taxotere side effects

SpecialK - Thanks for the info.  I can see where the Tylenol would also help, I had just not heard about that.  Did they give you Benadryl every time or just the first one or two?  I go again on Thursday for my second treatment and we will see if he gives it to me again or tries something else.  One of the nurses seemed to think that he may give it to me again, she said the problems I had sometimes happen the first time but the second time is better.  I have decadron pills to start tomorrow, they will give it in the IV before, like you said, and I think some pills for the day after.  I still have my hair, it will be 3 weeks on Thursday and it still seems to be holding tight, I keep kind of pulling on places and no hair comes out.  I am sure I will be like you and it will just happen one day, but oh well, I figure if the stuff works that is all that matters right now.  I have only gotten taxotere which they said would be every 3 weeks and I also take Xeloda 7 days on and 7 days off, I have been on Xeloda for a year.  Those are the only 2 chemos I am taking at this time, Zometa I think I will get every 3 weeks also, it was every 4 weeks so I will have to ask on that.  I am going to take some Tylenol along and take it before hand like you said and then did you take it for a day or so after or just right before?  I know I am full of questions but I like to be prepared and know what may happen, I know we are all different but it still helps to see how others have responded or what they do to help with SE's. How long are you going to be going to Washington, DC for the trial? I sure hope it works, I am also thankful to everyone that does the trials. 

SpecialK - I am glad you have your sister in DC, that makes it nice, you have someone to visit along with your friends so that works out good.  Does your son live there also?  I am sure you enjoy it a lot more than if you just had to go and turn right around and come home.  I sure hope the vaccine works, we certainly need one.  Thanks for the info on the Taxotere also, I go tomorrow and am somewhat nervous, not bad but a little.  At least if they give it to me I know what to look for this time and will stay on top of the Big D and making sure I eat.   My sister is going along and we are taking our "picnic" lunch so if it takes the 3 or 4 hours like last time we can eat, plus we can talk for hours and that helps the time pass more quickly.  Last time my husband went and I was not expecting chemo but the scans showed progression so the onco thought it best to start the taxotere.  My appointment was at 11 so about 2:00, I sent my husband to get us some lunch because it was going to be 5:00 or after before we got out of there.  So this time I am going prepared with some food.  Last night I noticed my scalp kind of hurt and I kept rubbing it, my hair was starting to come out, I got enough to make a nest for a Hummingbird, oh well I figured it would happen just did not know when.   I will be checking back in I am sure in a few days to see how everyone is doing. I will try not to whine so much this time. 

bcbarbie10 and PAEaglesFan - Congratulations on your last taxotere.  That has to be a good feeling.

ljhm - I am so sorry to hear you have pneumonia, I sure hope you get to feeling better soon and I hope the scans show that you will not need any more chemo for quite some time.  Get better real soon.

Ljhm, sorry about the pneumonia, too. I hope they will give you another protocol in place of this one. You are a fighter, i know you can do this.



Yes, finished my last taxotere yesterday. But i still have to back for my herceptin. Still on the weekly regimen now. Three more then i go in every 3 weeks till July 2013.



PAeagles, has the swelling subsided? Thank you for your encouragements. They help me see the light more clearly. As of now, im sad to say im still down there in the dumps. Not just bec of bc, but other life issues as well.



Sorry for the vent. But i know you all understand.

SpecialK - I did not even think about it being your dear son.  I have two daughters so when I see the DS I think of my sister, so it is just me I think.  I am very glad it is your son though that can be even better and to get to spend time with him and your dear friend also.  I need to read more about the vaccine you are taking and see what I can learn.  I don't even know the name of it so maybe you can let me know and I can research it.  I went to the onco today and he went ahead and gave the the Taxotere even though I had problems last time.  He cut the dose from 115 to 100, which I did not think was much but the nurse said it was quite abit.  I asked him if it would be as effective and he said not quite, so I said should I try and take the same dose as last time and he said very emphatically "NO" so that was that, he did say if I got along OK he would up the dose next time.  He also said if I get to feeling as bad as last time to not wait but come in the minute I start to feel that way and they will give me the fluids and nausea medications along with the decadron.  I took 16 mg of decadron yesterday and I told him I thought it was to much, felt like I had 3 large McDonalds coffees so he said to cut it to 8 mg for Friday and then the next round of taxotere take the 8 mg the day before and they gave me 10 in my IV instead of 20 so that should help with the jitters.  I asked how many treatments and he said 3 then we will scan and that should tell if it is doing the job, if we have to give more we will but wants to do scans to see. I thought I read on here where they can only give 4 or 6 treatments of taxotere, I forgot to ask him if that was the case or if I had misunderstood it. I am going to try and stay on top of the Big D, but he seemed to think it was the Xeloda more than the Taxotere and he cut my Xeloda to 2 am and 1 pm this next cycle. I guess it is kind of a guessing game and learning at the same time. I said so I take 3 treatments, lose my hair for that, now 6 months of treatments would make it more worthwhile, I was joking of course and he laughed about it.

bcbarbie10 - I was wondering when the crash would hit.  The first time I did not take steroids the day before or the day after because I was going for scan results and it had spread to the omentum so he wanted to start the taxotere and asked when I wanted to do that, I said right now, I did not want to go home and wait a week so we did it then.  I was given 10 mg of the decadron instead of the 20 because I told him I was pretty sure from when I took it 20 years ago with chemo it kept me up all day and night so he was supportive of cutting it back.  I was given the pills to take yesterday, the IV today and pills for tomorrow so I wondered if I would be ok on Saturday or is that when the crash comes in.  There is a craft show I wanted to go to on Saturday but am kind of leary about going as it is 50 miles from home, my husband will be going so he is driving but I don't like to be away from home when I get so fatigued and can hardly move.  Thanks for the info on this.  I am going to ask the doctor when I go back if we have to stay at this dose, I thought I read someone elses post that they increased theirs once but that may have been on something else.  This befuddled mind of mine, it makes me wonder about myself sometimes, I hope that clears up with time also. 

Thanks bcbarbie for posting that the SEs were better with a 20% reduction.  I had my first TC on 9/4 and was suppose to have #2 on 9/25.  I was not feeling well so it was delayed until this coming Tuesday.  My biggest SE is the extreme fatigue.  They agreed to knock it down 20% to see if that would help me out with that heavy, cement filled body fatigue. Glad to hear you are feeling better and congrats on being your final one too!

jeanie - here is a link to the trial I am doing:

http://clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT00524277

I know my histological tissue type is A2+, so I am sorted to the GP2 peptide arm of the study but I don't know if I am getting the vaccine or the placebo.  It is a single blind study so the placebo is still a drug, sargramostim, which is like Neulasta.  I don't feel very well for a day or two after these injections so I do suspect that I am getting the vaccine.

That's exactly how I felt Jeanie. My treatment day was Tuesday and on Fridays I would feel like I was walking on the side of a hill and my eyesight was blurry and my heart beat like I ran a marathon. Isn't it nice to know what you're feeling is 'normal'?

Hang in there, it will pass in a day or so and you'll feel more like yourself.

PAeaglesFan - Thanks for letting me know that this is normal, I was beginning to wonder, and it will be nice to get back to normal in the next day or so.

Alicethecat - It is so nice to know that your are finished and that you are cancer free, thanks for the words of encouragement.

bcbarbie10 - Same here.  The jello legs, off-balance, cemented down, no appetite, sore tongue, never had that before.  I do not think I am as bad as the first time, the Big D has not kicked in completely yet, hopefully that will hold off.  I was hoping to go to the store today but sent DH instead, then maybe I will have some energy to fix  something, but nothing sounds good right now anyway.  This too shall pass, right?  Maybe we will feel better tomorrow.  Thinking of you and sending a hug your way to brighten your day.

Hi Maddie

I did get mild neuropathy and hand/foot syndrome but it has gone now apart from feeling it occasionally but I also got sepsis, high temperatures, racing heart (122 beats per minute)  and small blood clots to the lungs.

Being treated with warfarin for the blood clots but all is otherwise well.

Good luck - it will end!

Alice

Does anyone else have the problem with the Big D throughout the whole time or just the first week after taking their Taxotere treatment.  I had treatment a week ago on Thursday, September 27 and even today I am having troubles with that or terrible stomach cramps and nausea.  Just wondering if anyone else had these issues and what they have done to help with it.  It seems like whenever I eat, either right away or even 6-8 hours later I get the cramps.  I don't know if it is the Taxotere or the Xeloda that I am taking every other week causing the issues.  I am taking Zofran for the nausea and do not know if taking Imodium helps with the cramping issues that go along with the Big D.  My stomach feels much better if I just don't eat but I know they want you to eat so am trying to eat small things, pieces of cheese, crackers, peanut butter, rice, yogurt, things like that.  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

My onc warned me i might get the big D beginning on the 4th day after taxotere. I was told to take imodium 3x a day. However, i got it only once. He says the degree of diarrhea is related to the degree of neutropenia.

jeanie - I had the Big D on TCH for the first 10 days of the 21 day cycle, every tx except for the last one - I got a reprieve.  It was never severe enough to really medicate it, but bad enough that it made me nervous to leave the house, lol!  I have seen some other posts regarding the Big D and Xeloda, so you may be getting a double whammy.  On the hair thing - I had thinning until day 24 - just after tx#2, then it really came out quickly - I buzzed it at that point.