@shs14 From what I remember the Paclitaxel was less awful than the A/C generally speaking. The treatments themselves were much shorter for a start, which felt better. By the end of it I was a bit tired, but kept working all the way through, just shortened my hours a bit (from 38h per week to around 30). Work let me flex at will, so I did short days when I felt rubbish and long ones when I felt good. I'm convinced that keeping on walking the dogs daily and doing a little yoga in the mornings (I used to roll out of bed onto the yoga mat and just lie there for a bit - mornings were the hardest) kept me feeling better than I might have, as did being careful with my diet (plant based, no alcohol). I can highly recommend a great book called "How Not To Die" by Dr Michael Greger of nutritionfacts.org.
I do remember that the paclitaxel made water taste very nasty - metallic and awful. My kids bought me a sodastream and I drank litres of fizzy water with fresh lemon or lime juice squeezed into it, which tasted great and gave me loads of vitamin C. Also feels a bit special if you chuck in some berries when everyone else is having cocktails!!!
If you haven't done a Look Good, Feel Better workshop yet, I would encourage you to go along - the girls were so much fun and again, it is an empowering thing - I tried harder to look my best during my treatment than I ever have - it felt like an extra layer of armour to me!
Also if anyone wants to give you a present, ask for lovely smelling paraben free handcream and body lotion. All the treatment seemed to really dry out my skin and make me a bit itchy. I made self care into a welcome ritual and also set up a quiet reading space in my bedroom where I could retire from the rest of the crazy household when I needed to - this was important. Also saved me from having to keep explaining how I felt - if I had retired to my quiet place they knew I needed time out!
Good luck with your treatment - let me know how it goes for you :-)
Sally x
