Thinking about quitting Taxol

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shelleystrong
shelleystrong Member Posts: 5
edited January 2020 in Chemotherapy - Before, During, and After

Hello friends, I’m a 29 year old who was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer back in August. 2 doctors told me the lump I had was benign but I fought for surgery anyways. Good thing I did because it ended up coming back positive for grade 3 invasive ductal carcinoma. This resulted in me having a second surgery 3 days later to remove more tissue and lymph nodes. We got clear margins and all 5 lymph nodes came back clear, no cancer. In addition to that, clear mammogram and clear PET scan and MRI. We are doing chemo for preventative reasons. I have already completed 4 rounds of AC and 6 out of 12 Taxol but I’m starting to wonder if I should continue with treatment. I’m exhausted and it’s starting to feel like too much. After chemo my oncologist still wants me to do 5-7 weeks of radiation, he hasn’t decided on the length of time yet. I also did a genetic test and don’t have the BRCA 1 or 2 mutation. Any advice? All thoughts appreciated.

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

    shelleystrong, sorry you have to be here, but welcome! There's a lot of support and information in this great Community, so we are glad you found us and decided to post out to the other members. Don't forget to fill out your Profile so others can easily see your diagnostic and treatment information, which will help them answer your questions. You can fill out your profile by clicking My Profile at the top right of your screen, and following the steps to enter your information in the My Diagnoses and My Treatment tabs.

    We hope this helps. Please let us know if you need any further help from us!

    The Mods

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  • ElaineTherese
    ElaineTherese Member Posts: 3,328
    edited December 2019

    Hi!

    I did the same chemo regimen as you -- AC X 4, and then Taxol X 12. Chemo isn't "preventative," per se. It is supposed to kill any microscopic cancer cells that are currently circulating in your lymph system and/or bloodstream that could later set up shop elsewhere in your body (bones, lungs, liver, brain, etc.).

    Triple negative is an aggressive kind of breast cancer that (at the present) can only be treated by chemo. (In contrast, my cancer was triple positive, so mine could be treated by hormonal therapy and targeted therapy.) If I were you, I'd stick it out. Yes, weekly Taxol is a chore and it wiped me out. But, metastasis is not joke, and if you can avoid recurrence, you do what you have to do. The good news about triple negative is that it tends to recur in the first few years after diagnosis, and then recurrence rates decline.

    Hang in there! You're younger and stronger than most of us "old ladies" here. (I was diagnosed at age 46.) You should have many healthy years in your future.

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  • Spookiesmom
    Spookiesmom Member Posts: 9,568
    edited December 2019

    No chemo is a picnic in the park. All of it is doable. If you really feel crummy, call your MO for a rx to help.

    One more thing to consider. Can you live with the what if’s? Are you absolutely 100% sure you are doing the right thing, for you? I’m not trying to decide one way or the other for you.

    I had a severe allergic reaction to taxotere and was forced to stop. I’ll forever wonder if I had been able to continue would I have had reoccurrence.

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  • WC3
    WC3 Member Posts: 1,540
    edited December 2019

    You can talk to your MO about taking a break. Mine was delayed by a week a few times and boy those were nice weeks!

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  • shelleystrong
    shelleystrong Member Posts: 5
    edited January 2020

    Thank you for your replies! I had decided to keep going and then during my New Year’s Eve chemo I ended up in the ER for tachycardia and palpitations. We had to stop chemo and I was transported to ER part of the hospital. We are now going to do some tests to see what’s going on with my heart.

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  • S3K5
    S3K5 Member Posts: 606
    edited January 2020

    shelleystrong, hope you are feeling better now. Sorry to read about your trip to the ER. With your heart issues, will your oncologist consider lowering your dosage?

    I found Taxol relatively easier than other chemo. I got Taxol twice already - once in 2008 and once in 2019 for 6 months (2 weeks on, one week off).

    Now I am on to CMF, which I am not tolerating very well. Lot of SE and fatigue.

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  • shelleystrong
    shelleystrong Member Posts: 5
    edited January 2020

    I have a phone call with oncologist tomorrow. Not sure what he will decide to do. We have lowered my Taxol dosage before. I have to do 12 total weekly and after my 3rd dose of Taxol my blood work showed ALT and AST liver numbers being 5 times above what it should be. So we took a week off for a break and lowered it. Not sure if he can lower it again? I will ask if it’s a possibility.

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  • amyhey
    amyhey Member Posts: 44
    edited January 2020

    Hi Shelleystrong, I’m also dealing with high liver enzymes. They lowered my Taxotere by 20 percent for my third round last week and if that doesn’t improve my numbers, they may just stop chemo all together. Weirdly enough, my first chemo had to be delayed for a week because of my enzyme levels. I attributed that to taking too much Tylenol after getting my port, and my levels were normal enough the next week after no Tylenol. Numbers were perfect for second chemo, and now they are high again! I’m researching the best foods to eat and hope that will help. This is so frustrating! Hang in there

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  • Scrafgal
    Scrafgal Member Posts: 631
    edited January 2020

    Shelly

    Sometimes is they slow the rate of infusion of Taxol, it is easier on the heart. I don't know if you've tried that, but that is what I did. I did the full dose but my infusions just took longer (per session) because they infused it at a slower than standard rate.

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  • shelleystrong
    shelleystrong Member Posts: 5
    edited January 2020

    Just a little update, oncologist decided to keep the same dosage but slow the rate of the infusion. I’ve done this twice now and it seems to be working! They also monitor my heart rate and blood pressure closely during chemo, which has given me a lot of peace of mind. I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I have 3 more infusions to go. I want to say thank you to those who have respondedto this post and given me the strength to keep going.

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  • Cowgirl13
    Cowgirl13 Member Posts: 1,936
    edited January 2020

    Shelley, glad to hear that the slower infusion rate is helping. How long was your infusion time before and what is it now?

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  • shelleystrong
    shelleystrong Member Posts: 5
    edited January 2020

    Taxol infusion time before was an hour and 30 minutes. We now do the Taxol over 3 hours. Just had chemo again today and it went great! 2 more to go.

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