Does Cabazitaxel decrease quality of life?

[Imhereforhelp]

First time poster, been following along all of your journeys for a while now and find some of the information very helpful and hopeful given my dads condition.

Short summary - he was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer four years ago, PSA was in the 200s. Proceeded with Lupron (still receiving quarterly injections), - course of Docetaxel (brought PSA down to 0), Rad-223 (also very helpful), Xtandi (heavy side effects, stopped pills as no significant impact to PSA), second round of Docetaxel (stopped after 6 months as PSA started to rise), Lut-177 ( didn’t do a damn thing, appears to have sped up the spread and PSA up to 400s. Stopped after 3 treatments). He has mets up and down spine, also compression where he is losing strength of right hand.

Energy is way down, and severe back pain this summer. Receiving radiation next week to help with pain.

In September, meeting with oncologist to discuss chemo again after taking summer “off”. She does not recommend cabazitaxel and says it has poor quality of life side effects but said she will do whatever he wants to do.

This may be his last go at treatment as he’s exhausted many options already. I fear with this new back pain it’s the beginning of his final chapter.

Looking for stories re: cabazitaxel as a 4th or 5th+ line of treatment. He hasn’t decided if he will go forward with it, not sure if he’s strong enough for it given his low energy levels. Focus now is to help the back pain.

Thank you and best wishes for you all and your families, whatever your journey may be.

Stefanie

[EdBacon]

I've taken just about everything and have advanced mCRPc.

Had severe pain in my left hip and on pain meds around the clock. Took my first infusion of Cabazitaxel on 8/12 and was pain free on 8/16. Side effects for me are about 1/2 of Docetaxel. Big net gain for me in QOL, plus I'm fairly sure it's working and killing the cancer. Side effects for this chemotherapy are more tolerable than Docetaxel for many. It's made for use when Docetaxel doesn't work. Not much of a commitment to do a cycle and see how it goes. That's how I see it, but it's his decision of course.

Just as an aside, I had a lot of anxiety when my Docetaxel infusions were coming up. I'm actually looking forward to getting my next Cabazitaxel infusion, especially when I feel a little twinge of pain here or there although nothing significant and no meds since 8/16. Next infusion is this Thursday.

[tango65]

Consult about having a direct biopsy or a liquid biopsy to study the genome of the cancer and do histological and IHC studies. The cancer may have mutations or other characteristics making the cancer susceptible to treatment with keytruda, olaparib , rucaparib, or similar drugs and to chemo with platinum compounds.

Consider to discus clinical trials and if possible get second opinions in centers of excellence, such as Sloan Kettering in NY, Dana Farber in Boston, MD Anderson in Houston, J Hopkins, UCSF, UCLA, etc. etc.

[StePeteMN]

I'll get my ninth infusion of cabazataxal plus carboplatin on Friday. I really can't complain too much about quality of life. I have to watch what I eat, and have neuropathy in my feet. Other than that, it's not all that bad. Different from Taxotere. My m.o. is one who combines with carboplatin obviously.

[RJ-MN]

Each body is different; each cancer is different; each journey that has led to today's status is different. I cannot speak for your dad.

What I can tell you is that -- for me -- cabazitaxel was much easier than docetaxel and docetaxel+carboplatin. My hair grew back and I regained the 20 pounds I had lost. I can also tell you that there was never a decrease in PSA during my 14 dosings of cabaz; one hopes, however, that the rise was less steep. But cabazitaxel will be much harder on some other bodies than mine. (It will also be more efficacious on some other cancers than mine.)

We share experiences; they are not predictions.

Blessings.

[HopingForTheBest1]

The ultimate question is whether we patients are willing to deal, as best we can, with quality of life in return for quantity of life. Having the best of both worlds would be ideal. We can only hope for the best.

We all know that treatments each have their own side effects, some more serious than others. Also, the same treatment regimen can be a mild experience for one, and more severe for another.

The good almost always comes with the bad. We need to be as strong as we can be, not only for ourselves but for those we love and care about.

[ron_bucher]

My oncologists didn't think a second round of chemo would be curative if the first round of chemo wasn't curative. The effect of chemo on energy level tends to be a saw tooth curve, with energy dropping off a cliff a day or two after infusion and then improving daily until close to normal a week later.

The Lupron might be the bigger energy drain. I understand the side effects may be lessened by using the daily oral alternative mayoclinic.org/drugs-supple... .