This may seem like a blunt or potentially insensitive question, but for those of you who have undergone Docetaxel treatment, how many would say you’re ultimately glad you chose that path? From what I understand, its effectiveness tends to be relatively short-lived.
Docetaxel: This may seem like a blunt... - Advanced Prostate...
Docetaxel
Your understanding is mistaken. It has long-term improvement in QOL because it reduces bone pain.
Please forgive me but I want to hear from the guys who have done it only not promoters. Thank you
Your reply is 100% on point. I wish I could have thought of it too. It wouldn't have allowed to get punched as I was when I posted a similar question. Thanks
Tall Allen a Promoter??? Wow--I wanna keep it polite here, but you really are shooting from the hip and don't know what you're talking about. FWIW, I'm Stage 4; went with recommendations for Docetaxol, Lupron, etc. five years ago and am happily still here & feeling good. Good luck to you, whatever stage you're at...
Good for you both. What I don't like and don't need is getting diminishing replies such as " you are catastophizing yourself..." (as it was written on his reply) when I copy-paste Docetaxel side effects facts from respectable web page sources, such as the Mayo Clinic, American Cancer Society, etc. Perhaps the extreme pain I am having makes me more suseptible to such arrogant responses from someone who's never endured this.
Sorry you're in pain and sorry the response to YOUR prior post was hurtful. But "It has long-term improvement in QOL because it reduces bone pain" is 100% correct. The responses below confirm this. Everyone's mileage may vary.
I am sorry for your extreme pain, but a rude response to Tall_Allen is uncalled for. He has provided incalculable help to so many on this site devoting a great deal of his time in doing so. I remember reading the catastrophizing comments at the time they were made but can't recall the context right now. Suffice it to say, Tall_Allen doesn't deserve to be treated that way by you. I hope your pain decreses and I hope you aplogize to Tall_Allen
Don’t know if I qualify. Don’t want to butt in. Had 6 rounds of Taxotere starting in Aug of 2016. Stage 4 prostate cancer, Mets all over the body. Didn’t remove the prostate as the cancer has already left the host. Chemo helped knock done the PSA and the bone pain. I’ve been on Xtandi now since Dec of 2016. PSA is 0.05 as has been since I finished chemo. Good luck warrior.🙏🙏
Sorry - I didn't see your reply. I have run support groups for about 14 years now, so I have the experience of many men in your situation. I'm assuming you were genuinely asking the question, and haven't already made up your mind. One man, I'll call Bob, decided that he wasn't going to do docetaxel, no matter what. His screams got so loud, his roommate had to move out.
Before Docetaxel was approved in 2004, we only had Mitoxantrone. While they both increase QOL by reducing bone pain, only docetaxel extends survival too. But if you don't wish to extend survival, you can still get Mitoxantrone for the pain. It's not as palliative, but at least it's something.
we could not really tell if it works or not. One thing for sure my psa is undetectable so I guess you could say it is working. When you are on other therapies like in my case hormone suppression drugs it is hard to tell if one thing works or not. I did docetaxel while on these other drugs triple drug chemo hard to say what is effective or not. I guess with all the imaging choices and psa or other tests they some times can tell and with a study or trial.
Trusting in Jesus never fails He keeps His covenant. Probably much more important is our relationship with Jesus He is the gate keeper. It would be good to be friends with the gate keeper. With Jesus we can make it through any trial.
John 16:33
I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.
I trusted in the doctor at the Mayo Clinic Rochester . Some therapies are great for some and not so much for others. We have advanced prostrate cancer. Gotta take a chance. There is no cure yet but we pray for one and do what we have to do to stay here a little longer. I am all in. Sure I want to be informed but only on doing these will we know. Kinda like playing bingo right. There are bingos sometimes. Happy Sunday. Today is the Baptism of the Lord. The Savior crushed the head of the serpent in the Jordan river; He released all men from it’s power.
Thank you..
At my diagnosis I was told “it’s to big and spread to operate or radiate”. Neoadjuvant Docetaxel shrunk everything to where radiation later was possible, so yeah I’m glad I did it.
I'm glad I did it despite the serious side effects I experienced because the published meta-analyses indicate that it provided a statistically and clinically significance lengthening of my life. See, for example, Figs. 3 of Matsukawa et al., doi.org/10.1007/s10147-024-... . Adding docetaxel to either abiraterone+ADT or enzalutimide+ADT reduced the hazard ratio (meaning lower risk of death) compared to any reference with high-volume, high-risk, hormone sensitive prostate cancer. And the triplet of darolutimide, docetaxel, and ADT is even better. There's no question that it was the right thing for me to do.
Edit: I just noticed your user name includes "CRPC". My experience while hormone sensitive probably isn't that relevant.
I am glad that I did it. The lesions seen on pre treatment scans are now gone and PSA undetectable still 19 months post treatment. Still on ADT.
I trust my oncologist and follow her recommendations.
When I was diagnosed at age 55, she recommended docetaxel. She said that the latest science recommended it as early as possible. While it was not fun, it wasn't as bad as I expected it to be.
My PSA (103.0 at diagnosis) dropped immediately and continued to decline for an entire year down to 0.017. The mets in my spine and ribs became no longer visible. This was a combination of the docetaxel and ADT.
That was 6.5 years ago and the cancer has remained suppressed since then. Docetaxel was extremely effective for me. My oncologist said that, if my cancer starts growing again, we will probably try another round of it.
Same here, just 8 years since the chemo, stopped at 6 rounds so we can do it again if needed. Such a kick to go in every 28 days to see my oncologist, he doesn’t know what to tell me anymore. I am his longest living stage 4 patient on Xtandi. Love the guy.
That's great to hear. I know a guy who's done 10 years on intermittent Xtandi and TCM. His PSA was 345 now under 1 had bone mets, lymph node involvement, all reversed. Gleason 9. Nobody listens to him. He was asked to never go in Sloan K ever again because he's disruptive. I won't tell you what he thinks about chemo.
With triple therapy docetaxel my psa has been undetectable with no new lesions or increase in size. I have bone Mets all over the place. A couple places had a slight increase in psma uptake. I only have bone Mets grateful for that. Currently on d”Darolutamide and Lupron 6 months out of chemo, no bone pain. Energy has picked up quite a bit.
🙋I am glad to chose docetaxel. It kick cancer cells hard in the ass! It is Rambo of drugs.
It definitely worked for me but as I only completed the course 6 months ago I can’t advise on timelines really. I’d do it again if I had to. Just work hard at prepping your body for the side effects as ahead of time as you can. Good luck!
Yes, for me my docs gave me the choice of triplet therapy including docetaxel plus salvage radiation after as the most aggressive treatment or doublet w/o docetaxel also with radiation. I included docetaxel even though it's considered to be similarly effective with my ogliometistatic disease. I'm 3+ years in with no recurrance. Actually, none of my more troublesome and lingering side effects are from the course of docetaxel, so worth it in my case.
InqPers your story I hope I can track. I’m at 4/6 doxecetal with oligo. Small salvage radiation ADT and xtandi.. hoping to see your outcome. I lost my mind when the ADT failed with the xtandi in just 2.5 months. I didn’t wait or hesitate. I went right to the chemo.. I only had one met zapped with SBRT. Pm or reply if you had signs of castrate resistance.. I didn’t want to wait and see after .17 rose to .3 in those 2.5 months. Had the PSMA PET. So I knew things were active.. so it’s good to see a correctly in your case.
It was a good move. I really benefitted.
Chemo for my husband was a 27 months long part of the roller coaster ride that started in '09: ups, downs and ups, change from docetaxel to Jevtana, repeat ups, downs and ups. As a nodes only case, chemo wasn't indicated so was saved to last starting 8 yrs after diagnosis. It did it's job to "control" the PSA, at a cost (heart surgery and all the usual side effects), until the doctor finally got approval to use Keytruda. By then my husband was in such bad shape that I retired from my full time job to take care of him.
Had Docetaxel as part of aggressive triple therapy (plus Darolutamide and Lupron) in early diagnosis of oligo metastatic disease (one bone met and one pelvic node). My PSA went undetectable after second cycle and has remained so for more than 2 years. Now on TRT. Treated at JH by very experienced MO who only treats newly diagnosed oligo disease.
After 6 cycles of Docetaxel in October 2019, I found that some of the smaller mets had disappeared, while some of the larger ones had diminished in size. At that point, I would say that Docetaxel did a good job in trying to contain my cancer from spreading, aided by my ADT (Zoladex). Subsequently, in March 2022, my PSA began to rise slightly and I was put on to 1000mg Abiraterone daily. My PSA is currently undetectable.
I have to say that, in my opinion, the benefits of chemotherapy outweighed the side effects (which were difficult at times) and I have no regrets.
I had Docetaxel in 2016-17 after radiation of my prostate and continuous ADT since. Even though my PCa has returned 3 times, SBRT has overall solved those issues. However, one of these tumours led to a compression fracture on my T10/11 vertebrae, followed by spinal fusion of 7 vertebrae in May 2024. Serious surgery which still impacts on my QOL. But I would still have Docetaxel, as I feel it has kept my cancer generally under control. Best wishes for your future with this awful condition.
At 86 I was dix with stage 4, Gleason 9 with multiple lesions. Treated with ADT and Zytiga which worked well for about a year and a half. Then some pain and my PSA started to double every few weeks. Started Docetaxel two sessions ago, and after only two sessions the bone pain is gone and my PSA is going down again, and my anima is better. I have no idea how long this will work. Also due to my age my OC had me stop the ADT and Zytiga and only use Docetaxel. So far, the side effects are moderate. QOL is good, but hard to know what affects me most my advanced age or my PC. I'm approaching 88 years old.
My husband, age 86, had Docetaxel with mixed results to the cancer. He did not get a full dose as the side effects were difficult for him, but he did the 6 treatments. Disappointing results, but he still feels it was worthwhile to do.
Are you having any treatments now?
I had 6 rounds from Sept 21-Jan 22. I was undetectable prior to round 5 in Dec 21 and have been since. Chemo is no joke and cumulative as you go along. I am also on monthly Lupron since Aug 21.
6 rounds of Docetaxel plus ADT for my husband when first diagnosed as per the new studies at that time (August 2017). He's 7.5 years after diagnosis f Gleason 9, mets to multiple bones, PSA >677. Side effects were tolerable- he still worked, coached, traveled during chemo. Was already bald but lost all other body hair, finger nail weakness, some fatigue... but he says all worth it for the effects. He was 49 at diagnosis. Today's chemo isn't the chemo of previous generations. It's more targeted and, for most, more tolerable.
Had 5 rounds.
Effective in reducing PSA to 8.5 from 40.
Initial PSA at diagnosis was 130. ADT did most of the PSA reduction.
Still have prostate which would contribute to non zero PSA reading.
Side effects tolerable.
Fatigue, anemia etc last many months.
Im glad I did Docetaxal because I can say in my experience it's nothing amazing but 'may' be beneficial for you in reducing symptoms.
Curative? debatable. Helpful? Maybe. Harmful? To some extent definitely.
Side effects were no fun, but glad I did it and would do it again. Despite Gleason10 and bone mets at diagnosis, early docetaxal and ADT got me 7 years of undetectable PSA.
I had chemo per CHAARTED about 10 years ago, at the time my oncologist, Snuffy Myers strongly supported it. I was very reluctant to do it at first and it was the most difficult of the many treatments that I’ve had, but I’m still here and I’m pretty sure that it is part of the reason for that. BTW, I am still on the original regimen of meds that he prescribed back then.
Ed
I had only two rounds and had to stop because of severe reactions. However, before those two rounds I was riddled with bone mets. Six months later they were all but two were gone -- and they were tiny. I look at as Docataxel gave me a new start on fighting this disease.
Docetaxel (10 rounds) was beneficial for me while I was on it. It controlled met growth and reduced PSA. After stopping, Mets started growing and PSA increased. I’m now on Pluvicto.
Ditto. My husband's path is so similar that I could have posted the same. His SE's were on the worse side, but post Pluvicto it would be an option again. At this point our understanding is that without these big guns the disease will just take over and take him down quicker.
How long did the chemo work?
Three months after stopping chemo, Mets progressed and PSA started to rise.
Was it worth it? How were the SEs
Thank you all so much for the input. I have lost several friends to BAT which rose their PSAs 500 % so they were thrust into Docetaxel and told it was a last line defense. Unfortunately they are not here any longer to voice how it didn't work. To me you guys are the toughest on the planet and I'm glad it worked, or appears to work which still counts. For me, I live Bone Scan one after the other and just keep my PSA low and it appears to keep me out of the woods mixing the top oral drugs with TCM natural ADT. It works for me so far. May God continue to give you all strength and fortitude to stay in the fight.
Have you had any DNA sequencing done? FoundationOne testing? This can definitely help drive treatment decisions. We were suprised to find out how aggressive husband's PCa is with 3 tumor suppressor genes. He did 1 round of docetaxel but had to discontinue because side effects were so severe. The MO said it's was unusual. All of his lymph node mets were gone. He has only nodal disease. So after that had radiation only to the prostate.
I am considering BAT under the direction of Dr. Samuel Denmeade in a clinical trial at John Hopkins. I was wondering if your friends were doing the bat on their own or in a clinical trial. From what I understand your Psa will spike when your testosterone spikes but the important numbers are the low Psa number immediately before the next T injection. They chart the trend of the low numbers. Unfortunately only about 30% have a favorable response. May God continue to give you the wisdom to know the right choices and the courage to follow through. Good bless.
I agree with Tall_Allen, that you are mistaken. My Dad did a six dose Docetaxel treatment and had a ton of cancer kill. It killed cancer surrounding his bladder. His PSA was low for two years. Now it is still low with PSA blocker.
Docetaxel is an AMAZING drug!
Wow . My Doc pitched using it on me like he was selling Balance of Nature. It's not for me.
My experience may not be relevant but...I did six cycles as part of triplet therapy starting in January 2017.
I probably did not meet standard criteria for its use, not high volume, no bone or organ involvement and not castrate resistant.
Yet, I was high risk - GS 8, GG4, 18 month to BCR after a favorable surgery and rapid PSADT and PSAV. Mono therapy using ADT alone was not going to get the job done, we know that now though in 2017 that was still mainstream in many clinical practices. Same for adding an ARI and, or, WPLN radiation.I chose to be aggressive in light of my clinical data. As I've said, there is no one right answer in choosing treatment, only the best decision balancing individual clinical data, the guidelines such as the NCCN and our personal risk-benefit tolerance. Treatment decisions invariably call on us to consider too Kate, too soon, too long, too much...as an example, was my decision to do triplet therapy in January 2017 too much, was my decision not to do 24 months of ADT+ARI in conjunction with SBRT in April 2023 too little, we'll never know.
I can't answer your question about the effect it had on the length of progression and radiographic free survival it had since it was combined with 29 months of Lupron and 25 IMRt WPLN. I don't use overall survival in my treatment decision making since we'll never know!
What does my instinct say, it was a factor and the risk-benefit was positive for me.
Kevin
My Docetaxel experience. I did nine treatments of Docetaxel but could do no more because it gave me severe lung problems and other side effects. For me, it was a nother tool in the toolbox and helped me kick the can further down the road. I had an extra year of life. I do not regret getting the treatment because that is what was available for me st the time For quality of life, I spent Christmas with the family, had barbecues, and many more fun activities. I did have side effects, 20 lb weight gain, lost my hair, some nails turned black, some fell off, body joint pains, felt estra tirerd, etc. Looking back, when my PSA and Alk Phosphate started going up and I started having mild neuropathy after treatment seven, I should have not continued with treatment 8 and 9. I just hoped Docetaxel would start working again, but it did not. Instead, it caused worse side effects. This is my experience. Everyone is a little different. Best of luck.
I had it and then had radiation. That was three years ago. NED since. I'm a firm believer in aggressively fighting back.
I would be interested in hearing from guys who had chemo when CRPC and not part of triplet therapy.
I had my 1st infusion of docetaxel on Sept 20 2024 my PSA was 264 I had no bone pain at the time
My 2nd infusion was 3 weeks latter on Oct 11 My PSA rose to 316
My 3rd was on Nov 5 PSA rose to 491
My 4th infusion was on Dec 6 PSA was 610
I stopped taking docetaxel as it was ineffective for me
By Dec 20 my PSA rose to 830 and by dec 31 it was up to 950
It is worth noting that my testosterone is at an all time low
I started having bone pain in early Dec but I manage it with Tylenol and Advil
It seems I only get really uncomfortable when I try to sleep at night
Since July 2024 I have lost 15lbs contracted pneumonia and sepsis in my right lung
Recent CT scan and bone scans show numerous mets on my spine , both scapula right collar bone and right tibia
My affairs are in order just living 1 day at a time
I’m glad I did it. The combination with Docetaxel Lupron and Nubeqa helped bring my PSA down to undectable. I’ve been undetectable for over two years as well as Castrate sensitive. The side effects from lupron and Nubeqa however seemed to be the bigger issue for me. I started this journey 10 years ago (Gleason 8 ) and I’ve thrown the kitchen sink at fighting it, surgery, radiation, clinical trials, watch and wait, and two years ago triplet therapy with Docetaxel, Lupron and Nubeqa. When I started the journey I was in great shape which helped me get by for 8 years with a slow rising PSA. When I started Lupron and Nubeqa in 2022 my QOL started to diminish. I experienced severe pain in my hands and feet, I put on excessive weight, high blood pressure, extreme fatigue, I couldn’t lift my self off the ground, and I was too weak to perform weight bearing exercises. My liver was being affected, my dexa bone density scan revealed significant bone loss in hips and spine. I had extreme muscle loss and constant pain in all my extremities. I was told the neuropathy was from the Docetaxel, I knew the other issues were being brought on by the meds. Wanting to know if the Docetaxel worked I decided to stop the Lupron injections six months ago and Nubeqa two months ago. My PSA has remained undetectable, the pain in my extremities is gone, I can now exercise again with no brain fog, weight gain is coming off. Not sure if the Docetaxel has kept me undectable or the drugs. The experts will say all three. My take on all of this is that hormone therapy impacts your quality of life. Docetaxel did not cause the pain in my extremities, that was a side effect of Nubeqa. Listen to your body, review all your test results closely, monitor the trends and then plan accordingly with your doctor. My plan is to be off hormone therapy for as long as I can and be in great shape gain to fight if and when my PSA rises again. Love and Endure
I had one treatment. Nearly killed me and had to be hospitalized after a short while.
Never again!
my hubby had surgery/radiation in 2017. Afterwards a scan showed Mets in bone. He did docetaxel, 6 rounds. Held PSA to zero until 2020. He lost his hair, developed neuropathy and nail beds got gross looking but he weathered it ok. Switched to zytega in late 2020 when PSA started doubling. That worked until late 2021. Tried Xtandi, did not work. Returned to docetaxel, did 9 rounds. In 2023, he tried pluvicto but that caused major bone met spread in the skeletal system. Now on Jevtana. He responded best to chemo and keeps fighting
I did not have any dramatic results but my doctors said that I did benefit from it. The cancer center did
In the mean time I have had pluvictowhich was interrupted an then resumed but that was also stopped because it did not seem to be dong much and I eas having serious side effects.
The plan now is to start Cabazitaxel and carboplatin together.
There are "tons" of past posts in our H.U. history file that you may be interested in reviewing.
Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.
j-o-h-n
I am happy I did it. There is no way to tell if this had more benefit than the ADT or XRT since I had all three. (and I'm only 1 year out from my last dose of docetaxel). But the three-pronged approach (Chemo, Radiation and ADT) seems to be the most current effective recommendation for someone with advanced mets. I tolerated the side effects ok.
I had the 18 week protocol at age 66, and am glad I had it. Along with prophylactic radiation of lymph nodes above the local area (in case those had any tumors too big for docetaxel to wipe out) plus 9 months of Lupron, it gave me 4.5 years of remission. My side effects were very manageable and I continued working full time. More details in my profile.
I presented with Stage IV PCa last Feb, 2024, pelvis, hips, ribs, lymph nodes. We started triplet, Orgovyx, Nubeqa and 6 rounds of Docetaxel. PSA came down to .09 (from 54) at the end of the Docetaxel, all good I thought, it stayed in that range for about 2 months then went up in 3 months, to 1, 4, then 55. PSMA Pet showed the mets were gone from all my lymph nodes and no sign of growth, 2 very 'hot spots' on my R Hip and Sacrum, scattered in my Pelvis and L12 Vert. We did a Guardiant360 which showed I had a mutation that was 'blocking' all AR (Nubeqa) drugs from working on me, so figuring the Docetaxel did most of the work. I had moderate SE's during Docetaxel, getting week and Edema in round 5 & 6 being the worse, but mostly manageable, even at the worse I was still walking 10 miles a week. I would attribute no SE's to the Hormone drugs. Was going to start on 6 rounds of Jevtana but one 'fly in the ointment' was that with all my scans, they found that I had an ascending aortic aneurysm (AAA) at 6 CM that needs to be fixed (all that I need now). So, the plan is to start on Jevtana as soon as I get the AAA fixed and also looking at Xofigo after. If I had to go back on the Docetaxel though, I'd do it since it worked well and the SE's weren't debilitating (at least for me).....
My experience was soon after RP surgery as part of a stampede study joining docetaxel with lupron at the same time. My PSA stayed at undetectable, until I stopped lupron and then it rose pretty fast. It may have some long term benefits, as Tall Allen has indicated but I had a bone lesion that was very painful. Perhaps that was not as painful as it might have been.
I do not plan to have it again unless it truly improves QOL.
For some men, there is GREAT benefit. For other men, yes short-lived. The trial show that for the "average man", you will experience a benefit......with no promises re possible side effects, as with ALL treatments.
I was diagnosed as stage 4, Gleason 8, with a peak PSA of 52 in September of ‘22. I had a relatively light load of mets in my lymph nodes. I started 6 rounds of docetaxel along with Lupron and Nubeqa and finished chemo in January ‘23. I did 28 radiation treatments starting in October ‘23. Since finishing the chemo my PSA has been undetectable. My SEs from the chemo were negligible other than some neuropathy in my feet. If I had it all to do over again I would.
your most welcome!
Can someone explain this Docetaxel to me please. I see here it reduces bone pain. I had my prostate radiated. Subsequently psa rose to 5.5 and I was sent for a psa petct scan. Many distant mets (over 15 above and below my diaphragm) and a lesion on my 7th rib. Given 6 rounds of docetaxel. PSA reduced to 0.12 and holding steady 9 months now. Problem is I have bad bone pain in my upper leg bones and hips during and after sleep. Oncologist said it was bone thinning and put me on Alendronic acid which has had no effect. I'm prescribed zopiclone to sleep at night so the pain doesn't wake me and Oxycodone morning and night for the pain. Why am I having bone pain if the only lesion is on a rib? Why am I taking Alendronic acid if its not relieving my bone pain. Damn confusing. Any logical explanation would be appreciated because my oncologist answers don't make a lot of sense to me,