Taxol Long and Short-term Side Effects

[healingwell62]

Hi all.  This is my first post here.  I'm glad I found you all.  I sure would welcome lots of new friends.  I've had a left mast. and right lump.  Only one sentinel node positive on the left.  I'm getting ready to finish up A/C and am supposed to have 8 weekly taxols.  I've read a lot of concerning long-term side effects of taxol, particularly the peripheral neuropathy and muscle weakness.  Would really like to hear from others what their experience has been and any pearls of wisdom.  Thanks.

[PaulMD]

Hi there.

I'm glad to hear that you are going through your treatment well.  The toxicity profile of Taxol depends on the method or interval of administration.  The weekly administration of Taxol has a more pronounced peripheral neuropathy as a primary side effect which can manifest as numbness of the extremities that  may or may not be accompanied by some form of pain.  This can be treated with medications such as Gabapentin or supplementation with the B vitamins.  The every -3 weeks schedule has a less chance of neuropathy, however, it's primary side effect is neutropenia or lowering of the white blood counts.  Deciding what schedule to follow is really dependent on a lot of factors and these should be discussed in depth with your oncologist.  

I wish you all the best and may the rest of your treatment be as uneventful as possible.  Regards and God bless.

[healingwell62]

Thanks for your speedy response!  Interestingly, I am already taking 900 mg per night for restless leg syndrome.  Are you aware of any correlation between taxol, restless leg syndrome and increased risk of neuropathy.  What about short-term vs. long-term side effects?  I can deal with almost anything if I have a fairly high degree of certainty that it will go away!  I'm already taking Neulasta after each treatment of A/C, so we're keeping an eye on that.  Your thoughts?

[Greta_L]

Hi,  I had the A/C followed by bi-weekly Taxols 2 years ago. I also took the Neulasta after both A/C and Taxol.    I quit after 3 round of Taxol because of neuropathy in my feet and hints of it in my fingers. At first I had lost the reflexes in my knees and found I stumbled more, but that cleared up in a few months after stopping Taxol.  The fingers only bothered me during or right after treatments, but we were afraid that with more Taxol they would persist like my feet.  The fingers stopped bothering my right away, but nearly 2 years later I still notice infrequent "buzzing" in my toes.  The pain in my toes gradually went away over the course of the first year, but if I wore tighter shoes or walked a lot I continued to notice some numbness or tingling in my toes. I've taken Gabapentin all along.