Hi everyone,I was diagnosed with Her2 positive BC in April. I have been having AC dose dense chemo for the past six weeks (3 x 2 weeks) and have my last one on Thursday. I've tolerated it well which I credit partly to walking every day, between 30-40km a week. I start Paclitaxel chemo 12 x weekly two weeks later and I have been reading about Taxol based chemos being very likely to cause neuropathy. I'm keen to do as much as I can to avoid this. Online there are some new studies showing cold gloves and booties reduce these effects. I can see that it is commonly discussed on the UK forums.Has anyone used cold therapy while having chemo? I know that there is much discussion and use of cold capping but I can't see anything on the forums about using it to prevent neuropathy. (I considered cold capping but was told by my oncologist it didn't work well with AC.)The gloves and ice packs that are recommended (Elastogel, Chillpain) all seem to be made and sold in the US and not here, and they cost so much after the exchange rate, taxes and postage. I was wondering if there were any local alternatives people knew about, or if they had made their own alternatives, frozen peas, ice trays or ice packs?Thanks

Hi @poodlejules,Fantastic information, thank you :) That's very encouraging. I like your homemade hacks!You were obviously committed and I'm so glad to hear your efforts paid off. I'm very encouraged that you ended up with no neuropathy.Fascinating too to hear you succeeded despite minimal support from the hospital. It is obviously easier to go with the flow, so good for you. I think it will be more common in the future, as the studies say it works. I'm just surprised that it doesn't get more exposure when cold capping is now so well known. Hair will grow back but neuropathy can be permanent.I will now persevere even if they don't have experience safe in the knowledge that it will one day be common practice.And I have a port so that won't be an issue.I'll make sure I use this week's chemo to sort things out in advance.Thanks for your message.Susie x

Hi @SabbraThat's great, I'm glad the information helped you. I have ordered gloves and socks too. That's a great price. Mine were a bit more because I got them separately. I'm a bit scared about the cold!I'm nearly at the end of my AC chemo journey so message me if you have any questions. The injection and chemo make you constipated so I take coloxyl tablets for the first few days, and I read that Claratyne can help stop the bone pain that can come from the second day injection, so I take that too.TMI lol?Susie

My Chemo was 4xdose dense AC followed by 4xdose dense Taxol (all fortnightly), last one was eight days ago. I have lost four toenails, the neuropathy is definitely worse on my feet than my hands, the tingling and numbness tends to be worse at night. I was offered gloves at the hospital which I didn’t take, but not socks, Tbh after cold capping for two sessions then giving up I didn’t want anything else cold, especially as my Taxol infusions took 3 1/2 hours. The neuropathy started for me as soon as the Taxol did, I spoke to my oncologist about it as I saw him between cycles but it was never bad enough to delay Chemo for (I have Inflammatory Breast Cancer so I am very keen for no delays). Hope what you have bought helps.

Jenny @jennyss what a great homemade hack! Great you could show us pictures of it. Very resourceful. Thanks so much for sharing your experience x

Hi @strongtogether,I would definitely recommend the socks with some extra ice packs around them - they last well, the full hour and a half with the extra ice packs to keep them cold. I rest my feet on the esky I take. The gloves lose the cold quite quickly and are very expensive. I think you could save money and not get them. I use them and then add ice gel packs inside and then use the medium bodichek gel packs on their own, gripping them so they cover both sides of my fingertips especially. I have a photo of this I think, I'll see if I can find it to post. Its great you are going to help out with this because its a bit of a two person job.I would invest in the Bodicheck small and medium icepacks and the socks personally. Ebay and Ubuy are the sites to find the socks, see above.I take an esky with a range of gel icepacks and use most of them by the end of the session. Feel free to contact me directly if you want more info.@Afraser just from reading forums here and overseas, I think that neuropathy from Paclitaxel and Doxacetal is actually a big problem and affects a lot of people permanently or for years, like you, and also that many people lose their nails and have ongoing problems with them, but that its not spoken of as most people are sent off from treatment with the promise it is going to improve and by the time they realise it isn't that isn't recorded.

Anyone tried Cold Therapy to prevent neuropathy in Taxol Chemo

82 Replies

poodlejules
Member
7 years ago
Susie, you've done some wonderful research! Hope it all goes well for you! :)
shs14
Member
7 years ago
I'm so sorry to hear that @Nadi, doesn't seem fair that you used the gloves and ended up with bad symptoms. Thank you for sharing your experience. It seems on google that Docetaxol is less likely to cause neuropathy than Paclitaxel.

I've found another study online that looks at cold therapy and while it doesn't always avoid neuropathy the figures they have show better results when Its tried:

https://epostersonline.com/ons2018/node/2071
Nadi
Member
7 years ago
I had docetaxol, cyclosphamide and herceptin. I used ice gloves for the taxol. I never lost any nails but have neuropathy in my hands and feet. Definitely worse at night and definitely some nights are much much better than others. Three years on I have learned to live with the neuropathy. My biggest issue is the hand curling. It can take a while to uncurl my fingers in the morning. When it's really bad I can't hold my coffee cup which means I can't start my day. Luckily most days aren't like that.
shs14
Member
7 years ago
Good point @Giovanna_BCNA, at a lot of hospitals they provide the equipment themselves. I actually spoke to my oncologist and the chemotherapy nurses today and they were all positive about it and said they used to have the equipment until there was no room for the freezer.
Thanks for your message @"Patti J" I haven't heard of that treatment but that is good information. I'm so sorry you have those side effects so far out. Smokers nails doesn't sound too good either!
Patti_J
Member
7 years ago
For me, Taxol neuropathy was not nearly as bad as that from Xeloda (Capecitabine). I still have numbness in my feet 18 months later.
The only thing that happened with Taxol was that my fingernails were discoloured like those of a smoker. My toenails were also discoloured. This grew out eventually.
Giovanna_BCNA
Member
7 years ago
Hello @shs14
I found the same article that you refer to on the breastcancer.org site which I have attached below along with further information regarding peripheral neuropathy.
We ask that if anyone is considering cryotherapy, to make sure that you speak with your treating specialist prior to starting treatment.
https://www.breastcancer.org/research-news/cryotherapy-may-prevent-taxol-neuropathy
All the best
shs14
Member
7 years ago
This thread from another forum has some other free and inexpensive versions and ideas:
https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/69/topics/863169?page=1
shs14
Member
7 years ago
I'm really sorry to hear that @Afraser.
It doesn't feel fair that we have to go through chemo and then suffer ongoing problems.
I'm not certain that cold therapy will work for me but I'm hopeful and willing to try anything that will save me from neuropathic issues.
@mahaica I found the elasto-gel mittens on ebay but @Sabbra mentioned ubuy where she got both and for less than me. I ordered my mittens and socks separately. They aren't cheap.
MIttens here https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ELASTO-GEL-COLD-ICE-HEAT-HOT-THERAPY-GLOVE-HAND-MITT-/252442001746
Socks here https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/254053480072
Ubuy site is here: https://www.u-buy.com.au
Mahaica
Member
7 years ago
Just finished my AC dose 10 days feeling ok no major drama I am reading about Taxol my next treatment and the gloves and socks sounds like a good idea . Not sure where I can order some any ideas please?
Afraser
Member
7 years ago
I wish I’d known about socks. Toenails are a nuisance but will regrow. 6 years on I still have the odd combination of lack of feeling in bits of my feet and hypersensitivity in others! No
pain but it does little for your sense of balance when off the flat.

Forum Discussion

Anyone tried Cold Therapy to prevent neuropathy in Taxol Chemo

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