taxotere side effects

Well Traii....I started on August 9th and had 3 of them, ended up in the hospital for 12 days with an abcess surrounding the spleen....then I came out didn't get it for a month, got it 1 time and ended up back in the hospital with acute diverticulitis...so 4 but not continuiously.....

Emily....Sorry for your mom....cancer sucks

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!!!

SANDY

Emily......have your mother ice her toenails and fingernails when they give her the taxotere next time.  To prevent nail issues.  I have had 3 rounds and no problem yet but keeping my fingers crossed.  Also, sucking on ice to prevent mouth sores etc....the white tongue taste thing....I think is inevitable.

Emilylaughed - sending hugs to you and your Mom



MsW2012 - I am also experiencing way more fatigue since my last Taxotere and the muscle aching in my legs as well as the neuropathy in my fingertips. Since that was my last Taxotere I will just have to wait and see whether the neuropathy resolves. I lost mire hair with Taxotere, including the rest if my eyebrows and most if my eyelashes. now it will be wait and see when/whether they come back.



I am also not sure still which symptoms are the Taxotere and which may be due to the Herceptin. I have read a thread called Herceptin heart attack and I know that since my last TH infusion I am retaining fluid, especially in my thighs. I wake up in the morning and my eyes are very swollen. I have a MUGA scan booked for January 7th and will know after that what my heart function is.



Wishing all a Merry Christmas and minimal side effects over the holidays.

Hi ladies

just a quick question...have any of you experienced 'flu' like symptoms in the 2nd week with coughing, runny nose (sometimes) shortness of breath and aches and pains in back ??

Is this Taxotere or should I be worried ??

Traii - I usually have a runny nose the second week.  I remember having pains in my chest area around the 3rd or 4th treatment during the second week because it concerned me.  It lasted for several days, I did have a little cough, no shortness of breath, other than what it makes you feel anyway.  Last night, this is after my 6th treatment, I did have some bone pain and I have never had that before, plus my fingertips and tip of my big toes are very sore and they were throbbing last night while trying to sleep, that is a first for me on that.  You might want to call the onco or the nurses just to see what they may be able to tell you about the other, please feel better.

Runny nose, check. Cough from post nasal drip, check. Achy muscles for me started after chemo #3. I think it's from the low red blood cell count. Chest pain too, but it passes pretty quickly. Shortness of breath for me comes after sitting too long. We really need to get up and walk at least a few steps as often as possible. Even a little bit helps minimize aching and fatigue.

I also agree about keeping a journal of symptoms as mentioned above. It helps to see that it's the same every cycle, and to remember it doesn't last forever. Hang in there!

I had 3 of 4 tax treatments, right after my 3rd chemo I started feeling terrible, kept checking temp it was fine, got short of breath 8 days after and couldn't see well, now my temp was 38 went to hospital, I spent 14 days there and got out Dec 18th. Had pnemomia in both lungs, drs couldn't do the broncoscopy because they tried but my oxygen was too low for them to continue, so they blasted me with every antibiotic and steroid known to man, as they were not 100% sure what caused the pnemonia, but were 90% sure it was caused by the taxetore, they have seen it too many times before.Was on 70% oxygen for 10 days then tapered down, I almost didn't make it. Obviously my final chemo was stopped. My problem was, that I was feeling so bad,worst than usual, with all kinds of symptoms including a headache that never quit, I kept taking my temp, which didn't show anything, then I'd take Tylonal, which I found out was masking my pnemonia.But before this last chemo, I got the white tongue(rinsing with baking soda helped) terrible burning in my feet, I did have the ice gloves (they use them at cancer clinic) for my hands, but they didn't prevent the soft cracked discolored nails.Runny nose is a given, that includes bleeding nose,terrible taste in mouth common, really bad back ache. BTW when I was in hospital, they said they were sure it was taxetore causing the infection, although I was also taking cytoxen, it was the taxetore they were sure about, as it is a very powerful drug and causes more side effects..

Half-can - I will be in your pocket tomorrow. Hope you have minimal side effects this time.

Traii - hope you feel better soon.

Anamerty - your experience does not sound like fun. Glad you are better now.

I am finding that my joints and muscles are very achy this time and I am three weeks out from last Taxotere and haven't started Tamoxifen yet. This includes the joints in my hands, feels like I have arthritis. I can only tolerate so much activity and then I have to rest due to the aching and the shortness of breath that occurs with activity. I also find that the more active I am, the more my nose wants to run (or should I say drip!). Kleenex are my constant companion.

Hi Ladies,

Thanks a lot for describing your SE's makes me feel more 'normal' so to speak.

Its amazing the SE's of this drug

Websister, 3 weeks out and you are feeling those things, I hope they ease up on you real soon.

For any of you that have finished all your tx you should notice a big difference in how you feel at about the 6-7 weeks PFC point.  The aching muscles are from reduced hemoglobin - your red blood cells are not oxygenating your muscles well because they have been impacted - thigh muscles are among the largest in the body so that is where you feel it, particularly walking and climbing stairs.  The tx are cumulative so a buildup of Taxotere can mean that you experience more joint pain as you go along, but it does dissipate as time passes after your last tx.  Many MOs allow a 6 week break between your final chemo and the start of hormonal meds to allow this joint pain to clear before starting meds that have joint pain as a SE so they can correctly assess what is causing joint pain going forward.  For those with bloody nose problems - chemo reduces your platelet count and irritates the soft tissue, and that combo causes bloody and cracked skin in the nose.  I put Aquafor on a q-tip and put it up each nostril and mushed it around - it helped moisturize, and also seemed to help with the runny nose.  I used it on feet and hands also with socks/gloves to help with cracking.  I was also on Herceptin which has runny nose as a SE so I did learn to carry Kleenex everywhere I went.  Reduced RBC (red blood cells) can cause chemo-induced anemia, symptoms of which are fatigue, shortness of breath, lethargy, dizziness - so if you are experiencing this it is important to contact your onc for a CBC (complete blood count) if you are not having this done weekly to see if you might need a blood transfusion.  Chemo also causes reduced WBC (white blood cells) so you are open to an opportunistic infection because if your body's inability to fight off germs and bacteria normally.  If you are experiencing flu-like symptoms call your onc.  A CBC will reveal your white count and indicate if this is a SE or an infection.

halfcan - are they using the port clearing meds?  Did you try bending over and swinging your arms?  Sorry - I know this is a pain and just prolongs the visit! I always spent all day at the center because I had Herceptin also - and a CBC and onc visit every time, so I sympathize! Hoping it clears quickly!

Yep, did the bending over, swinging arms and laying downhill. Almost time to test the meds/blood thinner. Thanks for the well wishes. Soon into frozen mittens! Brrr.

Hi Charlotte, I just finished taxotere and carboplatin on Dec. 3rd. I did lose my hair and unfortunately I don't really think there's anyway around that. Except maybe those ice caps, but it sounds like that's not really an option. I did not lose all of my eyebrows or eyelashes, but they did thin a lot! Luckily I had thick brows to begin with, so I guess that might have helped. I did not ice my fingers or toes, but I can tell you that around the very end of my treatment my finger nails started to turn brown and feel as though they could fall off if I snagged them on something. I am being very careful with my fingers right now. But that didn't happen until the very end and isn't too painful (at least not until I accidentally rip one off). It's just separets from the skin towards the top of my finger more than it usually does, if that makes any sense.

As for your hair, you have to do whatever you are comfortable with. I had super long hair, so I cut mine into phases. First a chin length bob then a pixie cut. I would have never had the nerve to go that short if I wasn't doing chemo, but now that I know what it looks like I might actually keep my hair in the chin length bob...once its long enough, of course.

I know your head is spinning right now, but it's incredible how fast going to chemo and everything that that involves becomes your new normal. You get used to it, it's never fun, but you will meet some great people. Then it ends and your head starts spinning again with whatever the next step is. At least that's how it is for me! Best of luck to you!

charlotte - the icing of the fingernails and toenails is to prevent lifting and loss.  I iced with bags of frozen peas (i bag on each hand and foot) beginning 15 minutes prior to the start of the Taxotere infusion and continuing for 15 minutes after it was done, so a few minutes into my Carboplatin infusion.  There is no added advantage with icing at home unless you are doing it for pain control.  Also, Taxotere is thought to affect the nails through light sensitivity so I did paint my nails with navy blue polish, but kept it on just for that day.  The rest of the time I painted my very short nails with Sally Hansen nail hardener daily for 7 days, then removed with non-acetone remover and started that process again.  I did not have any darkening, lines or ridges through 6 infusions of TCH.

I did not use cold caps.  My onc gave permission for the finger/toe nail icing but I don't think he would have supported scalp icing.  I had very long hair prior to tx and cut it off quite short and had a soft topped hair piece made at www.hatswithhair.com which was the best money I spent - it is called an "underhair" and they can use your hair, or human or synthetic hair they supply.  It was more comfortable and cooler than my wig, even though I had to wear a hat with it.  When my hair started to fall (at day 24, which is about 10 days later than normal) I shaved it off to 1/2 inch.  I would not shave it down to the scalp, nor would I shave it sooner than necessary.  I made it through two treatments with completely normal looking hair, so why be without hair any sooner than you need to.  Typically with Taxotere lashes and brows go much later than other hair - I never lost all my brows and used Anastasia Brow Gel in a dark color to fill in, lost all the bottom lashes and most of the top ones but just used extra eyeliner and shadow - nobody could tell.  Best of luck!