I am wondering if there are any on the board at the moment doing these two drugs and if so the side effects you are experiencing.
And...will I lose my hair?
I am wondering if there are any on the board at the moment doing these two drugs and if so the side effects you are experiencing.
And...will I lose my hair?
I did one round in March 08 and lost my hair . I got sick mostly emotional . My hair is now growing back. Everyone is different in there reactions to these drugs. Good luck........
Yes, my husband is on it now and is losing his hair. I'm not sure he'll lose all of it, but he does shed quite a bit. Everyone is different though. It's not a picnic that's for sure, but it doesn't seem to cause him much nausea.
I had 6 weekly sessions of carboplatinum/taxol concurrent with daily radiation. I did not lose my hair. I then had surgery. After surgery I had two more session of a much stronger dose of the same chemo. I did lose my hair then. Hope this helps.
Carol
I had 6 sessions of carbo/taxol also. I lost my hair. Stage 4 NSCLC so no rad or surg. I bought myself a nice wig and also several different color turbans and a scarf. I found the scarf too much work so mainly went with the turbans. I had them in 6 different colors and tried to be color coordinated with my outfits. Suffered from heartburn and the last 3 treatments made me very fatigued. I missed a few days of work during the last 3 treatments but otherwise worked full-time. I also had some nausea and diarrhea controlled with imodium. There is a cheese called LiveActive, and Crystal Light makes a drink that you mix with water that is supposed to be good for digestive health. I also drank a can of ginger ale every day, used ginger and drank ginger tea. All helped me. Good luck with your treatment.
I did not have taxol but did have carbo. The thing about the carbo is the way it affects your white blood cell count. This can make you very susceptible to infection and TIRED. When my white count went down I had to take neulasta and neupogen shots. This made me achey all over like I had the flu ( or had been run over by a truck lol) I only lost about 1/2 of my hair and what I had left was dry and brittle and plain old ugly. A small price to pay. I had excellent results from this drug.
Thanks everyone. I know there is a ton of information out there on the www sites but I feel better with the personal answers. You know the "been there done that" ...even though I do know everyone is different and react differently. I appreciate that you all took the time and answered. I am just nervous ...about the chemo not specifically about losing my hair...Heck if it means I have a better chance of survival, I'll shave it off...
My husband did two infusions of carbo/taxol...these massive all day infusions. He lost all his hair in clumps the 15th day after the first infusion. He didn't not lose his eyebrows....but just about all his other body hair. He had a very tough time with that chemo. In fact, he was supposed to get 3 or 4 infusions, but they stopped the chemo after 2 treatments because he developed terrible neuropathy. They felt the reward of continued chemo was not worth the risk of damage from the neuropathy. His blood remained strong throughout his treatments. But, the chemo was tough; he had gastrointestinal tract problems. He did not have nausea nor lose his appetite. Good luck to you.
OY! Just look!...
Mine was falling out in clumps... and rather that look like an abused Barbie Doll shaved mine off. There is still stubble so it is growing back... I decided proactive was best...
Outside of that my Gemzar and Taxol has made me tired... sometimes achy... a little allergic... (MAD itchiness round 5... ) abd as my partner will tell you sometimes a royal pain in the butt...
God Loves us Even Without Hair
Chemo Boi
Eddie
Carol,
I must say, you are the very first person that I have heard of that did not loose their hair while on Taxol. I know Taxol is the drug that makes you loose your hair. Wow you are one of the very lucky ones.
Love
Linda
Eddie
You look more like an abused Ken doll not Barbie.
We still love you no matter who you look like.
Take care
Linda
Thanks so much for all the answers. As I mentioned...I know we are all different and things happen to each of us differently but it's better hearing it from someone who has been there.
I'm just finishing up with Taxol/Carbo and I look like an anorexic Uncle Fester. I had WBR (whole brain radiation) that ended in April, but it wasn't until after my 3rd or 4th chemo that my eyebrows and the rest of my body hair bailed out. As far as side effects, I have some minor body aches within a week of chemo followed by fatigue. I've had 5 infusions (every 21 days) and I find that the fatigue gets worse with each treatment. I take suppliments and drink whey protien shakes daily, which I believe help. I never got the nausea but I was given scripts for pills to help with that if it were to occur.
I was originally Stage IIIb until the MRI found 8 - 9 brain lesion. Recent scans found no cancer on the radar.
Good luck and I hope you get the same results with the combination.
Michelle
foot neuropathy and then planter fasiitis, skin rash after 1st of 4 rounds. joint aches, bone aches. left shoulder rotator culf aches relieved by biocalth l-threinine. lost hair. fatigue. nausea fixed with zofran. dry brittle fingernails. transient finger tip neuropathy. cracks in fingertips similar to papercuts for which Udder Balm was recomended. used aloe vera gel 2 x
D on scalp from beginning of chemo to shooth skin.
I am wondering if there ara any on this board doing Gemzar and Taxotere.My mom is in this drugs,she finished her 1 round,is she going to lose her hair?
Thanks.
I had both . The reaction was not somthing i would recommend for a passtime . Hair gone etc . The latter treatments were pretty bad . Now for the punch line!!!! It has been1.5 yrs and i am in remission from stage 4 . Nothing in cancer is easy . I would definatly recommend going with it . GOOD LUCK .
To edgraf36
Thanks for your reply.and I would like to know the dosage,if u can write it for me,that would be perfect.She is getting Taxotere 100 mg,Gemzar 1000mg.She is 3A stage-NSCLC.She was sleepy,tired and had all side effects,but they gone after 4 days,now after 21 days she is going to get 2 round.
God bless,I am so happy that u r in remission.U right nothing in cancer is easy.There is nothing to do,but go with it.
Take care.
Only my onc knows the dosage . He told me at the time that he [HAMMERED ] me. I other words a very large dose . I recovered after the first session almost completely . As the treatments progressed i did not recover so well until the last treatment where i was a wreck . As i said it is a ordeal to go through but You need to have the bad to get to the GOOD . Not to many years ago we would have felt just as bad and the ending was the worst . If i am doing some nailing and i hit my thumb it hurts for a time . that is my body telling me to stop . In this case the hurt is nessesary to destroy the bad stuff so we cant stop until the fix is in .
I did ten rounds of that treatment with Avastin as well, after four rounds my first scans were completely clean.
I did loose my hair in the clumpy fashion, so on Christmas Eve 06 my husband shaved my head and his, we do have some memorable pictures.
As for side effects first day ok, some nausea was handled with meds, second day I would get a shot of nuelasta. I was very tired and the nuelasta made my muscles and bones ache. I was iniatilly in alot of pain and in the beginning was on oxy.
Usually by the fifth day I was feeling better. I would do as much as I could and rest when I needed to.
God bless you on your journey to kick butt and please contact me any time you need.
Love and peace
Stella
My father lost his hair and had some nausea and tiredness but it was not that bad for him. It seemed some trips were worse than others.
Thank you all so much. I had my first chemo yesterday and I'm doing OK...some small glitches but nothing too bad so far. I was tired all day and my legs felt very fatigued last night. I described it as a kind of "I'm coming down with something feeling"...No nausea so the meds they gave me must be working.
Thanks for all the responses.
Ruth
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