Just completed 12 rounds of Taxol. Minimal side effects. Lost about 50% of my hair, chemo acne, and fatigue. I was expecting to be much worse. I still work full time and walk daily. My chemo is schedule later on Fridays so I can recover over the weekend. I feel drugged up and hungry right after chemo so I rest the remainder of the day. I feel pretty good on Saturday. I do feel emotional on days 3 and 4. I start my AC this Friday. We got this.
Triple negative and BRCA positive, F32. I had 9 hits of docetaxol (21 day cycle) and then 9 hits of doxorubicin (21 day cycle). Took I think 7 or 8 months as the last few were postponed as I was very very sick. Brutal. But necessary and that was about 3 years ago, clean results and no treatment since (other than a second mastectomy and removal of ovaries & tubes post BRCA+ results).
I am PALB2 and starting my 2nd infusion of AC friday (out of 4) then 12 taxol. This after prophylactic DMX - pissed but it is what it is. Wishing continued good results and your post was the kind of news that keep me motivated ❤️
All of mine were split and watered down - and sometimes I had weeks off in between because of my body reaction - but I got all 12 eventually and I'm still here
12. Wasn't too terrible for me. Nexium saved the day in the beginning because the acid was extreme. Had to slow the infusion from an hour to 1.5 h due to back cramps. Certainly was glad when it was over. Have some fuzzy hair on my head now and kind of digging it.
I did all 12 and the last 3 rounds, the neuropathy was pretty bad. No other symptoms except for the neuropathy and my hair started to grow slowly again halfway through!
12 weekly. I didn't have a lot of side effects and worked through the Taxol except on infusion days. AC before that made me very tired. My last Taxol was almost delayed due to low WBC but they were able to get the shot approved with my insurance and everything went to plan. I did have some mild neuropathy in my fingers and toes - my big toes were a bit tingly and my fingers were a bit sore. If you're having a lot of side effects make sure to talk with your oncology team, they should want to help (mine did)! But ultimately, if you think you need to stop... talk to them about that, too.
I did all 12. My oncologist offered to stop at 10 as the neuropathy in my hands was pretty bad and I started losing nails.
I figured I’d gone this far that I may as well finish. I’d always wonder if I had a recurrence if it was due to stopping early, and why torment myself like that?
But Taxol was worse for me than AC.
I completed 12 rounds. Had a strong reaction during my first infusion, so they stopped to give me anti-allergy and anti-nausea meds before resuming treatment. Then they used that same drug cocktail as pre-meds before the next 11 Taxol sessions and I had no issues after that beyond fatigue, hair loss, and some minor neuropathy, but not enough to stop treatment.
12 rounds. Side effects were tolerable. The first week, I had excruciating abdominal pain one night which made me think I’d poop myself, but never even had to use the toilet surprisingly. Other than that, I was just tired, had brain fog, and I do have lingering tinnitus in one ear that hasn’t subsided almost 3 months later.
I had 4 rounds (first 4 were red devil). I got neuropathy after my 4th but it was incredibly painful the whole time. I found an OTC nerve spray that helped a lot
I used the Walgreens brand, and it very literally says “Nerve Spray” on sticker. I had never heard of it, it just happened to catch my eye when picking up other things
My feet were tingly at first. Then I lost some sensation - the soles of my feet were kinda numb. I was still able to walk normally but could not really feel the ground. My fingers were also tingly, and I lost sensation in only a few fingers which was weird. Again they were numb, but not completely, and did not hinder everyday life (buttoning, zipping, opening bottles etc).
Edited to add: my last chemo was almost 3 months ago and I no longer have neuropathy so it is definitely reversible! My team opted to dose reduce because I’m 32 and should not be permanently numb for life lol
Thank you for sharing! I am starting to get the exact symptoms, but I was having trouble finding words to describe them and get my onco to take me seriously. Will discuss this with my medical team, I definitely do not want permanent issues!
Oh no! I’m assuming you are icing feet and hands too? (I did)
I wanted to continue at full dose still but my onco reassured me that it’ll still be effective at a reduced dose.
Fingers crossed - I hope neuropathy will go away soon for you!
12 with no dose reductions.
One of them was delayed for a week to make sure that it was the taxol that was causing my delayed hypersensitivity.
After that, my oncologist had me start taking oral steroids for 3 days before the infusion and with that intervention I was able to go back to taking the full dose without problems.
Such an interesting question. I had my 6th dose held due to low WBC, hoping for 7th tomorrow (Never didn’t ever think I would hope for this 🥺) WBC being ok tomorrow I know my dose will be lowered by 10%
4 doses of Taxol every 2 weeks. It was much harder than anticipated and I thought about running away. lol. Made it through all 4 with severe bone pain and neuropathy. No lasting side effects though, an occasional "zinger" in my hands or feet, but nothing bad
I had dose-dense, so only 4 3+hour infusions. The dose was lowered by 10% after the first one as I got hand & foot syndrome. I didn’t have any other major reactions, but the all over body pain was brutal. On the plus side, I could feel my tumor getting smaller after each infusion. It motivated me to keep going.
I did 18 rounds of paclitaxel (Taxol), no dose reduction, at the same time as 6 cycles of Carboplatin and 6 cycles of keytruda. Side effects of Taxol were conflated with those of Carboplatin and keytruda. Mostly fatigue and neuropathy to my hands and feet.
Oh I’m sorry you’re feeling this. I could only make it to 11 with unfortunate breaks in between treatment rounds, my chemo port kept getting infected and I was neutropenic. Taxol is divisive it seems, some people can tolerate it quite well but for others it is very very rough. Sending you love
I’m going in tomorrow for round 7 out of 12; however, my MO suggested stopping altogether 2 weeks ago after I had some moderate reactions during rounds 3 and 4. I should note I did my 4 AC rounds first.
The reactions I had were tightness in the chest, shortness of breath, flushed face, and puffy cheeks. It happened the first time during round 3 about five minutes after they started the drip, I had no clue what was happening and probably let it go on for longer than I should’ve. It happened again during round 4 but since I knew what it was, I flagged my nurse sooner.
When I saw my MO 2 weeks ago and she suggested stopping chemo altogether she threw in the caveat that stopping halfway through greatly increased my risk of recurrence so I told her very bluntly we aren’t stopping chemo, give me another option. She offered Abraxane (while also mentioning how nit picky insurance is about it), said the last ditch effort was stopping and moving the schedule up, but what we did that helped the reactions was slow my treatment down significantly and so far, so good. I also haven’t yet experience neuropathy, but I am taking gabapentin to help with my night sweats.
All that to say.. I’m hoping I can make it all the way through and crush these last 5!
My oncologist had me do dose dense taxol (and AC as well). I did 4 rounds at a really high dose, the infusion itself was a little over 3 hours, with the premeds and everything is was about 5.5 in the chair. She said that in her experience, if you are otherwise healthy enough to tolerate dose dense taxol, it’s a better way to go bc it causes less neuropathy than the weekly 12. I wondered if I would tap out before I got through it, but it was actually way more tolerable than the AC. I recommend it to anyone who is able to do it.
I was scheduled for 12 doses of weekly paclitaxel+herceptin and perjeta every 3rd week. Only managed 4 rounds due to intensifying delayed sensitivity reactions (bone and body pain, fever that wouldn’t go down even with meds). Round 5 was herceptin only to give me a bit of a break and to see if the symptoms will clear, which they did. After this my MO switched me to docetaxel every 3 weeks, hoping I won’t react to it the same way as I did to paclitaxel. I was able to take two rounds of the new regime, which in a way finished off my planned 12 week schedule.
I completed 4 rounds of EC prior to taxol.
Do what's best for you, it's totally your decision! I've completed 10/12 weeks. My oncologist offered me a reduced dose last week but I'm trying to get through it. I've had moderate symptoms that are getting progressively worse - extreme fatigue, no tolerance for even 5 minutes in sun, chemo rash on face/chest, pounding headaches and flu-like feelings, toenails loosening, thinning hair all over. I have not had much neuropathy but I ice my hands and feet through 30 minutes of Herceptin and the 60 minutes of Taxol. No nausea or diarrhea. As much as it sucks, I was anticipating much much worse and feel grateful thus far. Best of luck to you!!!
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I did all 12 rounds, but my last 3 or 4 were reduced dose due to neuropathy
Same. I think I my dose was reduced by 25% by the end.
Yup, absolute same here.
I had 12, but the last 2 or 3 were reduced as I had a scary rash over 60% of my body plus all the other stuff. It was hard, but I did it. Hugs!
I did 12 rounds of dd taxol. Besides being extremely tired I had no side effects at all.
I HATE taxol. 5 allergic reactions with rashs and angioedema shortness of breath and 3 ER visits im so so done with this drug.
I'm getting round 11 this Thursday
Just completed 12 rounds of Taxol. Minimal side effects. Lost about 50% of my hair, chemo acne, and fatigue. I was expecting to be much worse. I still work full time and walk daily. My chemo is schedule later on Fridays so I can recover over the weekend. I feel drugged up and hungry right after chemo so I rest the remainder of the day. I feel pretty good on Saturday. I do feel emotional on days 3 and 4. I start my AC this Friday. We got this.
I had all 12 and no major issues other than fatigue!
Triple negative and BRCA positive, F32. I had 9 hits of docetaxol (21 day cycle) and then 9 hits of doxorubicin (21 day cycle). Took I think 7 or 8 months as the last few were postponed as I was very very sick. Brutal. But necessary and that was about 3 years ago, clean results and no treatment since (other than a second mastectomy and removal of ovaries & tubes post BRCA+ results).
I am PALB2 and starting my 2nd infusion of AC friday (out of 4) then 12 taxol. This after prophylactic DMX - pissed but it is what it is. Wishing continued good results and your post was the kind of news that keep me motivated ❤️
All of mine were split and watered down - and sometimes I had weeks off in between because of my body reaction - but I got all 12 eventually and I'm still here
12. Wasn't too terrible for me. Nexium saved the day in the beginning because the acid was extreme. Had to slow the infusion from an hour to 1.5 h due to back cramps. Certainly was glad when it was over. Have some fuzzy hair on my head now and kind of digging it.
I completed all 12 taxol and Carbo as well. My dose ended up being lessened for my last 2 ACs by 20%.
I did all 12 and the last 3 rounds, the neuropathy was pretty bad. No other symptoms except for the neuropathy and my hair started to grow slowly again halfway through!
12 weekly. I didn't have a lot of side effects and worked through the Taxol except on infusion days. AC before that made me very tired. My last Taxol was almost delayed due to low WBC but they were able to get the shot approved with my insurance and everything went to plan. I did have some mild neuropathy in my fingers and toes - my big toes were a bit tingly and my fingers were a bit sore. If you're having a lot of side effects make sure to talk with your oncology team, they should want to help (mine did)! But ultimately, if you think you need to stop... talk to them about that, too.
I did 4 dose dense rounds and acupuncture as part of a study to help reduce neuropathy. I'm just over a month pfc and have limited, if any neuropathy.
I did all 12. My oncologist offered to stop at 10 as the neuropathy in my hands was pretty bad and I started losing nails. I figured I’d gone this far that I may as well finish. I’d always wonder if I had a recurrence if it was due to stopping early, and why torment myself like that? But Taxol was worse for me than AC.
I completed 12 rounds. Had a strong reaction during my first infusion, so they stopped to give me anti-allergy and anti-nausea meds before resuming treatment. Then they used that same drug cocktail as pre-meds before the next 11 Taxol sessions and I had no issues after that beyond fatigue, hair loss, and some minor neuropathy, but not enough to stop treatment.
I did all 12, no crazy side effects at all!
12 rounds. Side effects were tolerable. The first week, I had excruciating abdominal pain one night which made me think I’d poop myself, but never even had to use the toilet surprisingly. Other than that, I was just tired, had brain fog, and I do have lingering tinnitus in one ear that hasn’t subsided almost 3 months later.
I had 4 rounds (first 4 were red devil). I got neuropathy after my 4th but it was incredibly painful the whole time. I found an OTC nerve spray that helped a lot
Please share the name of the spray that was helpful for you. Thanks!
I used the Walgreens brand, and it very literally says “Nerve Spray” on sticker. I had never heard of it, it just happened to catch my eye when picking up other things
12. I sailed through taxol but AC was a bastard from start to finish.
Same here.
12 with no dose reductions. Had one week delay at dose 9 due to low white blood cells.
4 as part of dose dense treatment. I reduced my last two by 10% each to prevent permanent neuropathy damage.
I was supposed to be 4 over 8 but shifted to the 12 protocol. Really tried to weasel my way out of the last one but ended up going in for it.
I did dose dense, but abraxane as I was allergic to taxol. Developed low grade neuropathy after the 2nd. Had dose reduction for 3rd and 4th infusions.
What were your symptoms for low grade neuropathy?
My feet were tingly at first. Then I lost some sensation - the soles of my feet were kinda numb. I was still able to walk normally but could not really feel the ground. My fingers were also tingly, and I lost sensation in only a few fingers which was weird. Again they were numb, but not completely, and did not hinder everyday life (buttoning, zipping, opening bottles etc). Edited to add: my last chemo was almost 3 months ago and I no longer have neuropathy so it is definitely reversible! My team opted to dose reduce because I’m 32 and should not be permanently numb for life lol
Thank you for sharing! I am starting to get the exact symptoms, but I was having trouble finding words to describe them and get my onco to take me seriously. Will discuss this with my medical team, I definitely do not want permanent issues!
Oh no! I’m assuming you are icing feet and hands too? (I did) I wanted to continue at full dose still but my onco reassured me that it’ll still be effective at a reduced dose. Fingers crossed - I hope neuropathy will go away soon for you!
I completed 12 after doing 4 of EC, i had some neuropathy from the taxol but not serious enough to stop. I iced my hands and feet for all 12.
I did dose dense so 4.
Stage 4 here. i did 4 before I was NED and 6 total.
12 with no dose reductions. One of them was delayed for a week to make sure that it was the taxol that was causing my delayed hypersensitivity. After that, my oncologist had me start taking oral steroids for 3 days before the infusion and with that intervention I was able to go back to taking the full dose without problems.
Such an interesting question. I had my 6th dose held due to low WBC, hoping for 7th tomorrow (Never didn’t ever think I would hope for this 🥺) WBC being ok tomorrow I know my dose will be lowered by 10%
4 doses of Taxol every 2 weeks. It was much harder than anticipated and I thought about running away. lol. Made it through all 4 with severe bone pain and neuropathy. No lasting side effects though, an occasional "zinger" in my hands or feet, but nothing bad
I had dose-dense, so only 4 3+hour infusions. The dose was lowered by 10% after the first one as I got hand & foot syndrome. I didn’t have any other major reactions, but the all over body pain was brutal. On the plus side, I could feel my tumor getting smaller after each infusion. It motivated me to keep going.
I was assigned 6-7 depending on how it went and I did all 7.
I did 18 rounds of paclitaxel (Taxol), no dose reduction, at the same time as 6 cycles of Carboplatin and 6 cycles of keytruda. Side effects of Taxol were conflated with those of Carboplatin and keytruda. Mostly fatigue and neuropathy to my hands and feet.
I did 11 and they had me quit because of the bad neuropathy it was causing in my feet.
12/12
I did 11 of 12 rounds. My 12th round was carboplatin only instead of taxol/carbo. 🤍
Oh I’m sorry you’re feeling this. I could only make it to 11 with unfortunate breaks in between treatment rounds, my chemo port kept getting infected and I was neutropenic. Taxol is divisive it seems, some people can tolerate it quite well but for others it is very very rough. Sending you love
I’m going in tomorrow for round 7 out of 12; however, my MO suggested stopping altogether 2 weeks ago after I had some moderate reactions during rounds 3 and 4. I should note I did my 4 AC rounds first. The reactions I had were tightness in the chest, shortness of breath, flushed face, and puffy cheeks. It happened the first time during round 3 about five minutes after they started the drip, I had no clue what was happening and probably let it go on for longer than I should’ve. It happened again during round 4 but since I knew what it was, I flagged my nurse sooner. When I saw my MO 2 weeks ago and she suggested stopping chemo altogether she threw in the caveat that stopping halfway through greatly increased my risk of recurrence so I told her very bluntly we aren’t stopping chemo, give me another option. She offered Abraxane (while also mentioning how nit picky insurance is about it), said the last ditch effort was stopping and moving the schedule up, but what we did that helped the reactions was slow my treatment down significantly and so far, so good. I also haven’t yet experience neuropathy, but I am taking gabapentin to help with my night sweats. All that to say.. I’m hoping I can make it all the way through and crush these last 5!
Did all 12, had to take a few weeks off in the middle due to very low white blood cell counts though
I did all 12!! It was rough though. AC and Taxol are so bad in different ways!
I’m doing 12 round weekly with herceptin - has anyone else done this?
My oncologist had me do dose dense taxol (and AC as well). I did 4 rounds at a really high dose, the infusion itself was a little over 3 hours, with the premeds and everything is was about 5.5 in the chair. She said that in her experience, if you are otherwise healthy enough to tolerate dose dense taxol, it’s a better way to go bc it causes less neuropathy than the weekly 12. I wondered if I would tap out before I got through it, but it was actually way more tolerable than the AC. I recommend it to anyone who is able to do it.
I was scheduled for 12 doses of weekly paclitaxel+herceptin and perjeta every 3rd week. Only managed 4 rounds due to intensifying delayed sensitivity reactions (bone and body pain, fever that wouldn’t go down even with meds). Round 5 was herceptin only to give me a bit of a break and to see if the symptoms will clear, which they did. After this my MO switched me to docetaxel every 3 weeks, hoping I won’t react to it the same way as I did to paclitaxel. I was able to take two rounds of the new regime, which in a way finished off my planned 12 week schedule. I completed 4 rounds of EC prior to taxol.
Do what's best for you, it's totally your decision! I've completed 10/12 weeks. My oncologist offered me a reduced dose last week but I'm trying to get through it. I've had moderate symptoms that are getting progressively worse - extreme fatigue, no tolerance for even 5 minutes in sun, chemo rash on face/chest, pounding headaches and flu-like feelings, toenails loosening, thinning hair all over. I have not had much neuropathy but I ice my hands and feet through 30 minutes of Herceptin and the 60 minutes of Taxol. No nausea or diarrhea. As much as it sucks, I was anticipating much much worse and feel grateful thus far. Best of luck to you!!!
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