DOCETAXEL preparation for

[Christopherg]

Good day fellow gentlemen

What preparations should I be making for Docetaxel?

Neopathy what to do before and after treatment to avoid

food to eat and not to eat

ALL advise very welcome

thank you so much and be well

Chris

[God_Loves_Me]

Good Luck for your treatment. I hope you are doing triplet therapy means Xtandi or Nubeqa + ADT + Chemo.

I have one advice for you. request to have benadryl IV before infusion that reduce so many side effects on immediate basis.

[Christopherg in reply to God_Loves_Me]

If you don’t mind me asking what is AR?

Thank u so much for

The tip on Benadryl IV

Be well. Chris

[God_Loves_Me in reply to Christopherg]

Xtandi or Nubeqa, + ADT take with chemo that’s call triplet.

Benadryl IV is very good treatment for side effects. I

[Christopherg in reply to God_Loves_Me]

Most appreciative for your advise

[pbaldwin in reply to God_Loves_Me]

Hi God_Loves_Me, is the 3 combo SOC? I've had and continue on Lupron since 9/2016, had Docataxel end of 2016 into 2017, and then eventually started Zytiga. Zytiga is not working and now I have to choose a new tx. I was going to go with a clinical trial but that didn't work out. My gut feeling is to do Docataxel again, continue Lupron, and wondering if I can add Xtandi as you have suggested?

Another option, is a clinical trial with a new immunotherapy study drug called ONC-392, plus Pluvicto. It's a randomized trial so I would get either both or just the Pluvicto. I'm not so sure about this.. so many moving parts and it's a bit scary. I think the triple therapy would be good fit for me. Your thoughts are greatly appreciated, thanks, Philip

[God_Loves_Me in reply to pbaldwin]

It is my personal opinion

Dr will prescribe you xtandi or nubeqa that’s good call

If you failed docetexal than jevtana +xofigo may be good option

I like the clinical trials that’s you want to do with pluvicto. I talked to dr zheng and she is amazing

Also try to do radiation before all this treatment may be that’s reduce load

[pbaldwin in reply to God_Loves_Me]

Thanks! I don't I failed docetaxel. Back then studies showed that taking docetaxel right after starting Lupron gave added benefit. And I believe it has. I'm stage 4, and so far have had an 8 year run which I appreciate. So I will give docetaxel another go with Lupron, and ask my doctor to add xtandi or nubeqa. And I guess your saying that if docetaxel fails, then next go to Jevtana + xofigo as next tx option? I know it's your personal opinion and I appreciate it. and finally what do you mean try radiation before all treatment? what radiation, xofigo? or beam? I had beam therapy last July for 2 spots on my spine that were causing pain. That was resolved by now cancer is advancing. I won't take more of you time but thanks!!

[God_Loves_Me in reply to pbaldwin]

Yea if you failed docetaxel than jevtana + xofigo is good option

I mean doing truebeam radiation help you reduce large spots . I personally believe xofigo or pluvicto may not clear larger spots so that’s something can kill by truebeam and get better results with pluvicto or xofigo.

It is personal opinion and I don’t have any clinical data to prove it

[Hidden]

stay away from junk food, you will crave it because you will be miserable. Two cycles and I quit. I put on ten pounds in two months.

[Christopherg in reply to Hidden]

what treatment are you doing instead?

[Hidden in reply to Christopherg]

Orgavyx and Nubeca

[JoeBo]

Make sure to ice hands, head and feet to avoid hair loss and peripheral neuropathy.

[Christopherg in reply to JoeBo]

Thank you so much

[Jac_J in reply to JoeBo]

Ice cap. Definitely saved my hair. Ice in mouth. Saved my taste buds buds. If you find chemo does not improve your condition after 4 or 5 sessions , don’t do any more

[JoeBo]

You are most welcome. I ordered two sets of ice packs for every area to account for cooling time. Each time we went for the infusion, we took a large cooler with a bag of ice. My husband had no effects after four infusions. His hair loss was minimal. They have a nice selection of these packs on Amazon. Best of luck to you!

[God_Loves_Me]

Great explanations. Thank you so much

[JohnInTheMiddle]

Consider the following for Docetaxel chemo, likely six sessions about 3 weeks apart.

1. BASELINE - If you haven't already done so it's good to get a baseline testosterone that you can compare later. I'm assuming you get your PSA as well regularly.

2. INFECTION CONTROL - I thought everybody got it but one is at risk for neutropenia and infection when having Docetaxel. But apparently this isn't a universal practice. I had my Lapelga injection the following daybof my chemo - and we saved time because my wife gave me the simple injection. Infection risk is a big deal with this kind of chemo - but not that big of a deal.

3. NEUROPATHY & ICE - Everybody mentions icing to prevent neuropathy. Neuropathy is not a huge risk but a lot of people do experience it. I didn't. The most important thing is the hands and feet. And my hair falling out? I don't care. But as for the ice there's not so much research but there seems to be a lot of anecdotes. And people say "try these gloves" etc.

In the hospital I went to they offered bags of ice and for the feet, little booties. It's actually harder than you can imagine to do it right. You want to actually keep your hands and feet cold the whole time. I had gloves given to me my my daughter but they didn't work so well. Air acts as an insulator. The bags of ice can actually give you freezer burn. And then I would prick a hole in the the bags to let the air out, which was an insulator and I realized my hand wasn't getting cold. And then after the hour and a half session there's water everywhere. Kept having to adjust it. But hey, I didn't get any neuropathy.

And by the way lots of people say "chew ice" or "suck on ice". I don't know what this is supposed to accomplish but chewing on ice not good advice (hey this could be another PCA t-shirt!) - because you can get micro cracks from the cold ice in the enamel in your mouth. And then later they are a way in for dental caries and cavities.

4. FASTING - As for what to eat - how about "nothing"? There's a lot of evidence that fasting a day before and the day of puts the body into a state where normal cells are a little bit tuned down - but the hungry cancer cells become more vulnerable. Again this is not proven with large clinical trials. But there is evidence that it's possibly helpful to both make the chemo more effective - and help protect the rest of the body. By fasting we mean just food. Of course you can drink whatever you want and it's actually a good idea to be well hydrated. My wife and I have done periodic fasting so fasting for 48 or 56 hours was doable. I didn't say easy.

5. STEROID - if you're not on a steroid now they're likely to put you on dexamethasone for 3 days or something. Or if you're just on Prednisone they might change it up to dexamethasone for 3 days. It's not really a big deal. But it's important. (And I also felt it gave me a lot of positive energy.) If you're not on Abiraterone I don't know if this is still the situation.

6. A PORT? - Some people get a "port" in your arm, it didn't sound like a good idea to me. Does it stay in for 18 weeks and make me vulnerable to infection? So I had the infusion needle put into my arm each time. Over the six times I had only one bad infusion where the needle wasn't put in very well. But it was fixed.

7. HYDRATION - You need this because then your blood vessels will be able to transport the chemo around better. Okay so you're well hydrated and you're being infused in the machine is keeping track of you and you're lying in this big chair and then you have to use the washroom. It's really awkward and you have to drag the pole around with you. Hey you can do it.

8. NAUSEA - Oh also apparently you can have an anti-nausea drug. I had a bottle of it or something. Apparently the typical drug that they use is an anti-psychotic. So I decided I wouldn't take it and it was fine. I prefer to be awake and alert. And if everything goes well hey it's only an hour and a half.

9. CRUMMY SIDE EFFECTS -Apparently I had a little diarrhea after some sessions and then a little Imodium and it was fine. Apparently I was tired especially for the first week after each session. My wife says I got more tired towards the end of the six sessions.

A big success for you Christopher!

[Ian99 in reply to JohnInTheMiddle]

Very informative post. Re neuropathy.. I have no data but it may depend on the strength of chemotherapy. 10 years ago I had Cisplatin, considered to be strong at the time, and have neuropathy in my feet to this day. Docetaxel is on the horizon and I will be sure to order the Amazon kit.

[Jac_J in reply to JohnInTheMiddle]

“Apparently “ you had diarrhoea and were tired? You had to be told this? Were you unconscious for several days or just memory loss? Curious.

[JohnInTheMiddle in reply to Jac_J]

I asked my wife about my experience. In retrospect it didn't seem to be too bad at all. Not remembering one had a little bit of diarrhea and we're a little bit tired for several days is not something that sticks in one's mind. I did not have any major side effects that one would remember. I know a lot of people have much different experiences.

I have read as well that today's chemo and especially Docetaxel is much different from the horror stories of 10 or 20 or 30 years ago. Which has created a cultural memory and terror.

[Jac_J in reply to JohnInTheMiddle]

Yes Docetaxel is not too bad imo. The side effects of less energy, strength and anemia last for a couple years in my experience

[Christopherg in reply to JohnInTheMiddle]

thank you so much John. This is a fountain of valuable information and guidance. I am so thankful and appreciate you taking so much time to explain in detail and Share your experiences. It is an intimidating step but has to be done. I hope the treatment worked successfully for you. All best wishes chris

[JohnInTheMiddle in reply to Christopherg]

Two and a half years since diagnosis and aside from fatigue and every 28 days from the Firmagon/Degarelix injection (I have a big sleep and a bit of a fever for a day or so and sometimes as sore bump on my side), life is kind of sort of normal. Thanks ⬆️.

[Christopherg in reply to JohnInTheMiddle]

Very delighted to hear this John. Good health and good wishes. Chris

[dorke]

I did Docetaxel + carboplatin two years ago.

2 things I did which I believe greatly helped:

-before each treatment I took a drug named Akynzeo (netupitant) which is used to avoid nausea

-During treatment you will get also steroids. It will be good for a few days after the tratement

-After the treatment I got a shot of Neulasta which is used to avoid side effects like Neutropenia

Good luck 🤞

[Psahigher in reply to dorke]

are you still on treatments?

[JD-guy]

Hello, I am not a Dr or a reseach Dr or person. But here is some of my experience. I did Chemo (Docetaxel) three years ago, Aug 2021 is when I started. One of things, I would ask for is Neulaska. I did not get it for my first infusion and I ended up with Neutropenia--and needed to go to the ER. I got a high fever, white blood count went to almost 0 etc. Keep yourself hydrated, to flush all the dead cells out, my first infusion, I did not do enough and almost got myself in trouble with conspaition. (good olde dried prunes to the rescue 🙂).

I saw that someone said about fasting, my Dr told me to be sure and eat some calories during chemo. I did ice in my mouth and my tongue still became rough like sand paper and only certain foods would go across my tongue. (toast did not work.) I did not do ice on my hands or feet, I lost my toe nails and have some neuopathy in my feet now, but non in my hands. I lost my hair. (no one told me about the possiblities of the Neuopathy--it did not come until after I was finished with all 6 of my infusions.)

I took a steroid the day before, they gave me some the day of the infusion and 2 days afterwards. I did not have any problem with nausea, but after the steroids wore off, It wiped me out for a few days. then as I went thru the 6 sessions, my Hemoglobin kept going down and ended up at about 10.4. I became very weak in my legs.

Everyone responds differently--Some men do not have as much side effects as I did, some men have more. I am gratefull that it is behind me. I did not do the triplet therapy, per say. I did, Lupron, Docetexel and casodex . Started Xtandi about 4 months or so after chemo. My PSA has been 0.01 or less for over 2 years now. I am very grateful for where I am at so far. I get my PSA checked every 3 months, I go the end of August. Again this is my experience, so many men have different experineces.

I am not what I use to be, But I am very grateful for where I am at, and what I can do, all things considered. Sorry this got longer than I was first thinking. hopefully this helps a little bit.

I wish you the best

Keith--aka--JDguy

[j-o-h-n in reply to JD-guy]

I am not what I use to be (whispering to Keith, so tell me, who the fuck is?)

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n

[Nusch]

Port (was one of my best decisions), ice, fasting one day before plus 1-2 days during/after, exercising (as good as you can).

[casperrose]

everyone is different i can say that. i’m on the triplet treatment with orgovolix,nubeqa and just took my 6th and final docetaxel treatment 4 days ago. i can tell you im glad its over. i didn’t mind losing my hair i used ice for hands feet and mouth. it didn’t help my tastebuds at all but i didn’t get nerapathy until the 4th treatment. nausea wasn’t a problem. direaha wasn’t bad. eating and fatigue was my biggest issue. for me milk,ice cream,cereal, meals with liquid like soup,noodles with chicken or butter or tomatoes or anything seemed to be easier to eat. i have also stopped eating any meat except for chicken,turkey and seafood. there seems to be a lot of good results from changing my diet to no processed foods at all. overall i feel fantastic except for the fatigue which im trying to change with exercise and working out.

[fmh1]

There are some dietary supplements available online with clinical support for protecting red and white blood cell counts during chemo. I had my chemo/docetaxel 5 years ago, used a supplement, still have normal WBC, hematocrit, and normal platelet counts. Hope this helps.

[katartizo61 in reply to fmh1]

do you recall which supplement?

[fmh1 in reply to katartizo61]

Per the guidelines of this blog, I am not really allowed to name or promote any given product or brand, but I can tell you on a general level to search for anti-cancer supplements made in Israel, and you should be able to find the company and order it right away. Everyone is different, but the product was very helpful to me.

[Christopherg in reply to fmh1]

Thank you so much best wishes chris

[Pattycakepgh]

My sweetie used the iced booties (I learned about them here on this site from fellow posters) they are gel inserts that you freeze the day before). We purchased them on Amazon. We transported them with us to the hospital in cold bag with ice packs. He used them on his feet, but opted not to use the mittens on his hands. He did not experience any neuropathy during any of his six chemo treatments. amazon.com/dp/B09W5KLVDR?ps.... He experienced some hair loss, but it grew back. After each infusion, he was fatigued, usually on the second and third day after. He occasionally told me that something he ate did not taste right. I hope all goes well for your treatment. My best to you, take care.

[dk73]

my husband had 6 rounds in 2017/18 and 9 rounds in 2022. He did lose his hair each time but it came back. Some neuropathy in fingers and toes. His finger & toe nails got gross looking but recovered. Back in ‘18, no one ever said anything about ice caps. He actually volunteered at his cancer center from 2013-2020 and said he never saw anyone do anything special besides using warm blankets because most feel cold in there. No special diet restrictions but Mediterranean diet was recommended. He never got nausea, just more fatigued about day 5-15 out of the 21 days. Currently he is doing Cabazitaxel chemo. He will be on it indefinitely or until his body can’t tolerate anymore. No hair loss, same fatigue between day 5-15, nails ok, he’s dropped some weight but eats ok (just less). He was 64 at time of surgery/radiation and will be 71 in January. Keeps fighting - has done zytega, Xtandi, pluvicto in between as well

[Murph256]

I’m taking docetaxel as a last resort when my ADT and anti-androgen fail. I see this as a quality of life issue. The Orgovyx and Xtandi are miserable enough.

[PCreading]

If you decide to go through with doxytaxl I would ar least prep for several days with intravenous vitamin C, 75 - 100 grams. It will help protect the good cells doxytaxl will kill. Remember Chemo does not kill Cancer stem cells. Also, do afterwards and look into cleansing for the dead cells. I have elected not to do.

[Searcher2020]

Take this info understanding that there is a data point of ONE for Docetaxil. But, after reading that breast cancer patients were getting good results taking Methylene Blue for mitigating nausea and maintaining reasonable energy levels during chemo my husband tried it. This was approved by his Onc. He had very little nausea and though he slept more he was still fairly energetic. He also worked out 3 times a week during this. Hope this helps.

[BillyVolt]

hi Christopher

I did 6 rounds of docxitaxel between August and December of 23. I believe very minor side effects, hair loss, little tiredness, and looking like crap but not bad. I changed my diet before starting to whole foods plant diet. Organic as much as possible. Still doing it today. I think it just made my immune system healthier and stronger to be able to withstand the triplet therapy ( docxitaxel, eligard, nubeqa)

Stay strong and positive!

[CocoTheAlphaCat]

When I had six rounds of docytaxol in early 2020, nobody at Kaiser suggested ice packs for hands or feet--wish they had. Wound up with a tiny bit of neuropathy in my fingertips. Other than that, though, no long-term effects. Short-term, yeah, you lose your hair, and you'll be tired, and your skin tone will probably migrate toward gray. These things all will reverse after you're done with treatments. Part of The Cost Of Living.