Hi all, I had the 1st of 4 tax yesterday and was wondering what the se’s are and when they’ll kick in. I’ve had 4 x FEC and found I coped really well with the SE’s so am now worried that I could really suffer with the tax.
So far i’ve read the main one’s are aches and pains and what is described as a woolly mouth - when do these start and how long do they last? I know everyone is different but i’m hoping that there’s an average.
What are the other main SE’s?
Also i’ve been using the cold cap and so far it’s been very successful - when does hair start to fall out on tax? just wondering as my onc said even with using the cold cap i’m likely to lose my hair with tax.
Thanks
I had 3 FEC and 3 TAX. Everyone is different but for me I personally found FEC much easier. I had my last chemo a couple of weeks ago on a Wednesday and by the Friday I felt yuk with aches and pains, very tired, sore finger nails, stomach cramps and sometimes the runs as well as the woolly mouth which you mentioned. The only way I can describe it was like being hit by a bus but you may only suffer with a couple of them as everyone is different. Mine tended to last about a week to 10 days with the woolly mouth lasting the longest. I can’t help with the cold cap as I didn’t have that and found that my hair was starting to grow back once FEC had finished.
Hi Michele, i had three fec and found that to be relatively easy with minimal side effects main one was the heartburn which i got lansoprazole for that. I started tax first one last week and the side effects have been bad aches and pains, swollen feet and ankles, sore mouth and tongue,also soles of feet very red and on fire. Next tax 11th June and im hoping the side effects lessen
I know everyone is different re side effects and i hope yours is not too bad.
Had four EC chemo which made me feel very tired and nauseous but were ok. Had my first Tax 2 weeks ago and apart from pins and needles in my big toes I had no side effects. Went to have my second yesterday but had an allergic reaction so had it put off to next week. I was worried about the effects having read the posts on here but was so much easier than EC chemo. Obviously I have only had one but fingers crossed you will be lucky too!
Hi Michelle, I am on day 6 post first tax after being switched from fec (I had 2) due to allergic reaction. I had muscle aches/pains, tender digestion (the runs, sorry if too much information), no appetite as funny tongue and tired. I used the cc so far but have only about 20% left, onc had no objections to keep going with it. There is a good website, taxotere.com for lots of info. You will get dex before you start and after.
Hope all goes well for you. Must add I am doing tax/cyclophosphamide combo. XX Tina
HI - I have finished now, but found Tax much harder than FEC. The mouth issues were very tiresome - couldn’t taste anything, mouth very sensitive to heat (spice and actual temperature), got oral thrush. Also nose bleeds, extreme fatigue, and aches and pains. I was also doing the cold cap, and lost more hair on Tax than on FEC, but kept enough of it to never need the wig or hats that I bought just in case.
I also found the mouth se’s didn’t wear off between treatments - so it felt like a very long time.
I too had 4 fec followed by 4 tax and found taxotere by far the worst.For me the worst se’s were the weakness/weariness which were cumulative for me and the extreme breathlessness [ditto].The breathlessness got better very quickly when I finished chemo but the exhaustion took a very long time.
You can do it
Good Luck
Vxx
Hi, I’m having weekly tax for liver and bone mets. I’ve just had my 12th session and haven’t lost my hair apart from a few eyelashes and my nails are rubbish. I was told to wear dark nailvarnish all the time as this stops the nail bed from lifting and so far it’s worked. The reason my hair hasn’t fallen out is because I’m having it weekly apparently. At first I had itchy hands and dry skin but that’s improved now. I do get appalling indigestion which I now take vast amounts of Gaviscon for and I also take bicarb of soda in water in between. This helps enormously. I also get the woolly mouth and tiredness, but all in all it hasn’t been too bad. I do hope you manage to cope with it all, but there is lots of help and support available on here, so any questions please just ask and I’m sure everyone will help as much as they can. Good luck and I’m thinking of you. Lotsa love, Dianne x x x
Hi, I had both EC and Taxol, and found the Taxol by far the easier of the two - the main reason being that there was no nausea (my least favourite SE). Although I had white blood cell problems, and occasionally felt a bt tired, I had no other SEs when on TAx - others on the forum have felt the same.
How are you getting on?
Sarah
Jodie - forgive me if I have posted this to you before (I know I did to somebody), but a good friend has recently finished weekly Tax for a large (3cm) liver tumour, and by the end the tumour had completely disappeared, as had her lymph tumours. I hope you have similar success. Also, are you aware of all the good things green tea can do for the liver?
hi similar side effects but found it midly easier than the fec. one thing is my hair started growing back on tax - suppose everyone is different but did please me
Hi Finty, We have spoken before but it’s still nice to see that this works well. I may have said before that at my last scan (my only one since the treatment began) that the onc said that although there was a slight reduction it wasn’t as much as he’d hoped. Needless to say that sent me into a black hole of depression. I did get over it tho as the nurse pointed out that I was only half way through and at least it was responding and sometimes it doesn’t work fully until the end. (I hope she wasn’t just being kind…) I didn’t know about the green tea, but I’m going out this morning and buying some which I will now drink in vast quantities, so thanks for that.
Got my week off now, heaven, got to see the onc on Friday but can’t imagine what he can tell me really apart from what the tumour markers are showing.
Anyway, hope you’ve all had a good weekend in the lovely sunshine on Saturday and that you all have a good day today. Take care, lotsa love, Dianne x x
The book she refers to by Servan-Schreiber is my cancer bible, and I would highly recommend it. It details examples of people with very advanced cancer who have gone into remission after adopting an anti cancer diet. As far as the green tea is concerned, try to find Japanese sencha if you can - it has the highest concentration of polyphenols, and needs to be brewed for 8 - 10 minutes. I’m just off to make a cup now.
The tea is really nice sweetened with a few drops of agave nectar - I find it a little bitter without. The anti cancer diet forbids refined sugar, but agave nectar is very sweet but with a relatively low glycemic index. Enjoy.
Hi Finty, I always drink green tea, but not tried Japanese Sencha, tried a health food shop today, and they didn’t do it, any suggestions? otherwise l will go on line and order some.
Sandra x
I had 4 FEC & 4 taxotere and also found taxotere by far the worst. Unfortunately for me the side effects got worse the more doses I had. Upset stomach, joint pains, extreme tiredness. But 15 months later I am now going to dance classes! There is light at the end of the tunnel.