I have finished 3 FEC and now will start the T could enyone tell me what can I expect? I read the forum and somebody wrote that her hair started to grow during Decetaxol treatment. I have heard that I will loos my hair. I am using cool cup and still have my hair. My oncologist told me it is worse and will lose more hair. Is it true? and what about the steroid what they give me to take it. It says a lot of side effects wich are really scary. Somebody experienced anything? I am still working. is it really different? I read about the tiredness and a joint ache. Is anybody still working with Decetaxol treatment?
Hi Dezdi im same as you finished FEC and have 1st docetaxel tomorrow and very apprehensive about it. I haven’t used cold cap so no hair for me lol. I’ve read 1 or 2 posts saying hair started to come back when on this regime so living in hope. I’m also concerned about the side effects of this one as well.Ive coped ok on the FEC but T may be tougher soon to find out hey Let me know how you get on and I will let you know after tomorrow ok. When is your 1st session? Xx
I am from the August 2015 thread. I have had 4 Fec and so far 3 Docetaxel, 1 more docetaxel to go.
I coped very well with the Fec , only feeling sick for a week and then no side effects at all. I did lose my hair after the 1st 14 days . My hair started to grow back after the Fec and so far has continued to grow back while I’m on the docetaxel. The only hair I have lost more of during the docetaxel are my eye lashes.
I will be totally honest I have found the docetaxel really hard going . I have had oral thrush , bad stomach, aches and pains, sore lips and mild depression none of which I had on the Fec. Just be prepared…mouth wash, baby toothbrush, moisturising cream and as soon as any symptoms of thrush or stomach pains appear make sure you ring your chemo unit and get tablets etc. This being said just rest as much as you can , I spend the first week after the docetaxel in bed sleeping on and off all the time .
We are all different and some women cope better with the docetaxel than the Fec but I found the Fec a lot easier on me . There is absolutely no way I could have worked or can work whilist on the docetaxel . My energy levels are still at zero when I have the next lot after 3 weeks.
Hi I’m half way through 4 lots of Docetaxel & Cylophsphamide, 3rd one next week. I have been lucky up to now with the side effects. Oral thrush for a couple of days. I do get very tired & lethargic for a number of days. The last week of the cycle I am more or less back to normal. Hope this helps. xx
I’m about to have my third batch of Docetaxel after having had three FEC. The FEC really made me tired with headaches for the first week and yes I lost my hair gradually over the weeks. I tried the cold cap at the first session and as I started losing hair before my second session I decided against using it and to be honest it’s not a nice experience when FEC takes about four hours anyway. I’ve bought some really good lace front wigs which are fixed with wig glue at the front so I can wear my wigs to bed and don’t have to worry about wigs falling off on these windy days. Some people call Docetaxel Mr T as it comes with a punch. For me I haven’t had the severe body pains but for the first week I have severe constipation and a burning sensation in my lower stomach and my tabs don’t help much. I’ve had the thrush too and sore throat and neck. The tips of my toes and fingers are numb and sensitive to heat and cold for about 10 days of each treatment but I was advised to paint my nails to keep them strong (they’ve started to turn grey) and that does seem to protect my nails. Gloves are a must for washing. Anyone else feels the cold more? I wear sheepskin boots and slippers and thermals under clothes indoors.
Hi. Just coming to the end of my first Docetaxel. I had FEC 7years ago and tolerated it quite well. This has been very different. I had 4 awful days (day 3 to 6) when I wasn’t sure if i had diarrhoea or constipation! It was really uncomfortable. Since then I think I have had every side effect mentioned but only mildly or for a day or so. Thrush, yes for 3 days, nausea a bit (try chrysalis end ginger), no taste buds for the middle week, muscle pain for one day, tingly hands off and on and hair loss which began at the end of the second week. Last time I just let the hair fall out but this time I had it shaved off pretty quickly and that was the best decision. It wasn’t so distressing and certainly less messy.
i agree that I have felt the cold more but by the start of the third week I felt quite well again, which is about the same as with FEC. I think the answer is to get rest when you feel you need it, take gentle exercise and try and eat as well as you can.
Start the steroids for the second session tomorrow. Here’s hoping!
One thing I forgot to mention which was strange. With the FECT I lost my hair but with T I lost my always thin eyebrows and lower eyelashes. Luckily eyebrow makeup has come a long way and MAC eyeliner and eyeliner gel has made up for it.
Hey ladies.
I had my first Decetaxol on wednesday. I felt okay after but after 3days my body started to hurt. I coped really well with FEC but this one is hard now. I feel like my mouth swollen my teeth hurt and i cant eat because it hurt so much. And everything taste so bad. Is there any advice for it? I took painkiller but doesnt help.
Many thanks.
Thank you all, good to know I’m not abnormal. Day 7 and aches really kicked in but hot water bottle quite soothing and deep breathes. I think my husband thought I was in labour again during the night. does anyone know how long the aches last for?
I had 3 x FEC and 3 x T which ended on 13th November. You are more than welcome to have a spin around my blog at purpleclare.wordpress.com which I started so I didn’t have to keep repeating myself to all my friends and family!
I suffered with FEC but found T very tolerable. I worked throughout my chemo with only a few days off here and there and went to reduced hours for a little while when I was bad.
The numb hands and feet have got a little worse and my nails are sore and lifting on my left hand. I do ache most days which I know is residual side effects.
I hate the saying but everyone is different, I was very apprehensive going into the docetaxol as although I physically couldn’t have done another session of FEC I didn’t know what to expect with docetaxol and it is always the fear of the Unknown which is worse.
Watch out for the Tax trots if you haven’t suffered the constipation. It can give you a very bad back as well.
Hi Dezdi, fully agree with Purpleclare. Be aware of Tax trots. They can be very hard on your body. Have Immodium ready and don’t dither about taking it if needed. If it doesn’t help speak with your dr. Make sure you rest as the chemo is cumulative and it takes a few weeks to get over it.
Hope it all goes well. xx
I’m a bit late to this thread but I was hoping someone might have experience of hair regrowth during Docetaxel. I’ve just had my 2nd cycle (of 4) last week, following 4 cycles of EC. I’ve used the cold cap throughout (although I have lost a huge amount of hair); but frustratingly no signs of regrowth yet and eyebrows have thinned noticeably since starting T. Has anyone noticed hair regrowth with T or am I being overly optimistic in hoping?!
I had my first treatment last Monday , having had 3 fec. The fec was not nice but I kept notes on how I felt so by the 3rd was ready for what it threw at me. I didn’t like it as feeling sick was horrid.
Now this new lot is really taking the biscuit.
On Tuesday I felt really good and was lulled into false sense of, maybe I can cope with this but by Thursday it started to kick in.
2 nights with little sleep and a body that aches all over.
Please can someone tell me how long the pains etc last in each cycle, as if I know it will last for a week or less I can adjust to that. I’m hoping it wont last the 21 days before the next.
Reading on this forum has been very enlightening so thank you for all the honesty.
I’m sorry I can’t help you with any advise as your treatment was some time ago but hope you coped well with everything. I am hoping you can help me. I have just had my third and last EC chemo yesterday and am due to start docetaxel in 3 weeks with a choice of 3 weekly for 3 sessions or weekly for 9 sessions. I hope you can help me decide which to go for. Could you please tell me what you decided, why and what were your side-effects? I have managed ok with the EC but from what I have read so far the docetaxel sounds worse. Also, do you have injections if having weekly docetaxel? I don’t like the sound of those and have been told I’d have them for 5 days each time if I went for 3 weekly. Hope to hear from you. Thank you.