kimblanchard Posted June 10, 2004 Share Posted June 10, 2004 I found this site in the beginning of the year and have been lurking around for months now. I have been moved by your words and support for each other. I find that I am now in need of this type of support. I was initially diagnosed in Septmeber 2002 with Stage IV NSCLC. I was 44 years old and hade been a non-smoker all of my life although I was exposed to a lot of second hand smoke from family members who did smoke. It has been classified as BAC. Initially, I had several nodules in my right lower and middle lung lobes along with some consolidation in the middle lobe. There is lymph node involvement. Maglinant pleural effusion was also found in this lung. A single brain met (.8cm) was also identified. Please look under the My Story forum to find out about my treatment up to point, results and little bit more about me. Next week, I will start chemo as part of a clinical trial. I will be taking taxotere along with another experimental drug. The two drugs will be administered during week 1 and 3. I will be taking Taxotere only during week 2. The first CT scan will be taken at week 4. There are many things that I would like to talk to you about such as talking to your children about cancer, support groups, alternative treatments, but this note is already too long. My most urgent concern is trying to understand the impact of this treatment on my body and the overall quality of life. I am the mother of an eight year boy. My husband and I have been married for the past 22 years. I currently work 22 -24 hours as a project manager. I volunteer at church and my son’s school. I am constantly chasing a never ending to do list and busy keeping up with my son’s activities. When life slows down a little, I try to walk 3miles twice a week. I am interested in your experiences with weekly taxotere. What were the side effects? What activities were you able to pursue? What actions did you take to lessen the impact of the side effects? What actions did you take to help your household run smoothly? I keep on thinking that I should do one really large grocery shopping trip before I start. I am interested to hear from anyone who chose to continue to work. What actions did you take to help make this happen? How supportive was your employer? I am concerned about the steroids that I need to take as pre-meds. In the past, they have caused sleeplessness and I was very short tempered (never a good combination). If you have any thoughts about minimizing the impact of these drugs, I would greatly appreciate them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fay A. Posted June 10, 2004 Share Posted June 10, 2004 Hello, L-Mo, I was on Taxotere for 6 cycles, once every three weeks. But I did speak with several folks who were having weekly Taxotere infusions. This is what I remember from the time I spent with these Ladies: You have to be extremely conscientious in protecting your hands and feet from injury. The skin and nails are especially fragile, and infection is something you have to work at avoiding. The hair follicles became inflamed, and many developed sores on the scalp. Medicated shampoo helped to ease this. Some experienced nausea and vomitting, others did not. We're all different, and we all respond to things differently. But the things I remember as being consistent are the nail and skin problems. Are you going to be taking the experimental drug, Velcade, along with Taxotere? Good Luck with the Trial. Hope it works well for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karenl Posted June 10, 2004 Share Posted June 10, 2004 Hi Maureen Welcome to the site, and congratulations on nearly 2 years as a survivor! I can't answer any of your questions, but others here much better qualified than I will do so. If you have the time, you can do a search (see the icon at the top of the page) for any topics of interest. There is a wealth of information here. Wishing you well. Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
betplace Posted June 10, 2004 Share Posted June 10, 2004 Hi L-Mo, I have only general advice, sounds like you are a typical busy Mom! You need to prioritize, realize that you will be dealing with some fatigue and energy will be limited. Keep up with the things that really matter to you and let the other stuff go by the wayside. Let others help who want to, people like to help. Utilize things like those little electric carts to save energy. Good luck and welcome to our board! We are glad your here, tho sad for the reason. Blessings Betty Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ry Posted June 10, 2004 Share Posted June 10, 2004 Welcome Lilttle Mo My husband was on taxotere alone and tolerated it very well. He found that the more he drank the better he handled the chemo and it helped with body aches, so drink lots of fluids. He only needed steriods a few days around chemo time and they didn't seem to bother him. He is a diabetic so they may have reduced his time on the steriods because of that (they make his sugar go up). He was able to do a lot of things on all the chemo drugs but he had days where he just had to be in bed and rest. He got quite fatiqued with all of them. When diagnosed, our kids were 3, 10, and 14. We had to make some choices and cut back on all our running around. I asked other parents to take my son to hockey, and our daughter gave up showing horses and stuck to just lessons. I resigned from 2 boards I served on, quit aerobics, and let other things go to help pick up things he could not do. If you want to continue working, you will need to conserve your strenghth to be able to do those hours. I know there are others on here that have worked through treatment. Please feel free to ask all your questions and we will try to help. I wish you all the best. Rochelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Lamb Posted June 10, 2004 Share Posted June 10, 2004 L MO, I can't say as I had diff. treatments.I did want to welcome you &wish you the very best w/ upcoming treatments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamie Posted June 10, 2004 Share Posted June 10, 2004 Maureen, Sorry I dont have answers, but I will say that you will know during treatment what you can still do and what will be too much. Listen to your body though, sometimes its best to rest and relax. Welcome to the board, and wishing you the best of luck! Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimblanchard Posted June 10, 2004 Author Share Posted June 10, 2004 Hi Maureen, this is a wonderful place filled with wonderful people. I have been treated as you described and really had few problems. Each person is different and side effects vary. Your mental attitude will be a major factor in how you feel and act. I am adament that "I will work....I will Fish and I will enjoy Life". I have a few bad days as result of the chemo treatments, but a lot more days are GREAT. jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimblanchard Posted June 12, 2004 Author Share Posted June 12, 2004 Thanks for your replies and support. Next Thursday is the day of the first treatment. I feel so good right now that it is hard to anticipate what the treatment may do to me. I am hoping that it works well and I get to meet NED. We shall see. Fay A. : The experimental drug is produced at the hospital where my oncologist is located. It has worked on others with NSLC in combination with Taxotere. It is similar to methotrexate but better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAnn Posted June 12, 2004 Share Posted June 12, 2004 Lil Mo, I was on taxotere along with a clinical trial drug also. I did 5 rounds once every three weeks. Fay was right, it will affect your nails. My hair feel out, but kind of like an old man's balding pattern. ALL my hair fell out with Taxol/Carboplatin. One of the main things you need to remember is that chemo tends to lower your white and red blood cell counts. I actually ended up in the hospital for a few days until my white cells came back up. You probably will experience some fatigue also due to red blood counts going down. You will also have to avoid crowds, and being around alot of people to reduce the risk of infection. Welcome to the boards, I read your story on "My Story" and was very moved by it. I also have a malignant pleural effusion and was wondering how yours completely went away? Good Luck with your treatments and may you have great success! TAnn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stand4hope Posted June 12, 2004 Share Posted June 12, 2004 Hi, LiL Mo and Welcome. My husband received Taxotere, but he was one of the unfortunate and rare ones that had an allergic reaction on the third infusion. I ditto what Betty and Ry said about your schedule. You are a busy mom, but friends and family really do want to help when they can. Don't be afraid to delegate some duties if you start feeling fatigued from the chemo. Another thing is to just forget about everything that can wait. Dust in the corners will wait for you until you feel better. Everybody seems to have different reactions to different chemo, so you really won't know until you get it how it will affect you. They will give you decadron before the infusion, and it has the same affect on almost everybody - almost a guarantee of having trouble getting to sleep for a couple of nights afterward, frequent urination, and an increase in appetite. Best of luck to you - it will be fine, and you will do great. Keep us posted, and once again, WELCOME! God bless you, Peggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CynMs Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 I received taxotere during my second course of chemo. It did cause my hair to thin . I react very strongly to chemo..I was very fatigued, and had to take naps during the day. I have been unable to work since my diagnosis but lots of others on this board have been able to continue to work. I did experience the sleeplessness from the steriods, as you mentioned. You might want to talk to your doctor about a mild sedative or sleeping pill, these helped me a lot. And as others have said be very careful about infections. Good luck with your treatment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Wood Posted June 16, 2004 Share Posted June 16, 2004 Hi, Little Mo! Thanks for sharing your story. My wife is a 20-month survivor of NSCLC. We believe in being honest with the children, and telling them as much as their age can grasp. They know something is wrong and they will imagine the worse, so your talking with them will help paint a more realistic picture, and give you a chance to share and grow closer. Definitely recommend support groups. Let your church family help you where they can -- ours helped take Lucie to treatments, etc. If your church has lay pastoral ministers, ask for one. If not, pick out someone you can talk openly with through this. My wife took Taxotere and Carboplatin together, and it worked for her. Keep us posted. Blessings. Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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