Paclitaxel side effects and coping skills

Afraser said:

Hi @Suzie82

Like all chemo, side effects can vary immensely. So it’s always hard to tell until you start. But paclitaxel or Taxol is hard on soft tissue - so short term problems with taste buds, noses (a bit bloody or crusty) or eyes (occasional blurriness) can occur. Those will usually clear up once you finish your course of paclitaxel. Standard advice for losing your sense of taste is to try spicier food - didn’t work for me but I had a handful of foods (happily all pretty healthy!) I could actually taste and for the rest it was just eat what you know may do you good even if it all tastes like cardboard! It passes!! The side effect to watch is peripheral neuropathy - paclitaxel can affect nerve endings in hands and feet, a tingling sensation is usually the first sign. It too will often improve as soon as you stop treatment but not always. Ice treatment, right from the beginning, can help and there are threads here about what to do - not all hospitals are set up to do it so reach out to those on the network who have used it. Keep your oncologist aware of any nerve problems. Best wishes for a trouble free run. 

Mazbeth said:

Hi @Suzie82, I found the paclitaxel a lot better than A/C. You may notice that your hair will start to grow back but any lashes or brows I had left fell out right at the end - but they started growing again quite quickly. I did get reflux for the first time, but my oncologist prescribed something and I took a tablet each day and it stopped. As soon as chemo stopped, so did the reflux. The main side effect for me was just being really fatigued, so rest when you can. During your first infusion, the nurses will sit with you just to make sure you don’t have an allergic reaction, you will most likely be given steroids to start with, but once they establish that you are ok, you probably won’t have them again. My tastebuds definitely left the building, but I did love the spicy food as I could taste it. As @Afraser said, your tastebuds will come back pretty quickly. 

It is really important that you tell your medical team about any side effects especially if you get any tingling. I did the ice therapy and I am happy to say that my hands and feet are good. My oncologist really stressed that it was important that I let them know if I had tingling because whilst they want to give you 12 rounds, they also don’t want you to have any permanent damage if it can be avoided. He also said that it is not uncommon to stop taxol at number 9 because of the numbing and that he would be happy if I got to 9 as that was still effective - he stressed that I should not worry if that happened. I did the 12 and I iced my hands and feet for every one of them. There is quite a bit of information on here and I definitely recommend doing it. I found that the nurses were really supportive and a couple knew quite a lot about it. Take care and best wishes.