hello all
i have just been reading everyones entries re tax. i have just had 2nd fec and apart from 2 days round about days 6-7 when i feel wiped out it is not so bad.however i am really dreading the tax because i have only read about bad side effects and have not read any positive comments about tax. Is there anyone out there who was ok on it? Also is anyone having problems with painful veins on treatment arm?
best wishes to you all x x x
Hi Sally
I am due my 3rd FEC next Tues and like you the veins on my treatment arm are really painful. The pain is not improving with time either, so now concerned about next treatment!!! Not sure if this is a common problem!!!
Take care
Kim x
Hi Sally
I have just posted my concerns on the Taxotere thread. I have my first one this Friday, and to say I am worried is an understatement!! I am waiting for someone (anyone???) to tell me it was easy peasy…but oddly no-one has yet!
My veins have been killing me for the last three weeks, only today can I straighten my arm without pain. Hand hurts and all the way to my elbow. Apparantly ths is quite common though. If it gets bad there is some yukky cream you can get (Kelly I think mentioned it) and also if really really bad there are other options like PICC/Hickman lines or using the veins elsewhere (feet!).
When do you have Tax #1?
Take care
Ali
x
Hi
I did a write up on Tax a while ago - will look it out tomorrow and cut/paste here. There are worse things than Tax so don’t lose sleep over it.
D
hi
thankyou for your replies,I am quite relieved i am not the only one with the dodgy vein thing. I have my last FEC on 27th sept then if all goes ok should start Tax about 18th oct .
take care all x
Hiya Sally and Ali
I started a thread “starting Taxotere” that’s still running and might prove helpful. I’ve had 4 x AC and 3 Tax (4th on Friday, bloods allowing) and can say that its doable. Everyone is different re. side effects and you just have to go with the flow and listen to your body - resting has always been easy for me!
Just remember that this chemo is the creme de la creme for killing off the b…gg…s and any support us other taxoteers can give, just ask.
Cheers
Anne x
Sally1957 (a good vintage)
As promised - All I know (i.e. all I can recall) about Taxotere! And what a coincidence that it is a year today since my last dose.
"Tax …
Hi gals
Yes, extra steroids with the Tax (had 4) so when I had it, as with the FEC, I was sleepless and getting up at 2 a.m. to do the ironing I’d so carefully saved up!!! I got to the point where I was going to “take in” some to keep me busy but that seemed just a bit loopy.
Re: nails, then I lost a layer off some toenails and they went a bit beige but not noticeable unless someone was kissing my feet - still waiting for some brave person to do that!!! No PAIN in the process whatsoever. My fingernails were a different matter, they went quite ridgey and “not nice” so I kept them filed down all the time. Worst was the thumbnails splitting down the middle cos they caught on everything but it didn’t happen until I’d almost finished the Tax and by then the hair was already growing back in as compensation! I bought finger cots to cover my thumbs when in public because we were on holiday and eating out every night when they were at their worst (2-3 weeks after the end of chemo). Finger cots are NOT easy to come by (thumb cost don’t seem to exist) so have some on standby - I hunted high and low. A relative even went on the search in Canada!!! I got two washable ones eventually but they are, well, let’s say they stand out like a sore thumb!!! The rubbers ones, which might just as well be condoms if you’re desperate, were a bit tight and sweaty so only wore them in emergencies or when I wanted to look inconspicuous - as if I could! The toenails recovered fully after a couple of months. The fingernails also seemed to recover well and quickly except the poor old thumbs took a bit longer.
Everything they give us involves constipation and Tax is no different in fact I’m beginning to wonder if breathing causes constipation!!! I ate (and still try to eat) loads of fruit and avoided any “problems” except for the first day or two after each session. Fresh apricots are good, blueberries, any red berries. All citrus is good too but my tastebuds went a bit funny by the 6th/7th chemo so couldn’t eat bananas, grapefruit, oranges. Overdosed on strawberries once or twice but think maybe I didn’t take enough cream with them!!!
The bone pain from the Tax was definitely noticeable and with a bit of detective work I discovered I was a lot worse when I had the Neulasta (blood count booster aka GCSF). It had been fine with FEC but the Tax/Neulasta combo didn’t work for me so I refused the last ones and was right as rain, no pain at all. Maybe it wasn’t the combo, maybe it was coincidence but it kept me happy and fit and free from Paracetamol, Codeine etc.
If I haven’t mentioned it before the Tax gave me the most prolific wind … but only during my waking hours!!! Honestly it was tremendous and when you don’t own a dog … My husband thought I could probably compete at county level but since we weren’t aware of any competitions I didn’t get any medals!
There are warnings (if they give you the Taxotere leaflet) that you may get pins/needles in hands and/or feet. This is called Peripheral Neuropathy and is actually the chemo causing nerve damage - cannot be prevented and I’m told cannot be treated altough a reflexologist told me “B complex” supplement should help.
One other thing (as Columbo would say!) is that they keep a very close eye on you first time because it can cause a reaction which I cannot pronounce or spell but basically seems that a tiny percentage of people can have an allergy type reaction which they can treat right away."
If anything else comes to mind I’ll let you know but for me it was highly do-able but not quite the breeze that FEC was but then some ladies loathe FEC - I thought they were pumping red water through me!
Will be thinking of you on Friday and hope that you tolerate it as well as I did (went on hols to SA a few weeks later), nasty mouth notwithstanding - I think everyone ends up with oral thrush at some point, seems to be unavoidable.
Best wishes
D
Thanks for this Dahlia
Sally if you want even more info there is a Breast Cancer Care publication at breastcancercare.org.uk/docs/taxotere_nov_2005_0.pdf
on this site.
All the best
Katie
Moderator
Breast Cancer Care
hi all
thanks so much once gain for your comments, i am so pleased to have found this site. I am very lucky to have wonderful and supportive friends and family but at the end of the day there is a part of this experience that ican only share with others who are on this journey with me.It is comforting to know that we all have the same fears and worries and that your not alone.sorry to sound so sentimental but i can honestly say that although this is a journey i did not want as i’m sure none of us did i have met some amazing and inspiring women on the way.
take care xxx
That’s nice Sally. I agree, this place is so benefical to all of us.
Thanks Dahlia - maybe it won’t be so bad after all.
Speak to you all again
Ali
x
Just to say that I had 4 FEC followed by 4 Taxotere and found very few problems with Taxotere (to my great relief!) Worst problem was thrush, and that was easily treated. Steroids seemed to have no effect on me - no buzz or weight gain.
Jane
Hi Jane
thanks so much for your positive comments on tax so good to hear that it’s not dreadful for everyone.
sally x
Dahlia, what a fantastic post, so helpful. My onc has changed my regime from 4 Epi + 8 CMF to 3 Epi, 3 Taxotere and the rest CMF so I was terrified a) because he decided to give me something stronger and b) the side effects sound so scary (Epi has been a breeze for me) and I don’t feel ready to suffer.
I feel much more sanguine about having Tax now I’ve read your post, so thanks you darling!
Deborah