Is anyone else on Talazoparib?
Hi Ladies, I am a 46 year old wife and mother of 2. My initial diagnosis of Breast Caner was in 2013 -Er+ Pr+ HER2-. After Chemo, Radiation, Oopherectomy, Double Mastectomy, I thought I had the all ...
Forum Discussion
@NP1973 I was taking talazoparib for just over two years. I was diagnosed de novo with metastatic breast cancer in August 2016 and after letrozole failed, I started taking talazoparib as a part of the EMBRACA clinical trial in December 2016. I have a BRCA2 mutation and my cancer is ER/PR+ and HER2-. I had progression earlier this year (side effects became unbearable and tumour markers sky-rocketed before it was evident in scans) and I started on capecitabine in early April.
Until I switched over to capecitabine, I didn't realise that the side effects were quite significant on talazoparib. My energy levels/fatigue was very hard to deal with even though it improved over time - I found it really difficult to get up in the morning no matter how much I slept the night before.
The nausea never went away and this seemed to be present in the mid-morning (despite whether I ate breakfast or not), medication never really helped either. I found other things to make it easier to deal with but nothing ever completely made the nausea subside. Drinking kombucha as well as a green powder mixed with orange juice in the morning helped me.
Additionally, I had never completely lost my hair because I was dianosed de novo and never had any prior treatments other than hormone therapy but I had significant hair thinning. I cut my hair short to cover my temples, my eyebrows were sparse and I had few eyelashes. Growth of body hair slowed right down so waxing appointments were few and far between :D .
Although talazoparib is not chemotherapy (it is a PARP inhibitor and considered targeted therapy), I couldn't believe how much the above side effects subsided when I started chemotherapy with capecitabine. I can set myself an alarm now and actually respond to it in the morning, I do not experience any nausea whatsoever and I am rapt that my eyebrows and eyelashes now look "normal" again.
I was so happy that I was able to receive talazoparib and I am disappointed that it was no longer effective, so I wish you the very best of luck and I am here to answer any further questions. Since there are not that many people who have taken/are taking talazoparib, you may find some support in the Facebook group: People taking talazoparib aka talzenna or on EMBRACA study.
Can I enquire how you able to access Talzenna? I know that it is approved in the US and now Europe. I was able to receive it via clinical trial and I want to help support any campaigning for it to be accessible in Australia.
Until I switched over to capecitabine, I didn't realise that the side effects were quite significant on talazoparib. My energy levels/fatigue was very hard to deal with even though it improved over time - I found it really difficult to get up in the morning no matter how much I slept the night before.
The nausea never went away and this seemed to be present in the mid-morning (despite whether I ate breakfast or not), medication never really helped either. I found other things to make it easier to deal with but nothing ever completely made the nausea subside. Drinking kombucha as well as a green powder mixed with orange juice in the morning helped me.
Additionally, I had never completely lost my hair because I was dianosed de novo and never had any prior treatments other than hormone therapy but I had significant hair thinning. I cut my hair short to cover my temples, my eyebrows were sparse and I had few eyelashes. Growth of body hair slowed right down so waxing appointments were few and far between :D .
Although talazoparib is not chemotherapy (it is a PARP inhibitor and considered targeted therapy), I couldn't believe how much the above side effects subsided when I started chemotherapy with capecitabine. I can set myself an alarm now and actually respond to it in the morning, I do not experience any nausea whatsoever and I am rapt that my eyebrows and eyelashes now look "normal" again.
I was so happy that I was able to receive talazoparib and I am disappointed that it was no longer effective, so I wish you the very best of luck and I am here to answer any further questions. Since there are not that many people who have taken/are taking talazoparib, you may find some support in the Facebook group: People taking talazoparib aka talzenna or on EMBRACA study.
Can I enquire how you able to access Talzenna? I know that it is approved in the US and now Europe. I was able to receive it via clinical trial and I want to help support any campaigning for it to be accessible in Australia.