Docetaxel...one down...advice wanted on “chilling out”

[Sea5]

My dad’s PSA recently went up from around 4 to around 6, so the local oncologist told us to put a lung surgery on the back burner and to start chemo, which we did today. My dad is 86 and had successful chemo for non-Hodgkins lymphoma several years ago. With this chemo, I think he’s a bit baffled that his daughter keeps telling him that he needs ice for his hands and feet?! The cancer center nurses said they haven’t ever had any patients using ice to prevent/minimize neuropathy, but that they’d be fine with that, as long as I understood that they wouldn’t be participating/assisting. Questions:

Dad lost his sense of taste with the previous chemo. Would eating ice be helpful to him during this chemo, or is that tactic just intended to help prevent losing the sense of taste?

Does anyone have advice on using the ice? Have you found any great insulated gloves/booties, or had success with just using ice packs for hands and for sock feet? I need a way for using the ice to be easy for Dad, and also easy to keep tidy...I don’t want to leave any melted ice on the floor at the cancer center!

My dad has always enjoyed walking and I really hope he won’t have neuropathy that might interfere with his balance and mobility. Thanks for any tips!

[tom67inMA]

I didn't use any ice during chemo and only had a bit of transient neuropathy. My belief is that keeping as active as possible helped. I'd get a little bit of tingling in my small toes when walking or running, but it would generally be resolved by the next infusion.

That said, I did take my shoes and socks off and tried not to use a blanket so my hands and feet were naturally cold.

[Sea5 in reply to tom67inMA]

Thanks Tom67...great to hear that you didn’t have persistent neuropathy!

[tango65]

Some expert opinion about some aspects of chemo for PC:

grandroundsinurology.com/dr...

[Sea5 in reply to tango65]

Interesting interview! Thanks for the link. I’ll read it again tmrw AM with fresh eyes. No mention of cryotherapy or any other way to avoid nerve damage from the interviewed doc, but I figure investing in a stash of frozen peas to give it a try is maybe worth a go...!

[tango65 in reply to Sea5]

It is info from a recognized national expert in PC with real. clinical experience, something which is missing in this forum.

[tom67inMA in reply to tango65]

Great link tango! I didn't know about all the failed attempts at pairing docetaxel with other treatments. It really shows the difference between having a sound theory, and having proof that the theory works in practice.

[tango65 in reply to tom67inMA]

Best of luck.

[DarkEnergy in reply to tango65]

tango!

"I view the optimal sequence as Zytiga (abiraterone) or Xtandi (enzalutamide), followed by wiping out the AR-V7 population with a chemo drug, and then going to Zytiga (abiraterone) or Xtandi (enzalutamide) next."

Exactly what I'm doing at the moment at Dana-Farber, although other populations are circulating as well...

[Tall_Allen]

Ice chips may help prevent dysgeusia. If you bring several sealed ice packs in a cooler, he can change them when they warm up. An electric heating blanket can keep his core warm.

[Sea5 in reply to Tall_Allen]

Thank you for the good ideas...hadn’t even thought about an electric blanket!

[rontara1]

I do ice my husband's hands and feet beginning 20 min before chemo and all the way through. He just completed 5 of 6 cycles. I found gloves and booties for his feet (not the same brand) on Amazon. They do tend to lose the cold factor over the hour so I also place flexible ice packs (also Amazon) around the gloves and booties to keep them cold for the duration. I pack them all in a small ice chest and bring to the hospital. We are at Duke and the staff gave me the same response you received. Don't know for sure if they work, but we are pleased that to date he has no neuropathy. Best of luck to you!

[Sea5 in reply to rontara1]

Thank you rontara, I’m so glad to hear how you made this work and that it worked well for your husband! Hopefully we’ll be set to try the ice at my dad’s next session.

[Fairwind]

For me, Cabazitazel (Jevtana) worked better than Docetaxel with no nuropothy problems.. Doce was very hard on my feet, big toe-nail fell out, tingling persists.. It's like my left foot is half asleep..

Just my opinion but once the cancer overcomes chemo, and it will, after that, it just takes off and nothing works very well...The cancer that survives chemo is very hard to treat successfully..

[Sea5 in reply to Fairwind]

Thanks for sharing your experience with me...I’m sorry to hear about the lingering tingling in your foot. : (

And yes, it kind of makes sense that cancer would be extra-ornery when it manages to overcome chemo and fight its way back. : (

[j-o-h-n]

I've seen many, many posts here about icing (not hockey) which leads me to believe that it's the way to go.

BTW if you Dad's lung issue is cancer I think you should investigate the use of Keytruda for him.

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Friday 09/27/2019 6:34 PM DST