allergies § side effects of Taxol?

[seven7]

Will you please elabrorate on the difference in the allergies and lasting side effects of Taxol compared with Adriamyacin?

I have been on Adriamyacin chemo for 4 times,  and my oncologist is changing me to Taxol for the last four.  All of my chemo has been taken at 3 week intervals so far, and the last 4 are planned that way.
I have been reading on another web sites lots of scare stories that the taxol is leaving lasting side effects of numb hands and feet that may last forever,  putting some people so that they cannot walk .  Does this happen often,  or is it just an oddity?
I am getting along very well with the Adriamyacin treatments.  I had stage 3 aggressive lobular cancer in one breast and 14 of 15 lymph nodes that were removed were positive.  My scans after the mastectomy were all clear, and I am considered cancer free now.

I posted this question earlier, but you answer was very short, and I really would like to have more general information on the differences of the allergies and side effects of the two drugs compared.  Thank you very much for all of your answers.  You are doing a great service for the public.     Seven

[CCF-RN,MSN-rf]

Dear Seven7:  Allergies of hypersensitivity reactions happen during or immediately after the infusion.  Not every one will have this because not everyone is "hypersensitive."  For taxol, the incidence is about 41%.  These reactions can include hives, itching, swelling, difficulty breathing.  These are controlled with premedications and, in rare cases, the medication needs to be stopped.  Side effects, on the other hand, are known to occur and may happen early or late.  Most resolve when therapy is stopped.  Side effects of adriamycin include commonly hair loss, decreased blood counts, nausea and vomiting (managed with medications), mouth sores.  More rarely, this drug can affect heart function.  Taxol's common side effects include low blood counts, hair loss, nausea and vomiting (managed with medications), diarrhea, peripheral neuropathy (numbness and tingling of the toes and fingers) occurs in about 60% of patients.  It's severity is dose and duration dependent.  Most of the time, it resolves when treatment is stopped but you should inform your physician if this is happening to you.

[debden]

Hello Seven7,
I have just finished a 6 month chemo regimen like yours, 4 rounds of A/C and 4 rounds of Taxol.  I don't know if this will be helpful to you, but I wanted to add that this is one of the standard regimens of treatment and has proven to be effective for many in preventing the recurrence of breast cancer.  I did experience some of the neuropathy (tingling feet and toes) but I am now a month out from Taxol and it has stopped. I also experienced some of the bone and joint pain in the three - five day timeframe after the Taxol infusion.  It is very important to drink lots of fluids the day before and the days after treatment. I actually had less pain when I "pushed fluids", (that's what the nurses called it).  Anyway, my doctor also gave me a prescription for the pain which I usually had to take for a day, after that Tylenol helped. Mostly, I found that a positive attitude, wanting to "soak up" the chemo and have it do all the good it possibly could really helped to manage and relieve the side effects.  A wonderful doctor at the Cleveland Clinic taught me to look at it positively, that I "get to get chemo" and will benefit from the drugs for years to come.
Warmly,
Deb