Hi all
After radiation to help with the increasing bone pain, my dad’s oncologist is suggesting chemo (Doce) and it begins next week. He’s already been through Xytiga and Xtandi and so he’s late to the chemo game and not happy about it. I know a lot has been posted on this but I’m having a hard time accessing all of the data. If you have any advice for him , it would be greatly appreciated . He’s pretty nervous as would be expected. As always , I appreciate you all
If your father is in pretty good shape he should tolerate the chemotherapy. The fatigue will be his biggest issue.
Be sure to ask about the Neulasta on-body injector. This device is attached after each cycle and helps keep the white blood cell level up and could prevent infection and hospitalization during his chemotherapy.
Best wishes!
He’s always been a tough guy but has been battling away now for 4 years. I feel the meds and bone Mets are taking their toll . We are praying for the best possible outcome and will ask about Neulasta. Thank you
I've had Docetaxel chemotherapy and it wasn't that difficult for me. It's mainly the first 5 days you feel crappy. I've had flu viruses that were much worse so it's tolerable for most. Just don't plan a lot of physical activity for the first week. Lots of rest and fluids. It's also good to try to get some exercise.
Thank you . He’s got two weeks of recovery in between so I’m hopeful he can have some normalcy and build up his immune system . What’s strange is that his psa isn’t really going up. They’re assuming his progression by his pain and his scan … he is fighting an invisible monster
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.
Thank you so much for the thoughtful reply. I am sharing this info with my father
I did 10 sessions of chemo and they weren’t bad. Especially after first few days. What Woodstock describes is what I did. It helped. A lot. Also Biotin helped with dry mouth as did sucking on hard candy.
My father is on docetaxel, finished round 4 of 6. He has barely had any real side effects, only side effects from other things.
After every round he has had UTI. It could have something to do with his immune system going down a bit right after, in addition to him having had a kidney removed a few months ago.
He hasn't had any nausea, but he takes Zofran for a couple of days when he has chemo. The Zofran however messes with his stomach a bit, so he has cut down.
His hair is a bit thinner, but he cut it so short that it is not noticable. He still has eye brows and normal body hair.
The only real side effect is some fatigue a few days after, and that he feels as if he is not in as good shape as he was.
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