Taxotere, Carboplatin and Herceptin

If you are considered HER2+ then Perjeta IS medically necessary. You need to discuss with your oncologist. They are the ones that screwed up if you are not HER2+… but if you are then Insurance must pay. Otherwise your treatment center should eat it.

Thank you lago and Minus Two! I plan on taking my paperwork to the oncologist tomorrow when I go for treatment and see what's up as I am definitely HER2+ (87%) and it was never given with any indication that insurance might not cover Perjeta!

So many times when I've gotten an insurance rejection it has been coded incorrectly, they just need to re-submit, and if there is still issues, get the doctor to write a letter.

Interesting you asked. I am 7 years out and have noticed just this year or so a lot more bruising. Thought it was just part of again. Could there be a connection to our treatment? I never even considered that.

My platelets are still a bit below normal, almost two years out from finishing chemo. I tend to bruise a little more and they seem to take a while to go away.

I definitely bruise more now than before Chemo. The bruises are also more 'dramatic' looking and take longer to go away. My platelets are normal, but in the lower normal range. The fact is, all my blood counts are depressed from their pre chemo counts and I am 21 months out from final chemo. The Hematologist I consulted with said my counts might never get back to my former levels. Only time will tell.

Leslie - this is an older thread and many of us were treated prior to the approved use of Perjeta, so we got TCH without P. It is normal to feel spacey - I usually felt off and had GI upset for the first 10 days after infusion, then the second 10 day period leading up to the next infusion felt ok but my taste buds were still affected. I found that bland foods, fruit, smoothies were good first 10 days, then tried to eat high protein the second 10 days even though I couldn't really taste it, in an effort to keep my red cells and hemoglobin up. I am not personally convinced that icing prevents neuropathy, I did it to protect my nails - hands and feet during Taxotere. I took L-Glutamine and Vit B-6 for neuropathy prevention. What kind of anti-nausea meds are you taking

I did TCHP. I had no nausea but ongoing diarrhea. Mostly I just ate the BRAT diet - bananas, rice, applesauce & toast. I drank Carnation Instant Breakfast with Nestles Bene Protein powder added. I did ice (with frozen peas). It not prevent neuropathy which is ongoing 3 years later, but it did keep me from loosing my nails. (fingers & toes). I also took L-Glutamine & B-6 & B-12 to counteract neuropathy, but in my case it wasn't successful. Or maybe it was - since I have only profound numbness in my feet & still occasionally in my fingers, but no pain. I usually had an additional bag of saline/fluids half way between the every 3 week treatments.

pasmithx2- I know it has been a long time since you posted..so I am hoping you get this message. I finished Taxotere and Cytoxan with Herceptin 12 weeks ago (4 rounds). I am now getting Herceptin every 3 weeks until Nov 2017. I too have had eye twitch and muscle twitches all over my body ( cant see) but I can feel them they are constant in random places. It is very anxiety producing. My Onc is young and she says she has never had a patient complain of twitches. But, I have read so many posts regarding this.. How long did it take for yours to go away? Any info would be appreciated!

Thank you!

mdba

upheld - I usually felt ok day of infusion and day after, but had fatigue, and some GI issues from days 3-5-ish, didn't schedule much for the following few days but then felt pretty normal for the remainder of the time until the next infusion. That is pretty typical for TCH, and I iced fingers and toes, and held ice chips in my mouth for the Taxotere infusion to prevent nail lifting and mouth sores. I took vitamin B6 and L-Glutamine to prevent neuropathy. I had tingling after the first infusion, which resolved by the next infusion for the first 3, then it stayed. I continued the B6 and L-Glutamine and all neuropathy dissipated by about 90 days after the last infusion. I took Claritin prior to my Neulasta injection, didn't have bone pain.

Checking in! 2 years post LX, 2.5 years since DX and start of TCHP.

Dental-- I have horrible teeth... I was lucky to have no problems while getting treated for BC (worried about infections). I don't notice any worse teeth post chemo. I have a possible cavity, but mostly likely due to having Type 2 diabetes, which DOES mess with your teeth. My diabetes is pretty much under control... so maybe it's just a random cavity! --I did not have problems with dry mouth. I think my MO said the L-Glutamine was supposed to help that.

Diarrhea-- During chemo, I had it BAD. Not C-Diff. It would start within a week after the infusion--so much that I was hospitalized for several weeks the first two cycles! AND I had HOME saline drips the other 4 cycles. AND that was after my MO reduced my Taxotere for the last 4! It didn't seem to make a difference, but they still reduced it. I would lose 10-20 pounds each cycle and gain some back between cycles! UGH. Plus, everything tasted like cardboard, so I hated eating. I didn't get nausea (well, once or twice only)... mostly just couldn't eat and couldn't keep anything in me anyway...

Neuropathy-- I had it. Got tested by neurologist and had weakened nerve response in both legs and a bit in the arms. I didn't really get pain... some tingling. And got a bit of drop-foot, so that I actually tripped and sprained my ankle! BUT... most of that resolved after chemo! I currently have a little tingling in my thumb, but that came on about year or so later and could be carpal tunnel! And my foot no longer drops, but sometimes I feel like I'm not picking up my feet enough--so maybe some of the weak nerve signals remain.

GI tract-- Not fully back... I get diarrhea still, but not at all as bad. Rumbling tummy a fair amount. But not really a problem.

Perjeta/insurance -- When I was diagnosed I was at Kaiser. They wouldn't give me Perjeta until I got an outside 2nd opinion. I switched insurance after that--worried that I'd have to fight for everything...!

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Got a junk call one day asking if I'd had taxotere... something about lawsuits. Anyone else got anything like that? I wonder how they search that kind of thing??? but maybe they can pick up stuff from online posts??? *__*

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I hope you all are doing well. I'm pretty much back to normal... I just need to exercise more and get my energy up, and things would be better, but that's all. (Oh, and am Fosamax, so I guess my bones aren't doing so well, but hopefully the meds will help, and that could just be from being post-menopausal and older.)

I brought this up to my MO (the Taxortere Class action lawsuit) and he laughed it off.  Easy for him to.  But if my hair doesn't come back, I'll take the money.  I'm ok with no hair. (for now) 

Thanks Special K - I will read my paperwork and see if I was made aware in the thin fine print! You are such a wealth of information - thanks for looking out for us!

rj

Paperwork? I don't remember getting ANY Taxotere paperwork. But it was all a blur to me then, so who knows.

BUT more importantly, my hair (which has always been very thick) is NOW thinning DRAMATICALLY. On the top and along the sides, especially. I can't imagine this could be related, could it? (I did the chemo in 2009) I just had my thyroid tested b/c that could be a cause of hairloss, but nope - it's normal. It is a small thing, but I am really bothered by it. Any thoughts?

I buzzed my head as soon as my first hairs started coming out.  I'm not worried about it.  Just more curious.