Dear Ruth,
I had weekly taxotere 70mg for about thirty week and
tolerated it very
well, as with others I had no feeling in the fingers, finger
nails died
but my feet and toenails were fine (I don't know if this
means I just
have poor circulation to my feet).
I kept walking to a minimum, it felt like climbing mount
everest just
going to the local shops and back and there was more than
one occasion
when I thought I wouldn't make it back but I thought if I
sit down I
won't be able to get up.
Lots of other silly side effects like blocked tear ducts,
blocked sinus,
upset tummy, etc
Other people I know had much more significant side effects
and I think
we are all on different doses, so its not easy to compare. I
have been
off taxotere for about ten weeks and the finger nails are
better, tear
ducts/sinus are still blocked and I still have no feeling in
the end of
the fingers.
Before I had my MRM I could feel the chemo working as you
say it was
sometimes like pins and needles in the breast and painful
for say a day
or so after chemo, I always thought as you say it was the
chemo working.
Hope this helps.
Fiona
Single mother (43 yrs old) with two daughters 2 year old and
six years
old was living in Bangkok with my own consulting business
when diagnosed
Jan 06 after six months of being told I had mastitis &
blocked milk
ducts (five hospitals, nine doctors two surgeons all got it
wrong
including a breast cancer centre), immediately moved back to
Sydney,
Australia - Stage IV - Mets to Bone T9 & L4, lymph
glands left and right
arm, gland behind breast bone, ER-/PR-/HER2+++ started Chemo
14th Feb 06
- FEC x 1 /Herceptin x 1 then switched to weekly Taxotere
70mg/Herceptin
200mg six weeks on, two weeks herceptin only. Scans done
6/06 great
results, some of my team believe its arthritis at L4 not
cancer and
significant improvement everywhere, double mastectomy done
20/7/06 with
axillary clearance both sides 22 glands from left, 13 from
right, lymph
glands totally clear (yippee), DCIS small pocket found in
left breast,
nothing in right breast, more of the same chemotherapy, Bone
Scan L4
uptake, MRI clear, PET scan clear, radiation twice per days
seven fields
completed 12/06, more chemo planned for the new year.
-----Original Message-----
From: ibc-bounces ibcsupport.org [mailto:ibc-bouncesibcsupport.org] On
Behalf Of Ruth Coates
Sent: Tuesday, 19 December 2006 9:51 PM
To: ibcibcsupport.org
Subject: [ibc] Questions about taxotere effects
Hello all
I'm a newbie here and have some questions about Taxotere. I
am an RN
and understand the info I was given at the cancer center,
but some side
effects are lingering and I was wondering if others had the
same
experiences.
My last dose of Taxotere (of 4) was 2 weeks ago. I am very
muscle weak
in that it is a chore to walk more than 50 ft without a
rest. My legs (
and really all muscles when used) feel like I'd just run a
marathon,
uphill. I sit for awhile, and I'm so stiff in my back and
abd. muscles
its hard to get going. I am thinking it is a use it or lose
it
situation, but at the same time it feels like its not
getting better.
Going up stairs I try to do twice a day, but I feel like a
real wimp
afterwards.
On another note, after each chemo treatment I've noticed
the affected
breast (rt) is painful for a time and I can clearly see the
red area
where it is. I have shown this to my oncologist who says
that this is
the chemo working on the cancer. All well and good, but I
now have an
area on my left breast which is tender at times, near the
axilla, not
red or inflammed. Could this be more cancer or just
sympathetic pain?
I am planning to have a bilateral MRM in January (4 weeks)
with study of
all tissue. Should I wait until then, or tell my oncologist
of my
concerns? My last visit they told me to see them the day
they do
simulation for radiation in February.
This list is great. The most comprehensive information I
have ever
found. I vote for a T-shirt with the IBC in an oval. No
pink, maybe a
bright color, bright green or blue?
Thanks for answers and commiseration 
Ruth
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