Starting Taxotere and Herceptin and I’m scared
Starting Taxotere and Herceptin and I’m scared Hi everyone,
I am half way through my chemo. I’ve had 4 EC and on 1 June I start 4 Taxotere and 18 Herceptin. I’ve been very lucky so far and the EC has not been as bad as I expected. I’ve heard and read such horrible things about Taxotere and now feel quite scared. Even my Onc, a “positive” person who admonished me for being “over anxious and negative” when I asked lots of questions on our first meeting by telling me that “positive thinking” ladies have a much better outcome than “negative” thinkers, has said it will be very hard.
The first dose seems to be the biggest and worst. I am worried about that and also having to have Herceptin on the same day. Whatever side effects there are, you wont know which treatment is causing what. I had a MUGA test last week but dont know the results yet. Also, as each treatment passes my blood results get lower and I worry everything will be ok to go ahead on 1 June.
Are there any ladies who have a similar profile to mine starting the same treatment the same time as me or who have just started it? I would love to be able to “talk” to other ladies who are at the same stage.
Also, are there any ladies who have had Taxotere and Herceptin who have not experienced bad reactions?
Love
Jibby X
Hi Jibby
I was diagnosed the same time as you, Christmas! I had 4 AC (Adriamycin and cyclophosphamide) and have currently had 2 Taxotere. I was very lucky on AC and had very few side effects and pretty much carried on life as normal (as normal as you can be with a wig!) I won’t lie and say that taxotere is an easy ride, I have had a few side effects, but it is not as bad (yet - I know that the side effects can begin later and linger on) as I was led to believe.
I know everybody is different and some people on here have really suffered on Tax so I feel guilty even saying that I am still getting on with life and managing to do what I want to do!. My first tax was the worst, but I had no sickness! I did have a sort of ‘mild yuk’ feeling, but not enough to stop my eating! The worst problem was 3 days of severe pain in my fingers, I also had a sore throat for a few days and a very high temperature, which meant I had to go to the hospital. Quite bad joint pain was another side effect.
The 2nd cycle has been much easier, my skin has started to peel (unsightly but not uncomfortable!) and I get out of bed like an old lady, due to joints seizing up at night, (they do ease up!) I have been lucky not to have been excessively tired.
I hope that you manage to remain positive and don’t experience too many side effects. My experience has been lots of wierd niggly/discomfort problems rather than any sickness etc. You must however take your temperature everyday, as a raised temperature / infection can be dangerous. When I went to Clatterbridge having had a temp that has begun the evening before, I got a real telling off for not going immediately.
Take care
Nicky x
p.s why are you having the herceptin at the same time as Taxotere? I will apparently start mine after rads in August!
For Nicky65 Hi Nicky,
Like me, bet you had a great Christmas too - NOT!!!
This BC thing is bad enough, please don’t feel guilty for not suffering too many side effects - feel glad. But, I do know what you mean.
At what stage during the cycle did you get your finger pains, did they go numb and were you still able to drive?
Also, was your sore throat a side effect or did you catch a bug from someone?
I don’t know why I’m having Herceptin at the same time as Taxotere. I’m being treated at Christie’s and the doctors and nurses talk about it as though it’s quite normal to do this.
Love
Jibby X
Not everyone finds taxotere harder than FEC I was the exact opposite. Taxotere was a doddle for me whereas I really thought that I would not survive FEC. It all depends on the individual.
(See my post under “I hate Taxotere”)
Herceptin & taxotere Hi
I was diagnosed in November and had 6 FEC and then 2 taxotere. I also had herceptin at the same time as chemo as this has shown in trials to be more effective. If you are not sure why you are having them together, then I would ask your oncologist.
I found the taxotere much easier than FEC. No sickness but felt tired for a few days and it seemed to effect my brain! I couldn’t drive for a day or two or use the computer as my hands didn’t do wha my brain told then too (my friends all called it “man brain”!)
Good luck
Loisx
Taxotere…and positive thinking! I had taxotere 3 years ago…got bad fatigue for 4-6 days each cycle but otherwise it wasn’t as bad as I expected.
There is absolutely no evidence that ‘thinking positive’ makes any difference to the outcome of breast cancer. Go with the flow with how you feel…cancer stinks and if we can’t feel bad with cancer then when can we?
I don’t think oncologists do anyone any favours by telling their patients porkies about ‘positive thinking’. I think they do it because they can’t cope with people feelimg down. There are so many myths about living with cancer and I so wish doctors wouldn’t perpetuate them.
Best wishes with your treatment
Jane
The psychological outcome can be better Not the cancer outcome, but if people are very negative about whether they will make it or not and then turn out to survive for a long time the latest research is that they don’t do as well as people who were more optimistic.
I think the think to keep in mind is that herceptin + taxotere is very effective and that these drugs will greatly up your odds of surviving. I had taxotere after FEC when FEC failed for me and it kept me recurrence free until I could get on some preventative herceptin, which has greatly improved my odds.
If your blood counts are bad, they might recommend GCSF, although this is should only be used if necessary because there is an increased risk of leukemia. They might also recommend some antibiotics.
Research Hi Christine
Would love to know the research to which you refer and the methodology used.
There’s an excellent dfiscussion of the tyranny of the positivea attitude mind set in a book by Jimmie Holland and Sheldon Lewis called The Human Side of Cancer.
I think ‘thinking positive’ helps some people, but not others. Whether or not people believe the think positive mantra seems to be as much a question of belief as fact. A bit like religion really.
best wishes
Jane
Hi Jibby,
I had 6 cycles of FEC, (which didn’t work!), followed by 8 cycles of taxotere with herceptin.
I found the taxotere much easier than the FEC though I did suffer the achey joints and the effect was cummalative.
I remember they did give me my very first herceptin the day before my chemo so that they could tell if I had any reaction to it.
good Luck with the rest of your treatment,
Love
Jackie
xx
Hi Jibby
Your treatment plan is very similar to mine, my original plan was 6XFEC then it got changed to 4xFEC + 4xTaxotere + 18 Herceptin + Tamoxifen + 25 rads.
On my first Taxotere and Herceptin I had them 1 day apart to see if I reacted to either, I was fine, so the following 3 taxotere’s were given straight after the herceptin. I was also seeing my Onc same morning and using the cold cap so I would be dropped of around 9am and be finished around 5.30pm (it was a very long old day)
As for side effects, haven’t noticed any from the Herceptin, but had big differences between FEC and Taxotere, FEC for me made me sick, dizzy and totally not with it for about 4 days then I would get better during week 2 and be fighting fit week 3. On the taxotere I didn’t suffer any sickness or dizziness so that was a plus, however it really wiped my immune and energy levels and I ended up on injections after a Neutrophils score 0.01 after my first cycle.
I have ECG’s and always ask for my heart score immediately and they always tell me, infact on the last 2 visits I requested a printed copy for me to take to my Onc as they never seem to get to my file, but I go between 2 hospitals and thats another story.
As others have posted you may find it easier, I have my last Herceptin this Friday and yes its been a long old journey (17 months of finding veins every 3 weeks) but its not been all bad.
Good luck and relax when ever possible and if you are having a down or negative day then you are very entitled to it, I sure have had my moments.
Debbie
X
Hi
I’d like to say a big “thank you” to all the ladies who have replied to my post. It’s good to know that things may not be quite as bleak as I’m anticipating.
Regarding a low blood count, I know that iron-rich foods help with the red cells but is there anything you can eat or take that can boost the white cells? I don’t like the sound of the GCSF injections if they have an increased risk of leukemia.
Love to everyone
Jibby X