was much easier for me as well.  I did the 12 weekly tx.  I think it was easier because the dose was smaller, not so much steroid, and taxol was easier to tolerate. Having said that, I had steroids, two antihistamines and anti nausea before my infusion, plus emend.  Then they  let me "marinate" for 20 minutes so the antihistamines would take hold. Then the taxol, and the nurse would always be especially near for the first 20 minutes of the infusion incase I had a reaction. Never did.

I slept through my infusion, too.... antihistamines. 

My doctor also prescribed prilosec (omiprazole) because it gave me awful reflux. In fact, I was on 40 mg/day the whole time I was on chemo, and it really helped. Usually didn't take it on my off chemo weeks, but I needed it almost the whole time I was on taxol.

My counts never dropped, my hair started to grow back and I once had to drive the afternoon after my morning treatment. It was ok, and not far. So different from AC, where I was lost in space for 4 or 5 days. 

I did have a fungal infection in my mouth twice, so make sure you have access to antifungals.  It might have been leftover from the AC, who knows? 

I didn't have any problem with my nails - they actually were stronger than they'd ever been (maybe it was lack of activity). 

My onc gave me vitamin B6 while I was on taxol, had very minimal neuropathy.  Of course I kept the lovely steroid bloat, and was flushed the whole time. 

It can be hard on you, so if it is, don't feel bad in addition to feeling like crap. I was really nervous about it when I started because I'd heard of allergic reactions. But, they were very careful. 

I hope you'll do well too. {{{{}}}}

Words of wisdom, not sure. But I can share my experiences. I am 9 months post chemo, 4 rounds of AC followed by 12 rounds of Taxol. For me, the lasting effects of the Taxol have been brutal. I am still dealing with a significant amount of neuropathy. I continued to exercise, jogging short paces during my whole entire chemo regimen. My neighbors got use to seeing me bald, crying and puking on the side of the road. Needless to say, it wasn't a good look but I was given the advice that it would prevent the neuropathy from becoming permanent. I have such severe joint pain that if it is cold, I can not get out of bed. My face and nose tingle constantly. I finally gave in and started taking a lose dose of Cymbalta. It is helping somewhat. I am Triple Negative, rumor has it that we are hit the hardest with everything so who knows. My Dr. has told me that it will take a full year to recover from the chemo so I should remain optimistic. Hope this helps.

Guess it seems most of you had better luck dealing with Taxol.  However, just the opposite for me.  I had 4 AC treatments, with really minimal fatigue and little or no bone pain.  Then we started dose dense Taxol and immediately after the first dose, every bone in my body hurt so bad that most nights I cried and moaned because of pain.  Even celexa didn't help much for the pain!!  As a result of that first taxol, my white count shot up to 30,000 (normal is 8-10,000) and I was put in the hospital for a week. I had a friend same as me --felt fine on AC but taxol was awful.  I hope they figure out something different in the near future -- and I hope you do well and you may do better if you do 12 low dose as opposed to fewer 'dose dense'. 

like Shelly, Taxol was harder for me.  While on AC meds controlled and SE's without issue.  Taxol on the other hand caused bone/muscle pain in my legs that was awful.  No narcotic would even touch the pain.  Also, ended up with mild nueropathy.  

I think its probably more likely that Taxol will be easier for you.  Good luck! 

At least if I know there is a decent likelihood I can get through Taxol and keep my job I can keep my hopes up somewhat. Thanks, Sheila

I am one of those that had problems with taxol, I had two doses of it and each time I had such severe leg pains that it felt like someone was hitting me in the knees with a baseball bat. I would actually jump around the pain was so bad, and I have a really high pain tolerance. I also had really bad neuropathy in my legs and feet. After the second dose they switched me to taxotere. The taxotere was so much easier, and I believe I read that it is just as effective with a lot less neuropathy side effects. I still have neuropathy from the taxol almost 5 years later. I am not writing this to scare anyone, and as we all know everyone reacts differently to the different treatments, however I just want to say that taxotere is an option if the taxol is too much for you. I actually worked full time through all of my treatments, including the 4 dose dense A/C, but I ended up having to take a few days off from the leg pain that the taxol caused me, and it was the only time I had to take pain meds. I believe that it is important to let your doctor know if the neuropathy is getting bad, as it can be permanent for some of us. I still struggle with it, especially when the weather is cold.

The taxol was every two weeks.When I switched to taxotere the dose was every three weeks. The switch did add sometime to my chemo end date, which was disapointing, but no big deal in the big picture. I hope everything goes smoothly for you since a lot of people seem to do really well on taxol compared to A/C.

Thanks so much, Denise. I'm going to ask my chemo team about icing! I have been doing the baking soda and salt mouth rise as during a/c and so far no mouth issues. Yay!! I will check out your blog, Thanks!!