Anyone has experience with Docetaxel?

Hi Warrior68 , personally I struggled whilst on Docetaxel but that was because it did such a great job.  I managed to get pneumonia after the 3rd session and although I eventually managed to complete round 4 I couldn’t go on.  I think my experience was very unusual and most people tolerate it well.  During my first few rounds, I didn’t really have too many problems but it is worth keeping a diary as the effects repeat themselves on each cycle so you can predict off days.  I debated about posting as I don’t want to put you off having it, I think it is a drug which has saved hundreds of thousands of lives and I suspect it is one I will have again.  You will be fine on it.

Hi. My husband had 6 sessions of Dox. Initially no major side effects and then the exhaustion kicked in. No sickness or nausea. It was more the effect of the Filgrastim injections post treatment for him. They caused a lot of severe bone pain usually about 3 days after treatment as they are working to improve bone marrow cells. Warmth, paracetamol etc helped and the team were able to reduce the Dox,which is based on weight ratio , by 10% and I believe this can go lower. Other little things like mouth ulcers occurred.

Wishing you well with any treatment. We kept ourselves in a bubble and only minimal contact, no family visits etc to ensure he got through the programme without any poor health. It's not easy for patient and family, patience is the key 

I agree. Keeping the diary is good to feedback to team and I found as the other half noting patterns like high temp, pain etc.. initially it can be scarey and then it falls into week 1, 2, 3 pattern and you start again! Stick with it. 

Hello Warrior 68,

I had docetaxel last year and wrote a blog, the link is below if it's of interest.

Overall, not the best experience in the world, but far from the worst and I'm well over it now.

Any other questions just ask and I'll do my best to answer.

All the best,

Derek.

Prostate Cancer Recurrence - Triple Therapy

Thank you very much for your support. It means a lot

Hi thanks for the information you provided

Many thanks for your reply and support.

I had six cycles, full dose, from March to mid June this year. To put it in perspective, I was still 52 then, and pretty fit in general.

Firstly,  the pills they provide stopped me feeling sick, so I could eat normally and only needed them for 7 days after each treatment. Taste only mildly affected.

They also give you an anti sickness boost injection and extra steroids each chemotherapy cycle, so you feel fine for about three days. Then there are aches and pains, like a cold might give you. After 7 to 10 days I was back to weight training, pull ups etc... in addition to three long walks a day that i did all through treatment.

1. By the 6th i was taking slightly longer to recover, but not much.

The only issue I had was a slight chill after cycle 3. I was given penicillin and all my bloods were checked. I didn't get sepsis or pneumonia but my white cells were low, so after that I was given five booster syringes to self inject between each cycle. Starting from day 5 after treatment. It was easy to do and I had no further chills.

If you do find you are struggling they will lower the dose or adjust the schedule. 

Hi. My husband had this chemo and sailed through with virtually no side effects other than a metallic taste a few days after each session which lasted a few days. Have a read of his profile 

Hi, I've had 5 cycles of Neoadjuvant Docetaxel 148mg (full dose) so far, running alongside HT (Prostap), last one on Halloween,  no major side effects for me so far, all very mild and easily tolerated, no work days missed. Im eating very healthily and walking/weight training daily, I'm sure this has helped. 

My profile explains in more detail. 

All the best...