Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Breast Cancer (Expert Forum)
taxol or no taxol
Questions posted in the Breast Cancer Forum are answered by medical professionals from The Cleveland Clinic. Topics include Breast Biopsy, Chemotherapy, Hormone Therapy, Lumps, Lumpectomy, Lymph node dissection, Lymphedema, Mammograms, Mastectomy, Radiation Therapy, Reconstruction, Self Breast Exam, and Surgery.
taxol or no taxol
by LLCorb05, Nov 12, 2006 12:00AM
i have one more rx with dense dosing adjunct therapy of ac - my oncologist ( who is wonderful!) is suggesting dense dosing of taxol after then radiatiion rx. if i understand him this increases my prognosis by 2-3%- i had a lumpectomy with removal of 1.5 cm predominately solid poorly differentiated ductal carcinoma with medullary features.bloom-richardson score 9/9.negative margin,nodes(sentinal biopsy),her-2/neu gene amplication,and hormone. my concern is that i've been an er nurse for 30yrs and have at least 7 more to work- with the possible side effect of numbness of the fingers i'm very concerned. i want to make sure i understand the factual outcome so i can make my decision.
Doctor's Answer
by CCF-RN,MSN-rf, Nov 13, 2006 12:00AM
Dear LLCorb05: Neuropathy is a common side effect of paclitaxel chemotherapy and the risk tends to increase with the number of treatments received. I minority of patients have long-term problems but most will experience improvement in the symptoms after discontinuation of chemotherapy. We would encourage you to discuss your specific concerns with your oncologist.
