taxol vs. abraxane

[gail303]

Hi

I just had my second taxol treatment today (2nd out of 12 – weekly) after a course of 4 ac+ zitoksan.

10 minutes into the treatment I felt sever stomach and legs pain and short of breath. I was treated with extra hydrocort and other allergy treatments and the taxol was stopped. After 2 hours of rest I was send home.

I read about the abraxane and want to ask my doctor to change taxol with it. Is it the right move? do i better my allergy symptoms with abraxane?

thank you for your answer

[lhughes]

I can't make a doc's decision for you... since you made it through 1 treatment your allergy is not quite as bad as mine.  My reaction was instantaneous to Taxol after that  I was switched to Abraxane.

This I do know... Abraxane has no pre-meds required.  It looks like milk.  It took approximately 30 minutes to administer.  It has basically the same effect on the body (tingling fingers and toes, hair loss, etc).  And it is a lot more expensive than Taxol, hence the reason they don't use it first.

Now, whether or not this protocol is right for you is something you should discuss with your doc.  He will know if this is a good change for you or not.  If you cannot tolerate Taxol, then it will probably be one option your doc will consider.

Best of luck in your remaining treatments!  

[SueYoung55]

I had a severe reaction as well. It is my understanding that once you have an allergic reaction they won't use it again.

Best of luck with your treatments :)