Starting weekly taxol/Herceptin. What days are the wost?
I am starting weekly taxol/herceptin next week. If you had this treatment, can you please share which days were the worst as far as side effects? I have three school aged children and would like to try and schedule chemo to be as present for them as possible. Thank you!!
Comments
-
Mine shifted a little later through tx but for me days 4-5-6 were when I was draggiest (so Mon-Tue-Wed following Fri tx). I never felt bad—just heavy/low energy. The first few days were always really good, probably in part because of the steroid in the premeds. Many weeks Sat and Sun were the only days I went to the gym. That’s actually why I chose Fridays for tx—I wanted to feel good through the weekend
-
I will have my eleventh weekly Taxol infusion this Thursday. I have four to eight more weeks left, depending on how good the three month scan is.
The worst days for me have been Saturday and Sunday, but as I get farther into treatment, that seems to be stretching out to Sunday and Monday. But even the worst days have not been that bad. I just have more nausea and diarrhea and am more tired. But I continue to do everything I usually do - work full time, laundry, some cooking, picking up after the family, walking - but I just don't do as much of those things as usual.
It is not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. It can accumulate for some people, my oncologist warned, so it can get worse as you get toward the end of treatment. But I think it will be okay for me if I have gotten this far with very little trouble. You will do better than you probably think you will. It really is very tolerable. I hope you have good support to help with your kids when you are feeling tired or just yucky. Let yourself rest when you need to. Good luck.
-
For me the first few weeks were relatively uneventful and the two days following Wednesday treatments were very productive due to the high energy caused by steroid premeds. Food tasted terrible, had a minor rash at first, mouth sores quickly disappeared with magic mouthwash. I started feeling tired with some neuropathy toward the end of the 12 weeks. White count tanked and got an infection, but all in all I only missed one day of work. Looking back, it really was do-able, but I realize some are not so lucky. I walked a couple of miles every day, and kept my normal schedule. Toward the end I was tired, but that infection contributed. I did work from home some because my job allows it to avoid exposure to germy college students during flu season. Hair loss started at about 21 days (February). I did hire someone to help with cleaning because I hate a dirty house and working full time was enough. I had enough hair back by August to ditch the wig and sported a short curly head. I finished Herceptin this past February. Fingernails and toenails (which turned black) are finally getting back to normal. Onc said Herceptin lingers and for most takes 6 to 8 months to leave system (I am now almost 8 mos out). Eat healthy, move daily (even if you don't feel like it), and drink lots of water. Tips from this site were unbelievably helpful. I iced hands and feet during Taxol and neuropathy is negligable.I don't even notice it most days. Tell your oncologist about any symptoms, even if they seem minor. Mine was eager to keep life as normal as possible.
-
Mine were usually day 3, 4 and 5. When planning be sure to take holidays into consideration. I started on Mondays, that was changed to Wednesday and once again changed to Thursday.
I second Biotene mouthwash and icing your fingers and toes.
And finally be kind to yourself and take naps if needed and ask or get help if needed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 679 Advocacy and Fund-Raising
- 289 Advocacy
- 68 I've Donated to Breastcancer.org in honor of....
- Test
- 322 Walks, Runs and Fundraising Events for Breastcancer.org
- 5.6K Community Connections
- 282 Middle Age 40-60(ish) Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 53 Australians and New Zealanders Affected by Breast Cancer
- 208 Black Women or Men With Breast Cancer
- 684 Canadians Affected by Breast Cancer
- 1.5K Caring for Someone with Breast cancer
- 455 Caring for Someone with Stage IV or Mets
- 260 High Risk of Recurrence or Second Breast Cancer
- 22 International, Non-English Speakers With Breast Cancer
- 16 Latinas/Hispanics With Breast Cancer
- 189 LGBTQA+ With Breast Cancer
- 152 May Their Memory Live On
- 85 Member Matchup & Virtual Support Meetups
- 375 Members by Location
- 291 Older Than 60 Years Old With Breast Cancer
- 177 Singles With Breast Cancer
- 869 Young With Breast Cancer
- 50.4K Connecting With Others Who Have a Similar Diagnosis
- 204 Breast Cancer with Another Diagnosis or Comorbidity
- 4K DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ)
- 79 DCIS plus HER2-positive Microinvasion
- 529 Genetic Testing
- 2.2K HER2+ (Positive) Breast Cancer
- 1.5K IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer)
- 3.4K IDC (Invasive Ductal Carcinoma)
- 1.5K ILC (Invasive Lobular Carcinoma)
- 999 Just Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastasis
- 652 LCIS (Lobular Carcinoma In Situ)
- 193 Less Common Types of Breast Cancer
- 252 Male Breast Cancer
- 86 Mixed Type Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned
- 189 Palliative Therapy/Hospice Care
- 488 Second or Third Breast Cancer
- 1.2K Stage I Breast Cancer
- 313 Stage II Breast Cancer
- 3.8K Stage III Breast Cancer
- 2.5K Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
- 13.1K Day-to-Day Matters
- 132 All things COVID-19 or coronavirus
- 87 BCO Free-Cycle: Give or Trade Items Related to Breast Cancer
- 5.9K Clinical Trials, Research News, Podcasts, and Study Results
- 86 Coping with Holidays, Special Days and Anniversaries
- 828 Employment, Insurance, and Other Financial Issues
- 101 Family and Family Planning Matters
- Family Issues for Those Who Have Breast Cancer
- 26 Furry friends
- 1.8K Humor and Games
- 1.6K Mental Health: Because Cancer Doesn't Just Affect Your Breasts
- 706 Recipe Swap for Healthy Living
- 704 Recommend Your Resources
- 171 Sex & Relationship Matters
- 9 The Political Corner
- 874 Working on Your Fitness
- 4.5K Moving On & Finding Inspiration After Breast Cancer
- 394 Bonded by Breast Cancer
- 3.1K Life After Breast Cancer
- 806 Prayers and Spiritual Support
- 285 Who or What Inspires You?
- 28.7K Not Diagnosed But Concerned
- 1K Benign Breast Conditions
- 2.3K High Risk for Breast Cancer
- 18K Not Diagnosed But Worried
- 7.4K Waiting for Test Results
- 603 Site News and Announcements
- 560 Comments, Suggestions, Feature Requests
- 39 Mod Announcements, Breastcancer.org News, Blog Entries, Podcasts
- 4 Survey, Interview and Participant Requests: Need your Help!
- 61.9K Tests, Treatments & Side Effects
- 586 Alternative Medicine
- 255 Bone Health and Bone Loss
- 11.4K Breast Reconstruction
- 7.9K Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 2.7K Complementary and Holistic Medicine and Treatment
- 775 Diagnosed and Waiting for Test Results
- 7.8K Hormonal Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 50 Immunotherapy - Before, During, and After
- 7.4K Just Diagnosed
- 1.4K Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy
- 5.2K Lymphedema
- 3.6K Managing Side Effects of Breast Cancer and Its Treatment
- 591 Pain
- 3.9K Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After
- 8.4K Surgery - Before, During, and After
- 109 Welcome to Breastcancer.org
- 98 Acknowledging and honoring our Community
- 11 Info & Resources for New Patients & Members From the Team