Monday is my last "AC" : What will "T" be like?
I am fortuniate to have found this organization and boards and found the inspiration from all of the Stage III survivors out there. Monday is my 4th "AC" infusion. I have been so nauseated for the two weeks in between each infusion. Will the "T" part be as nausea causing? I have so many questions for all of you, but this is the start. I am having the ACT treatment over 16 weeks, every other week. So, Monday, I'm half way through. Thanks much to all of you!
Comments
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I did 4 AC treatments every 2 weeks like you and then switched to 12 weekly taxol treatments last year. Compared to the AC taxol would have been really easy if I had not been allergic to it. Even being allergic to it I found it much easier than AC. I was not nauseated at all on the taxol. I was tired and had some joint stiffness but again nothing compared to the AC. My hair even started growing back about half way through the taxol.
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AC to me was horrible. I had every 3 weeks x4. I was really nauseous for 5-10 days....5 days with 1st dose and it increased in time w each following dose. Took everything for naseau. I get my last taxol next week!!!! No nausea at all. It has been a lot easier due to that. It hasnt been the best, but no nausea is awesome. I've progressively gotten more & more fatigue. I ache pretty good but also on nuepogen so not sure which one or both causing that. And now in last couple weeks having fingernail issues...very very sore & fingertips slightly numb....but still better than nausea. I had taxol Fri night & I'm having a glass of wine rt now...couldn't have done that on AC
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You give me hope. I finished AC on Tuesday. Thanks for the Taxol details.
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Taxotere is much less likely to cause nausea. As far as I remember, I never took any anti-emetics while doing the T, whereas they had me on a strict schedule of 3-4 different kinds during the FEC (similar to AC).
The problem I ran into with the T was inflammation. So if you start getting body aches like flu aches call your doc (I didn't and just suffered through it, then got sort of yelled at by the onc). I also had muscle inflammation for a while after I was finished (2-3 months, on and off), but it went away finally. It was not that big a deal, but it was really annoying. You also usually get some inflammation in your throat, which is weird. It affects your voice like a sore throat, except it isn't sore.
I hope you have an easy time of it.
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Oh, and exercise helps against virtually all the SEs. So try to get out and take a little walk every day, even if you are tired.
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CurlySue, welcome to Breastcancer.org.
The main Breastcancer.org site has more information about Nausea, the many BC treatments that can cause it, and some strategies for managing it.
• The Mods
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Congrats on moving forward with tx. I think everyone is different and has different se's. Tax was rough for me but I finished it on schedule, I had problems breathing on it and lost a couple fingernails. I had no nausea but the se's just changed to something different. My first round of each new chemo was rough but the more I did the better it got, if that makes sense. Good luck and let us know how it goes. Hugs.
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i did weekly taxol after AC. was much easier for me. i think i took L glutamine to help with nerve damage. had to take something for indigestion.
learned when my treatments were over tea tree oil can help with nails -
Thanks everyone. It didn't seem anyone had trouble with neuropathy. I have been told be infusion nurse that that is a guarantee? I just want to get through my last AC..nausea has been getting worse and worse. I'd like to pull the covers over my head an emerge two weeks later.
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Curly, I had some neuropathy, but it was very little, only in the fingertips of my right hand. It eventually went away, except for the very, very outer tips of the three middle fingers and the "severity" varies. In practical terms it meant that it was a bit tricky to button buttons, and even now that particular job can trip me once in a while.
My mother also had taxotere (6 years ago for ovarian cancer - she is fine) and she has some lingering neuropathy in the bottoms of her feet. It varies how bad it is.
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I also had the AC portion of chemo every two weeks for 4 txs followed by 4 taxol infusions (every other week). Overall, I found the taxol to be a bit easier. I did have a mild reaction during my first infusion and needed to take a 30 minute break before resuming the infusion. I was on steroids and benedryl for each tx to help deal with a potential reaction. I did not like how the benedryl made my body feel during tx. Some say they could fall asleep, I just felt jumpy and uncomfortable. The feelings stopped as soon as the tx was over.
I did develop some neuropathy in my fingertips and toes which has almost gone away (15 months pfc). My fingernails developed spots and looked weird and my big toenails turned black. My toenails are still weird looking but my fingernails are back to normal.
Good luck!
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Curly,
I did AC after MX every 2wks for 4txs I can understand how you feel..I had chemo and herceptin before surgery and the AC after surgery then finished the Herceptin...I had tons of SE and it took 3months to find a nausea med that would work..good luck with Taxol you have made it this far... -
Taxol will seem like a cakewalk after what you've experienced with A/C. I too had the nausea with A/C and had to take tons of meds to fight it. I had temporary neuropathy with Taxol where I had the feeling like little electric shocks were going off in my legs randomly for several days. It was difficult to relax or sleep. I probably should have taken some of my Ativan. I had a few temporary nail issues - change of color. That was it. Hair did not grow back during Taxol. I even worked the day after my last Taxol.
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Thanks to all of you for the amazing answers.
Now on to hair! Will Taxol cause my head to go shiny bald? I have a full head of sharp little points..that's the best I can describe it. Sometimes it hurts! I still have brows and thining but still have eyelashes..will those gowith Taxol too? I guess the hair thing doesn't bother me so much. I had one of those heads of hairs people would woo over..tons of it with pretty curls (nicely dyed to get the white and gray gone..poof.)
On another note, my daugher's mom in law was diagnosed a few weeks ago with pancreatic cancer. We talk daily and encourage each other. One can't imagine this young couple, with both moms facing the ravishes of cancer. Ugh.
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Easier. AC was brutal for me. I felt so poisoned, horrible taste, dizzy all the time, nausea, just basically felt dissacociated from my body like I was in some kind of fog. The Taxol part was easier, not as much nausea or vertigo, but by then my body was so beat down I couldn't make neutrophils, so I did progress into pretty bad neutropenia and endured Neulasta shots. The worst is when you have to postpone a treatment because you are neutropenic. But, altogether, the Taxol wasnt as bad as the red devil.
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Curly Sue
Thanks for the great questions! I too was curious what the Taxol and what the side effect might be. Even though I have just completed round 1. Not many side effect thus far except for not being "regular". Any suggestions?
I too have a family friend that was diagnosed with esphogil cancer. He isnt given a treatment plan. I have the same treatment plan as you and even though it is a tough one, at least we have an option. Always something to Thank God for. Keep the Faith.....
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Curlysue- I had the same treatment schedule. I found taxol much easier to tolerate. A/C was wickedly brutal. I iced my fingers and toes during taxol treatments: very COOOLD, but I had no neuropathy at all. I had one toenail get a little bit ridged and ugly, but that was it. Other side effects were minimal: no nausea. I was definitely more tired as it all progressed, but each taxol treatment didn't knock me back the way the A/C did.
My hair continued to decline during taxol, including eyelashes, eyebrows, and everything else. I never lost all of my eyelashes or all of my brows. All of it started growing back within about a month of the end of all chemo. You will be amazed how quickly the eyebrows return! My head hair has been much slower: two years of growth, and my hair (after stretching out the curls) is only about 8 inches long...it used to grow an inch a month.
Im sorry to hear about your daughter's MIL. That is rough when it all comes at once.
Taxol is tough for many women. I hope that for you it is much easier.
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Curlysue, here is what I experienced during dose dense Taxol:
Flu-like body aches (took tylenol)
Bloating (mainly from the steroids, I think!)
Constipation (ate licorice, dried fruit, drank Natural Calm tea)
Finger and toe neuropathy (I took all the supplements and iced during treatments but it didn't prevent this completely although it did save my nails - now a year after treatment I don't have any lingering neuopathy)
Leg weakness (later found out this was neuropathy related)
Total hair loss (by the end of Taxol very few eyebrows or eyelashes, then lost them completely a few weeks later! They grew back very fast.)
Hot flashes and night sweats (I didn't have these on A/C but they were pretty bad on Taxol)
Overall, I think A/C and Taxol were about the same for me in terms of difficulty getting through treatment. The main difference for me is that with A/C, I just felt "sick" and knew that it would pass once it was all out of my body. With Taxol, I was much more nervous about permanent issues like neuropathy, especially when my fingers and toes started to tingle and get numb. The good news is that even though these things happened, they were not permanent and 15 months later I feel great! Wishing you the best for the remainder of your treatment - you can do this!
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Taxol was pretty hard on my hands and feet. Developed neuropathy and still have it three years later. Just remember to let your doctor know early if you get numbness, tingling or pain in your hands or feet. The doctor will lower your dosage or have you wait a week. Unfortunately, I didn't let my doctor know until it was too late. Taxol is a breeze compared to AC. Positive vibrations to you!
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Welcome Curlysue50...sounds like you received lots of great wisdom here. I found the T part easier and hoping you are too!! Stay strong your almost done!!
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My dear Curleysue,
A/C can kick your butt!!! No doubt.....However and Mods please dont delete this as I Think it is a lifesaver.....................
Medical Cannibus...........AKA (Marijuana) Really stops pain and Nausea............My ONC recommended, I was resistent but,
it helped me so much through treatment. I had 2 small kids and of course was very careful in my use...I found my experiance to be tolerable because I had a little extra help.............Sorry if I offended anyone, I am a very open person and
I want to help in anyway ......I am not suggesting recreational use for fun, I am sugessting, when you want to eat or not vomit use..............FYI, Taxol in my experiance was much better...........just some sore feet.........you can do this!!
Stay strong,
and I know we have no firm medical proof but, Canibuss is supposed to shrink tumors..again no written proof!!!
Love you all
Your trouble maker,
faithful..................................................Sue take my advice please!!!!
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I just started my Taxol last week. So far I have had severe sweeling of the hands and neuropathy in my fingers as well. I also feel more depressed. A/C seemed easier to me (so far), but that may change next week with my second infusion. I see some folks posted about supliments to help with the neuropathy. What are those, and does anyone have any advice for keeping my fingernails? They are very tender and I am so scared they are going to fall off. I type 9 hours a day and can't imagine having to do that without my nails.
Best of luck to you Sue! I hope you have an easy time of it!
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L-glutamine is the supplement for neuropathy. I just did round 2 of taxol today. Yesterday I met with my oncologist and she prescribed gabapentin for mt neuropathy. Make sure to wean off slowly if you take it.
I ice my hands and feet during infusion. We bring a cooler full of ice packs. So far I have a white marks on my nails but no looseness yet.
My eyebrows are falling out rapidly today. I looked in the mirror just now and had straight hairs all over my face and huge gaps in my brows. Thank goodness for eyebrow pencil.
My mother went through this
Sat year and put ice packs on her eyes. Her brows and lashes still fell out on her last treatment. I decided not to ice my eyes and I am ok with that. -
I too was down to little or no eyebrow and eyelash hair by the end of Taxol. I had 3--yes I counted them--eyebrow hairs left, so i cut them down to the skin. I could still see the hair follicles under the skin enough to be able to draw over where my brows would be with a pencil. Sometimes I used both pencil and brow powder. I used a lot of eyeliner when I had no eyelashes. It was of course a very discouraging situation, but I felt okay with my makeup on. The eyebrows came back very quickly, as well as some unwanted facial hair (if you know what I mean). I was back in the threading chair within 6 weeks, I think. My eyelashes were a bit more of a challenge. I tried some Latisse for the first month, and they came back beautifully. At $100 a month, I did not pursue it further. I went through a 2nd stage where the eyelashes became very sparse. Now they are sort of back to normal, but not lush.
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Personally I would avoid Taxol like the plague. I had immediate symptoms of neuropathy in my feet after the first dose. AC was not bad at all excpept for low WBCs. After continuing to work as an RN for another 18 months despite bad neuropathy which worsened and did not go away ( as my Onc told me ). Suddenly one day I could not press the gas pedal on my car, my ankles would not move I was hospitalized 4 days. Everything from Guilliane Barre to MS to stroke ( not) and finally Taxol side effect given as reason. I had to quit working , I have worn leg splints for over 5years now with some improvement. I was feeling my best for a long time. Now I find its back--- so not sure I could even do any more chemo at all. Will start radiation tomorrow. Sorry this is such depressing post but one thing I want to pass along to all. Eventually breast cancer will return. Its just predicting which is so iffy. Yeh- I jumped for joy at the 5 year mark. I think they stop checking after that. Not any charts much for year 7 and behond.
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I have one more AC treatment and then 4 every-other-week taxol infusions, so I appreciate this question and all the helpful answers. I have been fortunate in that I have experienced very few and subtle side effects on AC. I'm relatively young and a runner and in good health overall (except for that stage-3 breast cancer thing, ha ha).
Despite lack of serious side effects and being able to run off and on through AC, I feel sort of depressed about it. I've always been so careful about what I eat and drink and take and I am sort of emotionally sickened by the feeling of poisoning myself. I met a woman the other day who complimented my hat and asked if I have cancer... then told me she had had stage 3 breast cancer, AC ruined her heart and she had a heart transplant and now has a brain tumor... I saw the fear and pain in her eyes and when I came home I reread the info about adriamycin and have felt kind of crummy physically and emotionally ever since.
My kids are young and my husband died in a freak accident a few years ago. I wouldn't ever try to do the "natural healing" thing but I just need some encouragement that this chemo is worth it and will work ... tell me some happy stories...
Thank you, friends.
Becca
diagnosed June 2013, TNM uncertain (probably stage 3, one possible bone met); will have mastectomy and axillary dissection after chemo
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Becca, I know exactly what you mean about it being emotionally difficult to submit to being poisoned. That was the hardest part for me too. The rest went pretty smoothly.
Like you I was in pretty good shape, except for the stupid cancer.
I had epirubicin, which is similar to adriamycin, including the heart risk. They gave me a careful heart ultrasound before starting. A year later I had a follow-up ultrasound on my heart, and it is fine. The risk is real, but most of us escape serious damage.
I am also convinced that it does help to stay in decent shape. I walked all through chemo, as much as I could possibly manage, and since finishing treatment I go to the gym, walk and generally try to stay active. Last time I had surgery (hyster at the end of treatment), the cardio guy checked me extra carefully, because of the chemo, and when he asked if I was able to walk a little, I told him that I usually averaged an hour of walking a day. The poor man almost cried from joy and said that he so wished he could get all his patients to do that.
So the risks are real and scary enough, but I also think that we can counteract them to some extent at least, by taking care of ourselves.
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ditto what Momine said. poison those cells. drink lots of fluids. I drank 30 oz three times day. water bottle was always with me.
be sure to clean it. was on last day of taxol and noticed mold growing in my bottle.
heard that tea tree oil helps fingernails during taxol. found this out after I was done.
I think I took L glutamine to protect my nerves -
Agree with Momine that walking is so important during chemo! I did 2 miles most days till the last month...it was like my soul was dead and there was no push left in me. But, after all treatment was done I have walked/jogged almost everyday. Truly believe it helps with mentally handling all this.
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I had dose dense chemo- 4 txts of AC every other week followed by 4 txts of T. I did amazingly well with the AC-worked through it with just feeling tired. I felt sooooo very tired after my first T treatment and was very achy. My onc gave me something-I already forgot what, and then did much better. Most of my hair came off during AC but whatever was left and my brows and lashes came off during the Taxol. Losing my lashes was hard for me so I started to use a lot more make-up to give my eyes some definition. As soon as I had the stuble of eyelashes I began to use Latisse and my lases grew long and thick. I even used the Latisse on my brows which helped. Finished all chemo txts 12/21 and now I have "Chia Pet" hair-very curly and thick! I'm really not sure if I look more like a chia pet or a poodle! Always need to find the humor in this crazy time! I kept a countdown which made me feel better-especially after I passed the halfway mark of chemo.
Stay strong-this will be behind you soon!
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