taxotere

[karyn]

Hi Everyone

My mom has just completed her 5th round of taxotere and herceptin. For the past week she has been unable to get up off the couch. She has absolutely no energy. We have called the hospital, but they have basically said that there is nothing they can do. Before her last chemo treatment, her blood was great, but I guess a lot can happen in a week. If she is still this bad tomorrow, she is going to request a blood sample to see. Just wondering if anyone else experienced this, and if so, how they got through it.

Thanks

Karyn

[Lyn]

Hi, I found that when I was on Taxotere I needed more steroids to get energy, 2 days worth was not enough, I took them for a week, problem was with steroids they make you swell up puffy, give you an appetite and can keep you awake, but that was the only way I could get moving. How many more doses of taxotere is she going to have? Hopefully not to many more, as for them not being able to do anything, if your mum is not coping with the taxotere they will have to stop it and perhaps try Navelbine which is better and hardly any side effects at all.

Love & Hugs Lyn

[judiek]

Karyn,

If her white counts are low she can get shots to bring the counts up. I take neulasta, one shot for 2 days following chemo. I started with 5 shots but have found I only need 2 per week. There is another called neulasta, that is given just once after chemo. For me it is very expensive, our out of pocket is $700.00 per shot...and we have satisfied our out of pocket for the year.

Best of luck

Warmly,

Judie

[JoJo]

Try Neupogen.

[lauren]

Navelbine is not FDA approved for non-metastatic breast cancer. FYI...

[Rozebud]

In total agreement with the others. I just finished my last round of taxotere last week and it kicked me. My WBC counts were low and I started getting sick & needed to take antiobiotics. Also REALLY achy for several days. I had almost no side effects from A/C, but for some reason taxotere was rough. (I was also pushing it a bit by working and taking care of two little ones every night while my husband worked.) I felt like I had been run over by a train by the time I got to bed each night....

[Lolly]

Hi Karyn,
I'm on weekly Herceptin/Navelbine and because of extreme chemo induced anemia(and EXTREME tiredness) have started receiving Arenesp injections every other week. I've only had 2, and they told me last week if my counts aren't up to an acceptable level by this week I'll be getting a blood transfusion. This may be an option for your mom if her tiredness is a result of chemo/anemia. I was told it would take a few weeks for the Arenesp to kick in, and if I had such pronounced weakness as your mom is experiencing I'd be asking for a transfusion.
Love, Lolly

[Lyn]

Hi, must have missed that in another post, didn't pick up if it was a reoccurence or not, but then when you have had as many drugs in your system as I have since 1998 it is a wonder I can even find this site, just joking I have it logged into my favourites.

Cheers Lyn

[Shannon]

My mom had 7 treatments of Taxotere and herceptin. In hindsight, we all wished that she had no more than 6 as she would get progressively weaker after each treatment. The good news is that it has been about 2 months since her last taxotere treatment and all of the side effects (swelling, etc) are pretty much gone. My understanding is that taxotere is very tough on the body and my mom's onc was ready to pull the plug at any moment if she did not feel up to it.

Hope that helps!