Taxol questions

Tjreefs
Tjreefs Member Posts: 5
edited June 2019 in Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After

Hi,

This is my first time posting on this website and I hope I am doing it right. I am two cycles in out of 4 total AC T treatments. I will then have 12 weekly Taxol treatments which I was told by my oncologist are easier trearments then the AC. Has anyone had experience with Taxol?? From what I have read it seems like taxol has more side effects than AC??? I have read Tiffany's ten terrific tips and found it helpful but just trying to prepare myself for this next part of my treatment . I'm a kindergarten teacher and wondering if I will be able to teach while going through weekly taxol treatments. Thank you for any wisdom or guidance

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  • Scrafgal
    Scrafgal Member Posts: 631
    edited June 2019

    For me Taxol was WAY easier, but everyone is different.. by easier, I mean that I didn't have severe gastric issues, neuropathy issues etc. But I was still fatigued. I teach in higher ed but knew that I couldn't work because you have to be there and active( no staying in an office by yourself) and students are perpetually sick with the cold and flu...and still come to class and get in your face to talk. It was just too risky for me. My immune system was compromised...and I did Taxol before FAC so I was at my strongest then. If you did AC first, your body is heading into Taxol already compromised.

    If it is possible to get a shift of duties for 3 months..outside of the classroom, that might be best.

    However, if you had to choose to work during chemo, then doing it during Taxol is possible based on my experience.

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  • Scrafgal
    Scrafgal Member Posts: 631
    edited June 2019

    also...once you start Taxol...check out the Weekly Taxol thread( do a search) It has been going on for years but you can interact with ladies going through it at the same time...

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  • Tjreefs
    Tjreefs Member Posts: 5
    edited June 2019

    thank you so much for this!! I appreciate the help. I completely get students coming to school sick, my little kindergarteners are always sneezing and coughing on me so that will be a concern for sure. My oncologist didn't seem that concerned when I asked him about returning to teaching but I guess he might not completely understand how active and germy teaching is ! Thank you for your help.

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  • Legomaster225
    Legomaster225 Member Posts: 672
    edited June 2019

    Tjreefs, taxol was much easier for me as well. I started to regain strength, my hair started to grow back and my side effects were pretty minimal. I worked from home through my treatments though. My blood counts were pretty low. Just be aware and take precautions. Kindergarten is tough on you immune system. Lots of sick kids just learning proper hygiene. Adorable age though. I did not see my niece and nephew for a few months just because one of them was always sick. Best of luck to you during treatments.

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  • Legomaster225
    Legomaster225 Member Posts: 672
    edited June 2019

    I also had cold therapy socks and held ice packs or frozen water bottles during treatments. It seemed to work well to avoid neuropathy (or I just got lucky). I’ll take either.

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  • CBK
    CBK Member Posts: 611
    edited June 2019

    Felt great at the beginning of Taxol until about dose 5 I want to say.

    Then I found Taxol exhausting...especially toward the middle to end of my 12 doses. I developed neuropathy around dose 7 I believe it was. No one told me to ice during the treatment which I understand helps.

    My blood counts also dropped towards the end and I needed neupogen shots.

    Taxol is tricky...I feel there is a wide range of experiences from person to person.

    Definitely get involved on the Taxol thread.... I found it super helpful!!

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  • Scrafgal
    Scrafgal Member Posts: 631
    edited June 2019

    Tjreefs

    I started a thread called Strategies for Working Teachers During Chemo. I made the topic broadly applicable to all teachers and any chemo. You might find some responses useful, or even post your same question there, to get everyone's take on teaching during Taxol in particular.



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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited June 2019

    Dear Tjreefs,

    Welcome to the BCO community. We are so glad that you reached out to our members. As you can see there is a lot of support and useful information here shared by our community. We hope that you will stay active and keep us posted.

    The MOds

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  • Tjreefs
    Tjreefs Member Posts: 5
    edited June 2019

    thank you so much for this!! I will definitely check out the teacher thread!!!

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  • Tjreefs
    Tjreefs Member Posts: 5
    edited June 2019

    thank you ! I have found these forums so extremely helpful. I appreciate the time everyone takes to post their experiences

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  • moth
    moth Member Posts: 4,800
    edited June 2019

    Definitely check out the weekly taxol thread! That's the best place for all the taxol chat & if you scroll through the archives you will learn tons about what to expect. https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/69/topics/788735?page=376

    I iced starting around the middle of my set of 12. My neutrophils were still really low (I struggled with neutropenia all through AC as well) but overall I felt a bit better during taxol than AC. It is very individual however

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