I have been lucky over the last 2 or so years as have only had AC chemo and Tamoxifen and monthly zoladex treatments. I also had RFA to my liver tumour in 2006 and was stable for over 18 months. My tumour markers started to increase before christmas and I had a scan at the begining of January and the results showed progression of disease and multiple new tumours in my liver. I knew it wouldn’t be good but was suitably shocked by the liver. My consultant discussed starting Taxotere but as the tamoxifen worked for so long and my LFT is normal we agreed to try Femara for 2 months to see if it does as good a job as tamoxifen.
I have been trying to prepare myself for taxotere and have scared myself a bit as it seems to be a hard going chemo that can wipe you out completely. I am a single parent with a 6 year old which is my worry. I have also read about Xeloda which seems to have fewer side effects and less hospital visits etc and this maybe a stupid question but wonder why this chemo is not an option. Is there a set way to go through the chemo options ? Is taxotere better on liver tumours ? Cost ?
Sorry you have’nt had any replies yet and sorrier to hear about your progression.
From what I have read yes your onc is doing the right thing in trying femara for a while as you had such a good response to tamoxifen.
Yes taxotere is usually given before xeloda (capectabine) but I don’t know why and think you should discuss this with your oncologist. I’ve had both and yes the side effects of taxotere (particularly for me in terms of exhaustion…no nausea at all) are easier than those from xeloda (I had diarhhea but this was managed).
I don’t think this is a cost issue, but a clinical issue… so find out some more.
My heart goes out to you coping with a 6 year old on your own and hopeyou have ome good support networks around you.
My wife had 11 sessions of Taxotere and at the same time Xeloda. After the Tax she carried on just with the Xeloda for another 9 months.
She had a very large area of her liver affected by the cancer. Although it never shrank the cancer it certainly put the brakes on. She finishes the Xeloda last august and started femara. As far as we know the brakes are still on.
I think Xeloda is quite expensive so in the UK ( we are in Spain ) tha may be a problem.
To answer your question re Taxotere yes it is hard, as far as I know it is one of the strongest chemo out there and yes it is very hard on you. I would ask about Xeloda only but I am sure that Taxotere is the standard for the Liver cancer and is backed up by Xeloda.
I am very lucky as I do have great family and friends who have been brilliant throughout but I am not very good at asking for help and normally am on my knees before I will ask (can’t help it just the way I am) - I will discuss both chemo options with my consultant and try and push for the kindest one then at least I will feel that I have done as much as I can !!! I am keeping everything crossed that femara works but I suppose it is only going to delay the inevitable its just difficult when you don’t feel unwell and you know how the chemo is going to make you feel.
I was also given taxol as 2nd line chemo for liver mets. Some people have a great response to the taxanes. For me, it kept things stable for the time I was on it. I did find it the hardest of the treatments I have had so far but then I know others who have found it relatively easy. I have been on Xeloda for more than a year now and it is so much easier in comparison. I must say now, I am glad to have had the taxol first (before my hair had grown back after EC). It does seem to be the usual order to do taxanes before xeloda I do not know the protocol for this but I don’t think cost is the main reason. The thing is, with mets, you are probably going to be faced with this treatment option at some point anyway and if I were faced with the choice, I would get taxotere out of the way first.
I am currentley underingoing weekly Paclitaxel which is a form of Taxol. I had it weekly for 6 weeks and now have it two weeks on 1 week of. My oncologist said that he outcome is the same as having a bigger dose 3 weekly but the side effects much less. I have lost my hair, feel tired at times and have had joint pain offf on on but apart from that have been fine. I had a ct scan half way through and there is significant improvement both in my liver and lungs so it sems to be working. Hope this helps.
I really feel for you facing this with a 6 year old to take care of . All I can say is that the side effects of taxotere seem to vary very considerably from person to person. I was terrified when I went in for my first chemo but I had 8 sessions of taxotere and felt fine through most of it. For the first 6 I had one or two days of feeling a bit feverish after the steroids wore off. I used the cold cap and kept my hair - though it was a mess by the end. The last 2 sessions were hard - severe fatigue, eyebrows eyelashes gone, eyes and nose contsantly streaming. The biggest trial was the effect on my tastebuds as everything tasted so vile it was hard work to eat. However it shrank my breast, lungs and liver tumours very considerably and for 4 of the 6 months I lived my life pretty much as normal, went to work, gardened etc.
all the very best