Change to chemo plan…not sure what to do.

Hi Ovia80

I had 4 x EC (three-weekly) then 4 x paclitaxel fortnightly.  My oncologist said most of his patients found paclitaxel easier, and he was certainly correct in my case.  I struggled with a bit with EC, especially with nausea and indigestion.  After my paclitaxel sessions I came home, felt well, had a nice big dinner, then woke up next morning feeling…..  completely normal!  I won’t claim I never had bouts of tiredness, the occasional aches and pains, or a day or two of constipation, but overall I felt pretty good.

I have read that weekly paclitaxel is even better tolerated than fortnightly, simply because each dose is smaller.  But my personal experience was that fortnightly was okay too.  If I had to do it again I’d definitely go for fortnightly, especially if it saved a long trip to the hospital.  But best of luck with whatever you decide x

Hi,

Congratulations on finishing EC! In my experience it was the most difficult part of chemotherapy. My oncologist also gave me the option to chose between weekly or every two weeks. I coped very well with the fortnight regimen and I was glad to finish it faster. The main side effects were fatigue and pain in the legs for 2-3 days, like I had done too much exercise. Still I didn’t need painkillers and felt that walking helped with those symptoms. The only annoying part was that it took 3h just the Paclitaxel infusion but I would definitely choose again the fortnight regimen.

good luck with the treatments 

best,

sara 

Thanks both for your replies,  I feel more reassured going fortnightly won’t increase side effects - and quite like the thought of finishing sooner tbh xx