Anyone Getting DD Taxol?

Hi Tamkay,

I finished 4x dose dense taxol in mid June, after 4x dose dense AC. I had a lot of gastrointestinal side effects from the AC, so I'm glad you had relatively few SEs.

Overall, I found that the Taxol was easier than the AC. I continued to have fatigue, which increased with each round, and my tummy was still not very good, but it was much better, as I was nauseated for the entire time that I was doing AC. It was mostly acid tummy, and I controlled that with OTC Zantac. That has resolved completely now. Food didn't taste like much during Taxol treatment, but it was better than the awful taste in my mouth during AC.

I did have some peripheral neuropathy from the Taxol, and although it has partially resolved, I continue to have issues, particularly with my feet. Your MO will be monitoring this closely, and sometimes your dosage will be adjusted if the neuropathy escalates

My eyebrows and eyelashes continued to disappear throughout Taxol treatment, and for a few weeks afterward, but my eyebrows are coming back pretty well. My eyelashes are a bit behind. I started to grow hair on my head about 7 weeks pfc, and now I have about a quarter inch of hair. Here's a pic I took last week:

I'm not much of a picture taker, but you can see that there's a bit of fuzz growing back.

Infusion days were longer for Taxol than AC - the infusion goes slowly. That said, the Benadryl that you get made me pretty sleepy, so it didn't seem so long, as I usually had a nap during the infusion. I had Neulasta the day after each infusion, and although my blood counts dipped some, I never needed a transfusion.

I hope that sharing this gives you some comfort in starting your Taxol treatments. As reactions to chemo are so individual, your mileage may vary, but it is doable.

Best wishes to you. You can do this!

No problem. You are right, most people seem to get weekly taxol, and I understand that the SE profile is a bit different with the weekly dose. Feel free to PM me to let me know how you are doing during treatment, if you have any questions, or would just like to chat.