Ac & Taxol

ive had 2 AC and taxol treatments. I feel good day of treatment and day after. Day 3 is the worse for me, 4 and 5 are a little better and I start feeling a bit better each day. then day 7 and the following week I feel normal again. the first round my nausea meds didn't work too good and I felt pretty nauseous but never vomited. we changed out one of my meds this last time and it made a huge difference. Most of the time the meds work great, but if they don't ask your oncologist for something different. Best advice I can give you is to stay hydrated, take your nausea meds on schedule (don't wait until you feel sick to take them) and eat a little something every couple hours and you can get through it. There is fatigue, and you will probably want to rest a bit more than usual, but do make sure you get up and move around a get a little bit of exercise during these days and you will feel better. Everyone responds differently to this cocktail. Just remember the SE's are temporary and you will get through this. Good luck!

I had the treatment you were recommended in 2013. It wasn't easy but it was doable, I continued working through it and just took the days of the infusions off.

The incidence of heart impact from AC is very very low nowadays. You can double-check but I think it's under 1%. The pre-treatment meds are so good that I never felt any nausea or had any problems with my stomach. In fact, my appetite was excellent throughout and since I didn't limit the amount of food while I was on chemo I enjoyed all kinds of foods that I wouldn't be otherwise.

The effects of chemo are cumulative, so by the end of it you will be fatigued.

Sancuso patch is a must while going through the AC portion. I was never sick. I'm on taxol 9 tomorrow and the fatigue is starting to set in but other than that I lead a completely normal lif

I'm so glad for this discussion on AC+Taxol. I recently started AC four doses since April 14. I had the third dose May 19, neulasta on the 20th, I also got the steroid with my infusion. On the 20and I began to experience some chest discomfort, and nausea, shoulder and neck pain, not sure it's from the chemo, steroid, or Neulasta. I also worried about the myocardiopathy and wanted to ask my OC for changing to Taxoterra. Does any of you ladies have similar side effects?

Hi everyone, I've just joined this forum. My 62 year old mom is diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma Est+, Prog+, HER2-, between stage IIb & IIIa. She has a tumor on her breast 1.2cm and a 3.4cm tumor in the axilla that broke out of her lymph nodes. PET scan came back negative for spread. Doctor suggested treatment order chemo, surgery, radiation, and hormone therapy. My mom will have her first round of chemo this Wednesday. She will have four rounds of AC (once every 3 weeks) and 12 rounds of Taxol (once a week). I've been juicing fresh organic vegetables and fruits for my mom since her BC diagnosis a month ago. I've also been giving her immunity boosting supplements called Beta Glucan to help keep her body strong in order to deal with chemo. I want to ask if there's anyone who juice raw vegetables and fruits and or take supplements DURING chemo to help control or reduce the severity of chemo side effects? I've heard that patients undergoing chemo therapy will be very prone to infection and so I'm afraid feeding my mom raw vegetable & fruits might cause her to have infections. My mom's oncologist said it's okay for my mom to continue taking the Beta Glucan supplement during chemo because the ingredients are all natural but my mom's surgeon said she shouldn't take any supplements during chemo as it might interfere with the effectiveness with chemo treatment. I'm not sure which doctor to listen to? If there's anyone out there who know someone or personally have taken supplements and eat raw vegetables & fruits during chemo please let me know. Thank you and good luck to all who's battling this terrible disease.

I had 8 weeks of AC every other week. I had my infusions on Thursdays and was pretty much parked on the couch until the following Wednesday, but I think this was partly due to the difficulty in controlling my nausea. Zofran did not work for me (in fact, it made the nausea worse), so my onc tried compazine and even haloperidol, which also didn't work very well but obliterated my mind. Fortunately, I live in a state where medical marijuana is legal, and this did the trick -- I would recommend it as a last (and even a first) resort since it worked better than anything else with fewer side effects. But driving and working were not an option during the days I was medicating, generally days 1-6. However, I did continue to work on days 7-14, though my brain was pretty fuzzy in general by the time I got to AC #4, and I often had to nap in my office at lunchtime. The dexamethasone caused insomnia for me, so some of my brain fuzz was definitely from prolonged lack of good sleep.

I am now almost finished with 12 weekly Taxols and have been able to maintain almost completely normal activity during this phase. No side effects at all, except for a little bit of numbness in my fingertips. It has been a piece of cake compared to the AC. I have been able to work every day except for infusion day, and that is only because they give me my infusion with 50mg of Benadryl and I am out like a light. I tend to feel tired and heart-burny on days 3 and 4, but it is completely tolerable. My taste buds came back early on in the taxol phase, and hair started growing back in earnest at about week 8. At the end of the AC phase, I thought I could not possibly go on for 3 more months, so I have been pleasantly surprised at how un-horrible the last 12 weeks have been.

I had 12 rounds of Taxol plus 4 rounds of herceptin and perjeta.I just had lumpectomy last week and they said my nodes are clear as well as the margins. My original plan was to have AC chemo after surgery and then radiation. I’m wondering why I would need the additional chemo ?! My appointment is tomorrow with my oncologist but I’m trying to prepare myself for her to tell me i do need it .....oh the anxiety 😓