Paclitaxel

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Hi all,

I’m hoping some of you will be able to help me. Tomorrow my mum is starting paclitaxel chemotherapy. Have any of you had this and how did you get on? Hoping someone can help. Want to be prepared xx thanks xx

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 hi , 

 

I have just finished this treatment , it was very doable , the only side effect I had was  a long period of cystitis, which kept me house bound . All clear now. I have read that it can damage ther bladder in women over 60 years of age , another joy of getting older 

 

 

 good luck xxxxx 

 

take care 

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Hi Marie,
I would agree Paclitaxel is well tolerated. For me I have had 6 cycles of it so 18 times to the chemo suite. It has made me feel tired and occasionally achy and I have had a few small mouth ulcers. But I have been eating well, no nausea and have been continuing to walk every day. Hoping your mum will be the same. Xxxx

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Hi Marie, and all you ladies,

I have been on Paclitaxol since March.  I read of people on these boards that have sailed through with no side effects.  I seem to have had every single one!  I’ve missed several weekly chemos because my neutropenic count was on the floor (0.4), so I’d insist on the injections to support your  mum’s immune system right from the off.   I lost my hair, one cycle my hands developed what looked like burns, and they have taken two weeks (without chemo), and I’ve been driven daft with cystitis (truffle stuff I  see you’ve had that too). I asked my oncologist why I seem to have had almost every side-effect going and she said they can’t predict - some ladies who are in their 80s she said, sail through, and has young women who find it super tough. So Marie for you mum, best to be prepared to reassure her that it’s different for different people, and not to do what I did and get into a state because I felt so rubbish, and other people feel fine.  The important thing is to just keep your team informed of side effects. 

All the gaps in my treatment have meant that my latest scan showed that whilst my original tumours have shrunk, sadly I have new ones which are resistent to the paclitaxol, so I’m now being put on a tablet chemotherapy.   Marie, best of luck to your mum xx