Thanks for your reply @galdiolus . I’ve just been for a little walk today and I was slow but I managed and hopefully the fresh air will help me feel more normal. How many cycles in are you? I’ve 2 more to get and I’m definitely not looking forward to them, especially if the affects are cumulative.
@pod123 i have to do a total of 6 and I have just one left which all being well is the 7 January. It is tough going but we will get there 
Aw that’s fantastic @galdiolus . My next one is 16th then one more after that. I should’ve finished sooner but I’ve had a few delays. It’ll be so good to get it all over with!
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@pod123 hey I normally start to feel better about day 10 although slimed mouth takes a bit longer - I def prefer EC to dox !
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Thanks @epic1 I’ve woken up feeling a good bit better today so hopefully that’s the worst over for this cycle 
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Hi, well, we survived Christmas! I have had a good, quiet Christmas spent with family.
I have had my 5th cycle of docetaxel & carboplatin and for the first time the texture of food, particularly meat had changed. Has anyone else had this? Throughout, my taste has changed and I haven’t enjoyed food, but now the texture has changed, I really don’t want food!!! Anyone experienced this?
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@warrior1 i have struggled with my taste every cycle and I know that bland food like plain chicken I really struggle with. My taste does come back around day 10 so hopefully your’s will improve too x
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I’ve only had one cycle of Docetaxel and my taste has definitely been affected but I haven’t noticed anything with texture. It’s hard to think of what I actually want to eat at times. I’d seen fresh pineapple recommended and I think it does help my yucky mouth but I’ve totally gone off tea 
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Not so much texture but my tastes did change when I was on docetaxel. I couldn’t eat chicken if it involved cheese and tomato (my sister made what I’m sure was a lovely chicken, cheese, tomato gnocchi dish for the family and I was holding back gagging). Just the thought of that combination made me nauseous for many weeks (I’ve never gagged at the thought of food before, even gross foods, so that was new to me). It’s pretty much gone now thank goodness (not sure if it was after I was put on nab-paclitaxel instead, my tastebuds went back to normal on that though, no having to wait 8-10 days for them to normalise like with docetaxel) but I had to avoid those things together for ages.
For me the only thing that never changed was beef, it’s been my lifesaver. No matter what my appetite or lack of appetite is doing I seem to have always had room for and enjoyed beef (the one meat I try to not eat as much of ironically).
My appetite really took a hit. There were days I was just eating picky bits, not actual meals. It’s come back though (and my weight never dropped significantly, it’s been sort of the same, wouldn’t have minded if I’d lost any as I’m a bit of a chonk and need to). My oncologist keeps telling me she doesn’t want me to lose weight so if she’s fine with it I can oblige (deliberately or not).
Have you spoken to your oncologist about it?
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Thank you @sez @pod123 @galdiolus. My taste has changed throughout but this texture change is different. I haven’t spoken to the onc about it as i am on day 10 of the cycle so I am hoping that it will improve. It is reassuring to hear that once off docetaxel, my taste will come back as I look forward to enjoying food again. It’s just typical that it worsened this cycle over Christmas.
One more chemo to go! 
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Docetaxel is a right biatch when it comes to eating, I’m sorry your cycle side effects coincided with Christmas (mine being delayed twice was the silver lining for Christmas, I at least got to enjoy the food, not looking forward to next week and the filgrastim bone pain but at least I got Christmas out of the way).
Hopefully it will start normalising now but if it doesn’t I recommend talking to your oncologist. Mine prescribed me protein shakes for when I just couldn’t even stand looking at food.
The texture thing must be really annoying along with things tasting different too (I have texture issues with food myself unrelated to the cancer, I’m a right fusspot).
Hopefully your last cycle comes and goes quickly and you can get back to some semblance of normal with your eating.
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Happy Twixmas, i hope you’re all chilling.
Is anyone else suffering from neuropathy with Docetaxel? I had my last and final round on 23rd, so day 8 today. I was awake all night with twitchy, tingly, painfull feet. Im hoping its a temporarily thing, it seemed to be on the prior 2 rounds, but worse this time. I dont notice it much during the day, just general leg / knee weakness, but at night it seems to come into its own.
Any tips?
Yes my feet feel numb and I then wonder if they are cold or warm. They feel worse when I go for a walk byt as not as bad as they did previously. My hand is the same but due to having cannula’s in when in hospital and the antibiotic’s leaking I think. I’m hoping this doesn’t happen to my other hand when I have nodes removed. I think it’s temporary or at least I hope so.
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I wish consultants would give patients the benefit of their training and experience by giving more advice about what is the best course of action. I have no medical training and don’t feel qualified to make the choices I am being asked to make. I don’t know what’s best for me.
Are all countries like this or is it only the NHS? Do private consultants give straightforward honest advice because I think I need some? I don’t know whether to have radiotherapy or not and if I have it whether to have 5 or 15.
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@magl My consultants have always told me what they think I should do, except for when they offered me to be part of a clinical trial. I think that’s because they’re not allowed to influence for that. But for surgery and radiotherapy they’ve just told me what’s happening. I’ve been told I’ll have 15 sessions of radiotherapy and that to give it to me in 5 would be too intense. There was never any suggestion of not having the radiotherapy. I’m pretty sure if you have a lumpectomy it’s in the guidelines to have radiotherapy to the remaining breast. If there was cancer in a certain number of nodes they offer either node clearance or radiotherapy. And I think if there are a certain number of axillary nodes involved they will offer radiotherapy to the nodes behind the collar bone.
If you don’t mind me asking, what was your situation regarding lumpectomy/mastectomy and lymph node involvement?
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@magl Recommendations | Early and locally advanced breast cancer: diagnosis and management | Guidance | NICE
The radiotherapy guidance starts at section 1.10
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I had Grade 3, ER+, HER2- BC in 3 lymph nodes. But it was Occult, which means they couldn’t find it in the breast or anywhere else. Because so few people get Occult BC there is no fixed set of guidelines. They couldn’t say if the cancer was in the breast but too small to be detected or if it wasn’t there at all. I’ve had axillary node clearance, 12 lots of Paclitaxel and ongoing Herceptin injections and Letrozole. It’s my choice whether I have radiotherapy and how many. 5 would be just the breast. 15 would be the neck. Hanging over me is the knowledge that my husband’s brother’s partner died last year of breast cancer on the brain. It was horrible and I don’t want to get that. It was in my lymph nodes so it was half way there already as far as I can see. The radiotherapy oncologist said if I was the sort of person who would regret not having had radiotherapy if it came back in five years time then I should have it. But I can’t make up my mind. She also said it can CAUSE cancer - usually on the lung.
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Thank you for the NICE guidelines.
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That is a tricky decision for you. I think I’m the kind of person who would regret not having it (which is why I didn’t do the aforementioned clinical trial) but I hadn’t realised about the lung cancer risk. I hope you can settle on a decision you’re happy with x