What treatments long term? Finishing 18 taxol this month.

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artiecat
artiecat Member Posts: 257
edited September 2016 in Stage IV/Metastatic Breast Cancer ONLY

Five years ago I had intensive chemo and a lumpectomy. Last April (2016) discovered cancer had moved to bones and lymph nodes. Just about to have taxol tx 15 of 18. Doc says I will be on some kind of chemo forever. I would not have had chemo again but my right side was so puffed up from lymph nodes I had to. PET scan showed incredible improvement---YAY! What tx have others experienced at this point.

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  • Fitztwins
    Fitztwins Member Posts: 7,969
    edited September 2016

    I would imagine you could just do hormonals and watch and see. 18 rounds of taxol is brutal.

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  • artiecat
    artiecat Member Posts: 257
    edited September 2016

    I've done pretty well on the taxol. I also get pamidronate 1x a month. Just exhausted all the time. Had one UTI. Some dizziness. Only in the last few weeks I am experiencing really bad pain in hips and hindquarters. After first go around 5 yrs ago, they tried me on 3-4 different hormonals and I did not do well on them. I know my wonderful doc will talk more to me about the future, but I dread being on some form of chemo for the rest of my life. Well, of course, that means there IS a rest of my life, so there is that for which to be grateful!

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  • blainejennifer
    blainejennifer Member Posts: 1,848
    edited September 2016

    Try this thread - https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/8/topics/...

    I did 44 cycles, and ShazzaKelley has done three years now. It's not so bad once you decrease the pre-med steroids so that you don't get a huge steroid crash the third day after treatment.

    And, as you've seen, when it works, it really kicks some cancer fanny.

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  • JFL
    JFL Member Posts: 1,947
    edited September 2016

    Other than possibly taking anti-hormonals, they might put you on Xeloda, an oral chemo with minimal side effects (and no hair loss). People generally take it until it stops working, some 5 years or more. Some people have even found it is easier to tolerate than hormonals. I find them each bringing different side effects, but the side effects of both pale in comparison to "hard core" chemo. I have carried on with a "normal" life on both.

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  • artiecat
    artiecat Member Posts: 257
    edited September 2016

    Thanks blainejennifer!

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