Is EC harder than paclitaxel?

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Evening all,

I have my 3rd Paclitaxel tomorrow. It’s not too bad - days 4/5 are pretty rough and I’m tired and all of my hair has gone now but it’s manageable especially in the 2nd week when I feel more or less normal except for being a bit more tired. The worst is the daily injections to stimulate white cell growth- have quite a lot of bad pain with them.

I'm a bit low tbh- I feel like I look awful with no hair but I’m not satin  go that to anyone, don’t want to moan. I also just want to shut myself away and not see anyone.

i will have tomorrow then one more paclitaxel then 4 ECs. Is EC worse? 

  • Everyone is different, but I had EC 9 years ago and I didn't have any side effects except tiredness.  I found the tiredness to be worse with Paclitaxel. 

    I don't like to see myself with no hair either. I lost mine 9 years ago with EC.  I used to wear a turban or scarf at home, and a wig when I went out.  I had a pretty stretchy cap to wear at night. xxx

  • Hi. I’m also currently on paclitaxel (and carboplatin), had third session on Monday. I have six more to go then onto three 3 weekly EC. 
    My side effects are constipation and bloody nose.
    Are you cold capping? 
    I’m finding the injections hard too, they really hurt going in. I did put a post up on here asking for tips and did get some if you want to try and find that post it may help you. 

  • I can’t directly compare with you as I had 4 E/Cs 3 weeks apart followed by 12 weekly paclitaxels. The E/Cs were pretty much as you seem to have with your paclitaxels 4-5 bad days, aching from the Filgrastim injections then ok. Those injections certainly kept my neutrophils high; I didn’t have them with my paclitaxel regime and the weekly blood tests showed them decreasing steadily, but not to the extent that I needed to have them boosted again. 
    overall the E/C gave me more nausea and constipation, whilst the paclitaxels gave me some neuropathy, nail and skin issues. In terms of blood tests the paclitaxel affected liver and kidneys and brought my red cell count down, which the E/C hadn’t.  I lost my hair during the E/C and it didn’t grow back until I finished the paclitaxel. 
    I was predominantly bothered by the nausea with the E/C, but I am prone to motion sickness and had nauseous pregnancies, plus being older apparently made it more likely to get the nausea (70 yrs ). 
    All the very  best to you, it’s a complete drag. With the hair loss i had some soft cotton beanies which I  wore with patterned hair band for contrast, I just didn’t like the completely bald look on me. I was bald from late May until March, but one thing in the hot weather was that when I got indoors the cooling effect of taking my hat or sunhat off was great! xx