Countering Side Effects of Docetaxel

[julyturqsee]

After some resistance, my partner will begin Docetaxel in August. What steps can he take in the next few weeks/month to prepare his body for chemo & once treatments start to counter side effects? Thanks for the replies.

[Hidden]

There have been many posts written on this subject so I would suggest doing a search on the forum. Lots of good information here.

[tango65]

This link have information about chemo for PC by an expert in PC:

grandroundsinurology.com/dr...

[Haniff]

Hi,

At the moment I am on a rechallenge of Docetaxel, completed my 3rd infusion. Did my first challenge in 2018 after diagnosis in October 2017.

Side effects: I always stay positive and keep telling myself or at least my conscious mind that I will be free of any side effects. Does this work?

Yes, for me. So far the only side effects i struggle with is constipation the first 2-3 days following infusion, hair loss- no complains there cause i am already bald with thining hair lol. Do i fast? only the day before the infusion.

What really helps me, I eat a lot. Meaning I counter my thickening/metallic tongue with lots of good food and just enjoy my meals, I eat slowly. I eat dark chocolates to boost my mood swings. I walk quite a bit when I am not fatigue and sleep when I am fatigued. I guess for me this second time around I know what to expect and counter it with good positive vibes, surround myself with family and grandchildren, watch Netflix. In other words, I just take it easy and dont let the chemo get to me and it doesn't. I laugh a lot, it really helps. But somedays I do get knocked down by the chemo but I come out of it and start happy all over again. It helps me a lot. I also pray as much as I can and pass my burden to my Good Spiritual Leader and let him guide and support me in my journey.

I hope this helps, take care and my best to you.

Haniff

[London441]

Exercise, both resistance training and aerobic. Hopefully this is obvious.

I recently completed a clinical trial, adjuvant treatment after RP. Of the ADT, abiraterone , radiation and docetaxel,

the chemo was the most challenging in terms of side effects-mostly fatigue and infamous changes in sense of taste.

Although I can’t imagine hitting the chocolate, I did find pie and ice cream to be one of the only things I could actually enjoy. Since my regular diet is very healthy I enjoyed it with no worries.

The ice and the fasting are not proven to help but probably do (look them up).

I had the luxury to treat myself well during chemo. For my that featured plenty of sleep and plenty of exercise.

Exercise is not only the best remedy for the drug side effects of ALL the drugs, it has countless benefits far and beyond that.

[Woodstock82]

Chemotherapy with docetaxel was not nearly as bad as I feared when I started. The side effects do build up over time, though. Here are the notes I have from when I went through it:

1) neuropathy - tingling or even pain in feet and hands

What you can do to mitigate it: chill the feet and hands during treatment

Some go so far as to use ice in booties or mittens

2) mouth and tongue - sores, sensations, and changes in taste perception

What you can do about it: suck on ice cubes during treatment

I didn't get any sores, but my tongue would feel "scalded" for about a week

Changes to how things tasted were very noticeable, and thankfully temporary

3) nausea - gradual build-up as treatments progressed

What you can do about it: ginger for mild cases. I tried ginger ale, ginger tea, candied ginger, and ginger candies. All helped.

Bland foods were easier.

Later in the treatment, when the nausea was worse, I took a prescription medication "Zofran" (generic is ondansetron), and that worked very well at relieving the nausea. I probably should have taken it more often instead of trying to "tough it out."

4) fatigue - gradual build-up as treatments progressed

What you can do about it: move, exercise, get into a routine, push against limits, keep morale up, rest when needed, stay hydrated, keep up nutrition.

5) hair loss - lots of variation

I lost body hair first, then scalp hair.

Later lost nose hair, which felt odd, had to blow my nose a lot more

Later lost half my eyebrows, and most of my eyelashes

The good news is, although it took some time, much of the above was temporary for me. It took about a month after my last docetaxel treatment for me to feel normal again, and the hair did come back. I still have some lingering tingles in my feet, but it's not bad.

One other thing. Each night before a docetaxel infusion I had to take an oral prescription steroid, dexamethasone. Then again the morning of the treatment. And then more dexamethasone by IV infusion before the docetaxel infusion. The result was that I was wired the rest of the day, had insomnia that night, was wired the next day, and then energy and mood crashed the day after that. The crash lasted for a few days, rounding out the 1st week. The 2nd week was gradual improvement, then the 3rd week was pretty much back to normal -- just in time to do it all over again.

Every one is different, but be prepared for similar effects.

[Hidden]

IMO, do not worry. Treat any side effects as they arise. Close communication with oncologist essentially. Look, everyone is different and experience different effects..... for example, used ice chips one during infusion, no neutropopy, lost very little hair-just thinned some and took away the curl.

GD