Hi girls, have been on weekly taxol sessions since March now done 14 was supposed to do 18. Collapsed after chemo on tuesday and was kept in hospital due to an infection but oncologist has decided to stop the taxol saying basically my body is too weak now to continue. I am 36 with a 6 yr old son absolutely terrified that we have came to the end of the road.
The original plan for my bones liver and lung mets were 18 weekly taxol, then femara and zoladex, I am just so frightened that this is it !!! I am a shadow of my former self now unrecognisable fearing the worst, basically would just like to hear from anyone who has perhaps stopped their chemo earlier than planned but still managed to keep things stable etc, as the torment of waiting until tuesday to see him is almost driving me off my head !!
Love to all Max xx
Hi Max,
I did have my chemo stopped altho funnily enough It was cmf which was meant to be the easier option!! the tax I got through ? not sure how tho i had my chemo for a primary diagnosis, and am still on herceptin until about august. Just wanted to say hi and let you know that we are all here to support you. x
Hi Max
I havn’t been in the position of stopping or having a chemo break but I know people who have. As you know all drugs have side effects and they have to balance the side effects against the benefits. As you have had an infection, your onc would have to stop but that doesnt mean the chemo hasn’t worked, he/she might want to check where you are up with scans, give you a break or try a different chemo.
A friend of mine had terrible side effects from chemo (ended up in hospital after each one)and had to stop half way through, they did scans and were amazed at the results.
There are lots of drugs and options these days, I’ve seen people in awful positions with breast cancer recover to fight another day.
Difficult I know but try and get some sleep. I’m still amazed at how much the body can repair itself with sleep, if you can’t sleep well at least rest as much as possible to help your body for Tuesday.
Sending love to you
Sue xx
I’m not in the same boat as you with mets but I did stop the T part of my FEC-T regime after 2 instead of 3 ‘doses’. I was told at teh time that the ‘standard’ dose was 2 FEC and 2 T(taxotere(sp?)) and they did a 3rd of each as extra insurance. like you tho I’d got to the point where the risk to my health of having the 3rd T was greater than any likely benefit due to me having been hit with septicemia afte rmy 3rd FEC - I had the first 2 Ts and struggled, then my gall bladder abcessed and burst and I was quite ill, hence th edecision to stop.
I think they only stop a chemo course if they feel it’s going to do you more harm than good, and they won’t have decided lightly to discontinue you - I suspect that like with the basic FEC T there is a basic and then an insurance aspect and you’ve probably done eth basic and are now in the nice to have (if one can say that about chemo) rather than the got to have.
Hi Max,
I’m sorry to hear that you have found yourself in such an upsetting situation, but I’m sure you have quite a few options left treatment - wise. I’m having weekly taxol myself for a regional recurrance - I’ve had 16 out of the 18- and half-way through in May I had a scan to see if it was working. If you have had the same treatment, you must have had a scan too and hopefully, you would have had some good news about that. Also, having had 14 out of 18 goes means you’ve had nearly all the treatment they give, which can only be good. Reading through the posts on this excellent forum for the last few months, I’ve noticed plently of people who have secondaries or even recurrances like myself which can’t always be cured, go on to have oral chemo. like Capecetabine (not sure of spelling - also called Xeloda) which seems to work well and doesn’t have the harsh side - effects of stuff like taxol.
Please don’t give up hope,
Sarah.x
Hi Max. I had only 12 weekly Taxol for my Liver,Lung, Lymph and Bones mets in Dec 08 to Feb 09 and there was considerable improvement when I had the scan. I have had Tamoxifen for a further 10 months and then started on Capcitabine in Oct and find it a doable chemo.
Take time to rest and try not to worry you may find the Taxol has already worked after the 14.
Lesley xxx
Thanks for reassurance girls I had a scan at the 8 week mark and it had showed reduction of tumours and some had died off. Fingers crossed tomorrow at my meeting with the onc he has a plan B for me. Have just got myself all worked up that he is going to say there is nothing more he can do, I think because i see the physical deterioration in myself over the last few weeks I look so ill, i cant believe i could ever look well again
Love to all Max x
Hi Max
Not in same boat as you but wanted to wish you well for tomorrow. I have a 3 and a half year old and am also desperate to keep going as long as I can for her sake.
Hope you get a good outcome tomorrow.
Alison x
Hi Max, I have secondary liver and spine mets and was supposed to have 18 weeks of Tax, but stopped after 12 as it wasn’t particularly effective. The tumours had shrunk a bit but not enough to be worth continuing. However, apparently I’m very receptive to Arimidex so I’m now taking that and feel ok. Please don’t give up, I know it’s disheartening but there is plenty more that they can do. Take care of yourself, sending lots of love and hugs. Dianne x x x
hi girls
well saw one of the oncs sidekicks on tuesday and was put straight on femara and have a zoladex injection on monday to look forward to ( already had 2 yrs of zoladex before ) i havent been well since tuesday another infection i really need to put some weight on but have no appetite and this constant diarrea - not good !! awaiting an appointment for a CT scan to check out situation tumour wise
thanks for all your replies max x
Hi,
I also have liver, lung and bone mets and had weekly Taxol as my first chemo last year. After 12 weeks there was significant reduction in my liver mets (which are the ones that cause me problems). I stopped at that point because it was taking it’s toll.
Then I had Zoladex and Arimidex which sadly didn’t hold things stable for me.
Since then I’ve had weekly Adriamycin (Doxorubicin?) which didn’t reduce anything but did keep things stable for a period of time. I’m now having weekly Taxotere which, for me, is proving the hardest to recover from. I say weekly … the first dose took four weeks to recover from and the second two weeks!
My onc assures me he still has other chemo options available.
I hope your ct scan shows some good results for you.
Bad Fairy x
Hi Bad Fairy, Sorry to hear you’re having such trouble with the taxotere. I didn’t have a lot of trouble with it, but when I first started taking the Arimidex tablet every day I was also taking Lanzoparozole for Indigestion which was caused by the Tax. The combination gave me a terrible runny tummy so I knocked the Lanz on the head and now it’s fine. Have you told the Onc department about the trouble you are having with the tax, maybe they can give you something to help with it. They told me that having it weekly meant that the se’s were a lot easier. I do hope they can sort something out for you soon. I’m in a similar position to you I think, but not quite as far along. The tax didn’t particularly work for me, very little reduction in the liver mets but the onc says that the Arimidex will work at stabilising them. (how does he know that???) - Anyway, we’ll see. I also have bone mets and am taking Bondronat every day. I will keep everything crossed for you and hope everything stabilises soon.
Max, please let us know when you have your CT scan and the results. We’re all thinking of you and wishing you well.
Lots of love and hugs to everyone and hope you all have a lovely and painfree weekend. Dianne x x x
Hi Dianne,
My onc’s well aware of the effect the taxotere is having … he came to see me when I was admitted after the first dose and I told him I thought he was trying to finish me off!! Thankfully I get on very well with him and his team and they’re very supportive. The second dose was reduced and we’re contemplating changing to fortnightly to see if that helps. He thinks that because I had Taxol up until last Christmas that the build up of se’s has been missed and I’ve dived in the deep end. On the bone front I have Zoledronic acid every three weeks which seems to be keeping the bones in check nicely.
I hope your onc’s determination/attitude pays off and the Arimidex works well for you and keeps things stabilised.
Bad Fairy x