Just finished my first ssession of taxol for lung secondaries and found it absolute hell. Spent about a week in bed with severe bony pain and needed shed loads of morphine. Don’t know how I can do five more cycles as I assume things will get worse. This is so much harder than FEC.
Do you think I should continue or give up as didn’t feel too bad before chemo? What are your views and experiences of this awful chemo?
Love Rosdubh x
Hi Rosdubh,
I haven’t had the taxol yet, am due to start beginning of January. I did get the bony pain with Taxotere though and I had them for about a week after each one. But I assume they could put you on a lighter dose? If I was you I would ask your onc.
Maroke
Don’t know if this will help you as I am having Taxotere not taxol but I had my first tax at the end of November and felt exactly as you did, that the joint and groin pain was so bad that I couldn’t see how I could possibly do another five, but having had my second tax I am pleased to say it was much, much easier, as all the symptoms have been milder second time round, I have no idea why but I hope you find it’s the same for you.
Good luck
Linda
I had alot of bone pain so know how you feel…
My trick was to start taking the pain killers before the pain kicked in…
(the idea being that you are on top of the pain not chasing it).
I also took codine and diclofenic and had sleeping tablets.
Talk to your GP… mine was a great help
bikinggirl
Sorry I meant taxotere and not taxol!
Rosdubh x
I was the same on taxotere and used to spend the first week in bed and despite now having further secondaries I’ve never felt so ill as I did on 3 weekly taxotere. They did reduce the dose for me and that helped.That was in 2006. I’m now on weekly taxol and am absolutely fine on that much to my amazement.
You need to discuss this with your oncologist and I’m sure he will reduce the dose. I wouldn’t give up on taxotere yet but ask for options regarding whether to reduce the dose and continue 3 weekly or whether it is possible to have weekly taxotere and the pros and cons of this.
So sorry it is a miserable chemo for so many but does have brilliant effects for the majority as far as I can see. I always swore I would never have chemo again after taxotere but found I am better on chemo than off now as it controls my symptoms caused by the secondaries.
As bikingirl said you need to get on top of the pain and start painkillers before the pain kicks in.
Hope the next cycle is better.
Kate
Hi Rosdubh, so sorry to hear your having such a bad time with Taxotere. I suffered really badly with it when being treated for the primary last year, pain was awful and morphine and multiple pain killers were being thrown down my neck hourly in rotation, I did 4 cycles and by the end I was very restricted mobility wise. However, I can honestly say the pain never got worse on each cycle, in fact I coped better with it after the shock of the first one, by getting pain control into myself before it started, knowing exactly when it would begin etc, and I managed to get through it.
As for your question, I cannot answer that I am afriad, only you can make the decision, but it must be worth talking to your team and asking them what alternatives there are.
I am being switched to Taxol next week it looks like (appt with onc this afternoon to discuss) as current regime of carboplatin is not working, tumours are growing. I am utterly dreading going back onto a taxane after my previous experiences, but I am going to do it, because it may be able to hold the cancer and I have to try to cope if it can do that for me.
Very best of luck hun, it’s a hateful time, but I hope it gets better for you soon.
Nikki
Hi Rosedubh, sorry you are suffering so much. I had 8 taxotere treatments in 2008. First was horrendous I couldn’t keep still with the intolerable pain. But it did get much better as treatments went by. I had usual problems, immune problems, nails and mouth, but learnt how to moderate and cope with them once I had worked out what was going to come next with help of a symptom diary. There are only so many treatments, so try to hang on in there. BCC site is a godsend for help.
very best of luck ariadne