Docetaxel - day one

[easeytiger]

Today was my first day of Docetaxel. 17 months after being diagnosed apc. Gleason 9, PSA 55. First treatment was abiraterone, second was an immunotherapy trial, third was radiotherapy to the Prostate. Today I had a baseline CT scan, PSA currently 50. Treatment went ok, decided to try an icecap, will see how that goes. I have hopes that this line of treatment will give some respite and I get a good response.

[Longterm101]

good luck brother !! Hang in there and keep us posted

[easeytiger]

I'll report if there are significant or things that may be interesting to others. Thanks for the support.

[16starsky in reply to easeytiger]

My husband had 6 sessions of Docetaxel and wore an ice cap every time, he lost all his other hair including moustache, but kept all the hair on his head, eyelashes, and eyebrows. His moustache has since grown back. 2 months later. His big toenails became loose but didn't actually fall off. No sickness, just tiredness, infact very lucky to have had few side effects, a lot better than we were expecting.

[tango65]

Best of luck!!

[sedgley]

Best of luck mate. Hope the side effects are minimal.

[NPfisherman]

Good luck, my man...keep us posted...

Fish

[greatjohn]

I recommend icing the fingers and toes, I did and only lost 1/2 of big toenail on left foot. had podiatrist take care of it, but it keeps growing back in (ingrown)...and painful ...had to go back to podiatrist twice so far. Good luck & hope you get great results.

John

[Hidden in reply to greatjohn]

I agree with greatjohn about icing hands and feet for avoiding peripheral neuropathy and nail damage. Drink plenty of water both before and after infusion. Also consider ice chips to preserve taste buds and frequent saline eye drops to protect tear ducts. I have read that some patients have their tear ducts seal shut resulting in severe dry eye. Good luck!

[Pierreb]

Sounds like your hitting it pretty hard. Good luck man and Stay positive!!

[gleason9guy]

Good luck and God speed!

[JamesAtlanta]

Good luck! I wore the ice caps - freezes you to the core, doesn’t it!? Works like a charm - I did not lose a hair on my head!

In addition to your fingers, make sure you ice your toes and the balls of your feet. I’ve heard that people use frozen gel pads for the feet. Wish I had know this ... could have avoided permanent numbness in the balls of my feet...

You will do great! Hang in there! We are all pulling for you!

James

[paulcross4]

I just did cycle 4. Side effects minimal/manageable . Lost some hair on my head but then it stopped falling out. Lost most body hair but not eyebrows. No nail issues. No numbness. Working well to control the cancer. Good luck to you.

[Cam73]

Best wishes to you! I found the ice cap more painful than any part of the treatment.... felt like my eyeballs were frozen solid.... but it worked and I kept my hair during the process which made it much easier for my kids to deal with... and I didn’t feel as much like a cancer patient (maybe just vanity but every little bit helps). Cam

[easeytiger in reply to Cam73]

Thanks Cam. Yes the icecap wasn't much fun, thinking of adding ice gloves and socks to the mix. Agree with hairloss. Kids yes, but more being pitied or judged by work or acquaintances.

[ctarleton in reply to easeytiger]

There are quite a few men in the public eye who are quite admired and bad-assed after they went from having thinning hair to going to the completely bald look. Even if you might lose some hair, you can pull off the look!!

[Schwah in reply to Cam73]

No pain for me. Just a little uncomfortable. But do-it right.

[Schwah]

I did the ice cap and saved most of my hair. Kinda a pain but not horrible. For me it wasn’t vanity but rather a desire not to look like a cancer patient and have people do that said tilt of their head when they see you and say “are you ok? I’m sooo sorry”. Ick.

Schwah

[whatsinaname in reply to Schwah]

And the thing they say after that is " I'll pray for you" . Whether they mean it or not

[Molman]

How did you find the ice cap? I decided against it, and did not lose my hair. I decided that the gloves and boots were bad enough. My PSA was 590, and it did drop quickly to 260, but sadly docetaxel stopped working after 3 sessions. I too am T4 and Gleason 9.

[Godschild62]

My husband tolerated docetaxel quite well. The first two rounds he said he felt like he had the flu starting on day 3-7. By round 3 just tired on day 3-6. Then out golfing. It effected his memory - chemo brain. He also ended up with neuropathy on his fingers and toes although he was diligent in wearing the ice packs.

Take it one treatment at a time. Praying that this stops your cancer in its tracks. 🙏

[TNCanuck]

Prayers that things go well, Tiger! The ice cap certainly worked for my husband. Not a fun process, but worth it to him!

[Survivor1965]

I soaked my fingertips in ice chips during infusions. It really helped.

[Patrick-Turner]

Today was my first day of Docetaxel.

I had 5 shots of Docataxel that increased Psa from 12 to 50. Doc had said it probably would not work. I was diagnosed at age 62, Gleason 9 in 2009, Psa 6, and it was found inoperable when they opened me up to remove PG. I had EBRT and good ADT suppression until 2016, then needed added salvation IMRT + casodex then Zytiga, which both only worked for total of 14 months before the chemo. My Pca seems to be "chemo resistant".

The experience of chemo was awful for each 10 days after each shot, but after 3 weeks I could cycle 20km to and from hospital to get the next dose. Neuropathy is worst long lasting effect, not completely gone yet, a year after starting chemo. But I switched to Lu177 and Psa went from 25 to 3.7 after 4 shots, and I am also now on enzalutamide which may do be good, because the docs said the chemo makes Pca re-sensitize to abiraterone or enzalutamide. I hope they are right but I don't know what future is and I must think about targeted treatment after getting DNA analyzed for Brca2 etc.

My fight is not over at all, but right now I am more or less OK but my right hip is playing up and cycle rides of more than 25 km make pain at night after, although there's no pain on the bike. So you'll soon find out how chemo works or not. Watch out for low white cell count because you can easy get a fever from some infection because your immune system is damaged by chemo. I had 3 days in hospital after my chemo No 1 because of low white cells, then I had special drug injected next day for other shots to boost white cells, so no more fevers. How you cope depends a bit on age and fitness, but whether you get a big killing of Pca cells is uncertain, and unfortunately the darn Pca can grow right back up when chemo ceases.

Best of luck,

Patrick Turner.

[ctflatlander in reply to Patrick-Turner]

Its been awhile since your last writing. I remember your cycling adventures from down under. I love to cycle the gravel roads here in the Northeast Kingdom of Vt and since I've lost stamina and bouts of fatigue I have resorted to an E bike. I' m 75, on ADT and Zytiga, scheduled for Xgeva and later Provenge. I am able to keep up with no problem with 40 yr olds and leave them in the dust on the hills. Road 17.5 miles Sunday. Best of luck with your treatment and keep us posted on your road biking.

[Patrick-Turner in reply to ctflatlander]

I won't use an E-bike, and be a cheater in the pack not using human power.

But then I didn't much like anyone in the pack I used to ride with because they were never friendly away from cycling. And you can be sure they didn't like me riding away from them on their long 85km Sunday rides, so riding with a group was never a necessary thing for me. I was never a big winner of club races I was in during1980s and 1990s, just a "plodder" but I liked the longer rides when my fitness lasted longer than the others.

An E-bike is basically a motorcycle. My problem is that the movement range for cycling of femur causes later pains and I am still not sure why until I see hip&knee doc to tell me why. I've also cut Prednisolone to 10mg a day, and so walking and standing are not good, so time to switch back to sedentary life for awhile. There are a couple of guys in my area who I see cycling around in slow motion because of probable multiple aches and pains and arthritis. The benefit to their health would be minimal because they can't raise their heart rates fort very long.

Cycling and walking or swimming or anything else is really only good if it raises HR for an hour a day. I have other interests to get on with if I cannot cycle.

Patrick T.

[easeytiger in reply to Patrick-Turner]

Thanks Patrick. Day three today. The worst pain has been the shot to boost the immune system. Taking maximum paracetamol, ibuprofen and piriteze to keep on top of it. Not sure how long the bone pain lasts. I'll add the ice boots and gloves on cycle two, icecap was ok after 15 mins. I haven't biked outdoors this year, but have got myself a Keiser M3 which lets me keep the legs turning and fatigue at bay. I also have some hip pain and don't fancy being 30 miles from home with an issue.

[Patrick-Turner in reply to easeytiger]

Chemo and the Nulasta for white cell boost me was all fairly pain free but there was a high YUK factor in first week after each dose. Then I felt OK before the next dose. I might have felt better if the darn Docetaxel stuff had worked to reduce Psa.

Patrick Turner.

[GreenHorizons]

I had my first round this week also. Had my hands in an ice bath, and I also wore ice booties. Side effects were like having the flu. Feeling a bit better 4 days later. Firmagon still there in the background.

[Hidden]

If you decide the bald look I followed a suggestion on this site and I got my hair cut to a number one, military cut. When I lost my hair it was not a big adjustment. People that did not know me thought I was bald all the time and had no idea I was on chemo. I never used the ice on my hands or feet and luckily I never had any problems there. My hair is growing back grey it was brown. I lost pretty much all the hair on my body. Good luck and watch out for day 3.

[Garbonzeaux in reply to Hidden]

I lost almost all the hair on my head (no ice cap) and some elsewhere.

When it grew back, it was much more gray. But now, a yr and 1/2 later, it

looks about like it did before chemo. So Rick, don't know how long ago it was for you, but the gray may not be permanent.

[DrWrite]

Icecap? Not familiar with the term.

Much luck w/ your treatment. I completed round four (of six) this past Wednesday. One never knows what new and exciting side-effects might arise, but so far mine have been manageable.

[easeytiger in reply to DrWrite]

It's a skull cap that fits tightly over your head and ice water is circulated through it from a machine next to you. Not sure what the success rates are but if you can tolerate it hair loss may be minimised. Same idea as the ice gloves and boots.

[Hidden]

Sending good vibes your way tiger. Hang tough amigo!

[grahaminator63]

Good luck with the treatments. Keeping a regimented schedule for managing the pain and periods when your immune system is compromised will serve you well. Get a lot of rest during those times too. Keep on fighting with positivity!

[j-o-h-n]

go easey tiger....

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Friday 05/10/2019 6:39 PM DST

[3100connecticut]

what's an icecap?

[monte1111]

You might want to put that ice cap on your feet. I developed foot neuropathy after the chemo was finished. It is very very annoying. Especially when trying to sleep. After over a year and a half I would say it is slowly getting worse. I don't believe it is curable. Did not know about icing. Don't know if that would have stopped the neuropathy, but I sure would have tried it. Good luck.

[easeytiger in reply to monte1111]

I am buying the mitts and socks to do this on the next cycle, I didn't realise the importance before I started.

[paulparry]

Plenty of fluids and plenty of rest at least for 1st week is what I found. Light exercise will help as steroids will prob make you eat a lot. How many sessions - 6?

[easeytiger]

Between 6-10 if it goes well to really well. Checking bloods and maybe a CT after 2-3 sessions.

[Bebby1]

Good luck to you

I wish you a symptom free ride

And every good thing in life

Look after yourself and those you

Love

Sounds positive

And that’s what we love!!!!