Hi has anyone had the Paclitaxel and carboplatin chemo mix ?
I’m just wondering how much people suffered side effects from it 
. I know everyone’s different but it would be good to get a gauge x
Hi,
I havent experienced this, but it is most likely going to be my future, so am interested in others experiences.
Which im sure there will be loads as everyone os super helpful on here.
Best wishes.
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I went through both.
Personally I found this combination of chemo to be much much better to tolerate compared to cisplatin. I had a miserable time with cisplatin - high fevers, fatigue, kidney pains, extreme lethargy etc.
Carboplatin is a sister drug of cisplatin but much easier to tolerate. Paclitaxel is the one that’s notorious but it was generally ok for me. The only unique side effect of paclitaxel is that it can lead to neuropathy. I had some level of neuropathy on my feet during treatment but it went away gradually after I stopped.
Paclitaxel also involves hair loss unlike cisplatin so that’s an emotional blow.
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Hello, i am currently have this mix. Initially i was meant to have it once every 3 weeks however after the first dose my kidney which due to the cancers location is temperamental anyhow decided to cause issues and halted treatment for 7 weeks.
In that time my oncologist decided it would be better suited to my body to have it weekly instead in smaller doses and touch wood 
side effects have been very minimal. Certainly feels a whole lot better than when i received the cisplatin which from start to end was hellish for me.
If you have any questions about treatment feel free to pop me a message id be happy to answer all i can x
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-67192441
I just came across this , which might explain why I’m having it first although my oncologist never mentioned it x
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That a really interesting article and completely agree why she may have chosen this route for you
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Yes! I read about this this morning and thought of you, @Mel2 . Seems like this is a big breakthrough and you’re one of the lucky ones who gets a first shot at it!
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While I was panicking about the idea of this chemo cocktail I promised my self I would update for when others are in the same situation and search later
chemo day … everyone was lovely! And made me feel really safe and secure. I was one of the longest there because I was only having chemo every three weeks. So there was a bit of oh I have made a new friend and then they were replaced. But equally kind people came along and chatted.
I went to the toilet allllooootttt , I still felt thirsty while they were pumping me fulla fluids. So when I say a lot I was trying to time my self so I only went every 30 mins 
.
i was told to take anti sickness tablets if then and since I never felt sick I never took them … until 2am that night when I woke and really felt it. By three after taking the pills I was grand. ) next time I will take them before )
The first few days I would say I was great never had the energy people said the steroids given would give but I went a walk daily etc.
Once the steroids were done I had a lot of shooting pains in my bones. Mostly managed with over the counter pills but i will be asking if they can give me something to avoid it next time.
It’s day 8 and my nose feels itchy , a kinda ok itchy but I wonder if that’s the hairs falling out?
Also my hair on my head feels like I’ve had a bobble that’s been too tight in it. I will update again in the next few weeks just incase any one searches this up xx
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Hey @Mel2 - thanks for sharing 
really interested in your experience!
You are doing so well xx
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@Lisa_xox @JennyCH out of curiosity at what point did your hair start growing back ?
I shaved mines last night had who would have thought but I have an awesome shaped head 
. My hair has always been bum length since I was a teen and I really thought I would hate it but i actually don’t xx
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I’ve just finished 2nd round of taxol/carbo and doing OK. No sickness (I take the post-meds religiously) and hair is long gone. I’m doing cold therapy during infusions which is uncomfortable but hopefully does what it is supposed to do. Just the tip of my middle right finger is a little tingly and it went away last time.
Have you started yet?
Yeah , I have my second chemo Friday , I left a wee note above about how I found things.
I had shaved my hair , now all the wee stubble is falling out everywhere and man is it itchy .
I don’t know why but when I asked my oncologist about the potential nerve damage she acted like it was very unlikely to happen and discouraged me wearing any kind of cold gloves etc xx
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Just another update incase anyone searches up the subject later. I had a bad reaction to the second lot of chemo, it wasn’t pleasant and really scary at the time but the nurses were right there in seconds injecting me with stuff to counteract the effects. Within maybe 20 mins I felt totally fine and was kinda annoyed that I had missed my lunch lol.
The session was stopped immediately and after an hour of IV fluids I was allowed to go home,
I have an appointment on Wednesday to discuss what happens next but I also had a phone call from the ward at the hospital booking me in for an overnight stay on Friday. So I assume they will try again and maybe monitor me closely xx
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Hi @Mel2
Thanks for keeping this thread updated. I am so sorry you had such a bad reaction to the chemo. I know the nurse are very hot on this type of stuff and move so so quickly!
I’ll keep everything crossed that if they try again in an overnight stay that it goes well for you.
And yep. I’d be annoyed at missing lunch also😜
Keep going! You are doing so wel
Mena xx
Update , at my appointment on Wednesday the oncologist explained that because I had a reaction to Paclitaxel they would change me to the same drug but given in a different solution called Abraxane.
Apparently the drug is the same but the solution makes it much more tolerable and actually it has a slightly higher effectiveness, the reason they don’t give it first is because it costs more … you gotta love the NHS🙄.
I got that yesterday, rather than a 6 hour chemo with all the premeds etc the infusion lasted two hours and that was me getting the carboplatin too.
So far I haven’t had any side effects but it’s soon yet and I have all the lovely steroids and anti sickness tablets to take so I imagine it will be a few days before I feel them.
I will update again 
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One step at a time, right? Who knows what will be no big deal or become a barrier that has to be fixed. I hope you are feeling OK after the switch. Heading to round 3 on Thursday with the addition of keytruda so my infusion days are longer but I feel hopeful about the immunotherapy options I now have.
My weird thing is that other than being a bald version of myself, I’m pretty much…myself. Not super tired or sick -feeling or looking or anything. I’m starting to hope that this shit is actually working !!!
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It’s weird isn’t it ! I imagine we have watched too many movies about chemo . I have been getting bone pain but the pain killers are dealing with that . Other than that I’m just normal.
It will be working , I figure if it attacked my hair so much it must be doing something to my tumour 
xx
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Im getting the same combination u got originally. Its my second dose tomorrow im just wondering how u are doing
My last chemo cocktail was a week ago so I figured I would update on things I learned through the way.
- i always get what feels like a bubble / lump in my vein after chemo which hurts , really no more than a bruise but I learnt that if I put my hand in hot water for 20 mins that went away
- my hair fell out between day 14-20 . At first it was gradual but when It wanted to come I really shed. Think barber shop floor.
- baths are cold when you land your baldy head on the tiles, I got a wee shower cap from primark that had towel material inside and it made baths nice again
- I had lots of bone pain and lay down to it at first , but actually moving helped a lot and this time when I had to do things because it was Christmas I suffered less than any other time.
- when I lost my hair it was sooo itchy for about a week , I was scratching like I had lice and got what felt like tiny blisters. I tried creams and potions and nothing helped until I realised my head needed air , I had been wearing hats 24/7 not letting my scalp dry out or get air . Once I took them off for a few hours a day things got better really quickly.
- I bought a tonne of wigs and different things to keep them on , but my favourite thing is a beenie hat I bought from Temu ( it might not be the most ethical site , but it took my daughter to point that out ). I still kinda love it though even though I bought some really expensive ones.
- I got my eyebrows tattooed when I found out I was getting this cocktail, tbh I don’t love them , they look much thicker than I would have ever had mine and Sod’s Law I haven’t lost any bloody eyebrow hair . So if I had my time again I wouldn’t have done that.
I will come back and update when my hair starts to grow back, but I wanted to leave this for who ever searches the chemo cocktail next xx
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Wow! Mel thanks for a great update. Can read your humour and practice.
Hope you are well and ready to move onto the next stage xx
