Was wondering if anyone has experience with Paclitaxel (Taxol)?
I’m having with 4th(final)cycle of FEC today and was suppose to move onto 4 cycles of Taxotere. However, I met with my oncologist yesterday and he decided to put me on 12 weekly cycles of Paclitacel(Taxol) instead. Can’t say that I’m really looking forward to more trips to the hospital. Once in three weeks was quite enough for me.
Thanks for any replies.
Take good care!! Good luck to all who are having the chemo drug this week.
Hi Sylvia,
I had 4x fec,4xtaxol in 2004.I was quite concerned initially as I’d heard all sorts of horror stories about taxol’s side effects but on the whole I found it was ok! I did get more and more tired (but maybe that was because I’d already had 4 fec) and by the end I just felt like curling up under the duvet, but my energy levels soon returned after treatment. I did manage to work more or less throughout and regularly drove the 400ml round trip to london. I started getting electric shock like pains in my fingers and hands while behind the wheel but that was towards the end of my treatment and it didn’t continue afterwards. I’ve still got a bit of periperal neuropathy in my toes which I don’t notice these days except when I’m wearing high heels.
Taste wise everything tasted like burnt sugar but it didn’t affect my appetite, and I still enjoyed a pint of guinness down my local.All in all life went on as normal.
By far the worst thing was losing my hair. I’d worn the cold cap and managed to hold on to most of it whilst on fec but alas ended up as bald as a coot on the taxol.
Best wishes and I hope you sail through it like I did,
Josie x
I had 9 cycles of weekly Taxol last year following an allergic reaction to 2nd cycle of Taxotere. Yes, it was a bit of nuisance having to go to hospital every week, but despite being quite daunting the weeks went by really quickly. Side effects not nearly as bad as the 3 weekly full dose. I generally had one day of feeling yucky, although did feel a bit worse towards the last couple of cycles. Not much in way of sickness/nausea, but yucky mouth/taste and tiredness the worst for me. On the plus side, my hair started growing back while on the weekly regime.
Hope this helps
As well as the support and information you are receiving from the other users you might find it helpful to read the BCC fact sheet on taxol, it discusses how it works, its benefits and the possible side effects. If you would like a copy or to read it on line just follow this link:-
