Weekly Paclitaxol

Hi, I'm being treated for secondary breast cancer, firstly with chemotherapy. I had 4 sessions of A/C (every 3 weeks) which was pretty tough and now 12 weekly sessions of Paclitaxel. I am about to have round 10 so only 3 left to go and counting! In some ways the Paclitaxel is much easier than the A/C but I think the secondary effects are culminative. What I really wanted to ask is if anyone else on this regime has had terrible itching to the knuckles and backs of the hands causing skin colour changes (mine are red/purple now) and also peeling skin?The oncologist has given me anti-histamine tablets and also a corticosteroid cream which I had to stop using after just 1 day as it felt as though it was burning. Some days my hands feel like they're on fire and whatever I put on them to try to ease the soreness/pain doesn't seem to work for very long. I have tried natural remedies like the gel directly from the Aloe plant but had to stop as it caused severe dryness. At the moment I'm using Zerocream which I'm tolerating better than any of the others I've been given/recommended.  It would be good to know if anyone else has experienced this and if they were able to ease the symptoms. Many thanks.

  • I'm sorry about the side effects you're experiencing from the Paclitaxel Mlr86. It sounds very painful.

    Hopefully some of our members who are having/had this chemo will share their advice and recomendations with you soon but in the meantime you're welcome to have a look at the selection of skin care products we have on our website. They have all been created with the cancer patient in mind so hopefully there will be something there that can help.

    Do be sure to let your oncologist know how you got on with the corticosteroid cream as well as they may be able to offer an alternative that is more gentle on your skin.

    I hope this helps and your symptoms become more manageable soon.

    Kind regards,

    Steph, Cancer Chat Moderator

  • [@Moderator Steph]‍ 

    Thanks for your advice, I will take a look.
    It has been a real problem and luckily I only have 2 sessions left. I did read somewhere yesterday that using cold compresses during the actual chemo can help so at todays session I asked the lovely nurse and she gave me 2 cold gel packs. So I used them and we will see if helps this week. Watch this space!
    Have a good Easter, Best wishes.

     

  • Just an update about the hands. The cold compresses or gel packs during the chemotherapy session definately seem to be helping. I ask the nurse for them after the pre-meds are finished and the paclitaxel is starting. I am also using an emolliant cream (Zerocream) a couple of times a day. Also very important is making sure the hands have a factor 50 or higher sun cream slavered on if you're going out. I'm wondering if my problem was caused by the sun in the first place as although I always protect my face I didn't think to put sun cream on my hands. I do now!