I have finished the fec part and had 1 dosage of tax with no probs, was in a lot of pain week following the tax.
On my second dose of tax last thursday i had a ‘hypersensivity’ reaction to the tax - not pleasant…
The hospital arranged for me to reattend this thursday and gave me loads of premeds - antihisamanes and steriods etc - they did the ‘rechallange’ but the same reaction occurred.
The duty doc just came over and told me was i was just allergic to the drug - clever aint they?!
They have booked me into see my onc on tuesday but i am concern what will happen.
I had 3/19 node involvement and have heard that the tax gives a far better prognosis when lymph nodes are involved…
Has anyone been in this situation - any tips of what i can ask the onc?
Hi Corrine, I too had a reaction to TAX. I have 4 FEC and was scheduled for 4 TAX (Docetaxol I think)… the first TAX was fine, no problems, the second one I took severe reaction. I was then given abraxane for my last three chemo’s. I would recommend asking your Onc for this. It is quite new, very little side effects, only takes 30 minutes… It is also very expensive so primarily given to ladies with secondaries or those who have severe reactions to other chemo’s… so I expect that you might need to ‘push’ your Onc to consider it.
I wish you the very best
Marguerite
I had an allergic reaction to my first tax too. They gave me a huge dose of piriton and then gave me the rest of the tax on a super slow drip and it was fine. I was terrified tho znc begged my Chemo nurse not to let me die, and needed every ounce of resolve I had to get me back thru the doors for tax2. But the last two were fine. I had z battle with my onc as he said he wouldn’t give it me again if the reaction couldn’t be sorted whereas I said I still wanted it. Abraxane is basically the same stuff as taxotrte apparently but with different/less other stuff in it and so less side effects and allergies. It’s a great idea to ask for that.
Hi Corrinne
i had 4 x ec and 4 x tax with no node involvement, the first tax i was fine and then the second one within a minute i had an allergic reaction so they put it in over a 3 hour period which meant i had to wear the cold caps on my hands and feet for 3 hours!!
for the 3rd of the treatments i was given another drug the same as the one margeritte had but it was a bit of a nightmare as bupa would not approve it at first as it is for secondaries ! they finally approved it and i was ok but i am still sufferning from shooting pains in my legs which was a bad s/e with tax
B x
Thanks for replying to my post - How did you hear about this new drug? and do you know if it is of a similar drug to the tax - mine to was doxetaxel.
Will need to arm myself when i see the onc, my concern is that i am aware the tax is supposed to be the ‘gold standard’ in treatment and like we all do i want the best poss treatment - and the fact that the side effects are less!!
What part of the country are you in - just wondering if this may have a bearing?
Thanks,
Corinne
Thank you all for replying - makes me feel better that i am not alone - i was upset with my body again for not accepting the ‘cure’… i am now more resolved and will stand my ground if i need to on seeing the onc… Thanks again
Hi Corrine,
I am in Essex, and am also a private patient… that said, I have seen a post on here where someone also had abraxane.
Abraxane is from the TAX ‘family’ of chemo’s, so still gold standard.
Side effects even less than other TAX chemo’s.
The only info I had was from the US website; abraxane.com/
As with other chemos you do loose your hair, but I am now 8 weeks since my last chemo and all hair coming back - I have even plucked and shaved!!
I really hope this is a solution for you
Marguerite
it is a coated drug which is why you dont have the same bad reaction they may be reluctant to give it you as it is very expensive my oncologist had to write to bupa and push for it, i am in manchester
hi ladies i am 4 of 6 tax i carnt do this anymore, i feel so ill, i had the chemo on friday it is now tuesday i carnt even walk properly, its the fatigue, i am crawling to the bathroom, how bad do the side effects have to be before they will give me something else, i ache all over, i feel sick, my taste has gone and i have thrush its been the same every time, i feel scared now because i have never felt this ill has anyone else experienced side effects so strong
Sorry to hear the SE’s are so harsh on you. Please speak with your medical/onc team, they will be able to help! Hang in there, there are lots of stories on the DOCETAXEL thread, and reading other experiences may help! Sending you a big hug!! Tinax
One solution is to have a reduced dose of taxotere to see if you can cope with that[most can].It is also possible to have an anti allergy jab before your chemo.If all else fails they will give you fec again.The geatest benefit comes from the beginning of the treatments so you have already had two which will have done a lot.
Elizabethtracey your side effects sound awful-they do tend to be cumulative and you too may need a reduced dose.
I went through this over 4 years ago and honestly thought tax would kill me!As you see it didnt and slowly but surely I recovered from most of the se’s[still no eyebrows and a touch of pn].
Good Luck all of you