Neuropathy and Taxane Therapy

http://www.ascopost.com/issues/october-15-2012/neuropathy-not-predictive-of-outcomes-with-adjuvant-taxane-therapy-in-breast-cancer.aspx

Mcclure....your post reminded me of myself.  I breezed thru dose dense AC then hit my 1st round of Taxol (had to switch to Taxotere due to an allergic reaction to Taxol) but I had horrible leg pain & back pain from the 1st day.  I could barely get from a sitting position to a standing position without being in tears.  I was 46 yrs old going on a 106.  I had read some where that for most people the pain will go away in the 1st yr after treatment has ended.  Those that do not it is more permanent.  So basically I decided I would just live with it and every appt with my oncologist I would mention it but leave it at that.  After a year, I was SICK of being in pain and I think too it was the fact that pain was a daily reminder for me of my cancer to begin with.  I finally had a meltdown and called my dr office.  I said I just can't take it anymore but didn't want to be on pain meds for the rest of my life.  So they sent me to a pain mgmt dr who guess what put me on pain medications.  I actually found out that I didn't need to take the pain medicine nor the muscle relaxer that actually what made me feel better was the anti-inflammatory rx they gave me.  I no longer need to take this daily just when I have "flair -ups".  If I know I am going to be doing a lot of walking, etc I will take in as a precautionary step.  I can tell you it definetely has improved the quality of my life AND both me and my dr are happy that I am not taking actual pain medications   It may not work for everyone but certainly something that maybe you can talk to your dr about. 

Greetings!

One may like to consider reading the posts by Courtney's Dad on Feb 9 at 12:50pm and Feb 9 11:28 pm
(which were posted after the above post of Feb 9   9:08am)
on thread:
   http://forum.tnbcfoundation.org/is-triple-negative-breast-cancer-curable_topic10905_page2.html


Courtney's Dad,
    The most sincere sympathy to you and your family on the loss of your daughter.
                    

With caring thoughts,
Grateful for today............Judy

Edited by Grateful for today - Feb 21 2013 at 9:33pm

rosered71169,

Thank you for sharing what your plan was to ward off neuropathy symptoms.
Impressive to go from severe neuropathy to none. So glad to hear your neuropathy was eliminated.
Now, members will have something specific to discuss with their oncologists.
Think there is a difference of opinion among the various oncologists re: what they allow and what
they don't during chemo when it comes to vitamins and supplements.
And as we always add, check with one's own oncologist re: vitamins and supplements especially
during chemo and radiation.


For those preparing for chemo or having chemo now:
Some additional thoughts for consideration, for discussion with the oncologist.
For taxane chemo:
[ paclitaxel (Taxol)      docetaxel (Taxotere)        albumin-bound paclitaxel (Abraxane) ]
- Consider Vitamin B6 100 mg daily.    Check with oncologist.
       Consider starting one week prior to taxane (if possible).
       Continue thru taxane treatment. Some recommend continuing 6-12 months after taxane stopped.
    Vit B6 may decrease/prevent peripheral neuropathy type symptoms.
    Wide range of peripheral neuropathy symptoms from taxanes.
    Many who do get peripheral neuropathy symptoms with taxanes find they do decrease after
        taxane completed. Then there are some who have experiences similar to those posted above.
    Keep provider informed of any neuropathy symptoms.
    Some providers allow other supplements , some allow only Vit B6.
          Most providers do not allow anti-oxidants during chemo.
    If foot/toe numbness, be aware of potential safety (hot water) and balance issues.
    Again, VERY important to check with YOUR oncologist about any vitamin, supplement etc
            during chemo.

One might like to take a look at esp. pp 7-10 (there info and discussion on taxol) on:
http://forum.tnbcfoundation.org/newly-diagnosed_topic9432_page7.html
(There's good info and discussion on the entire thread)


With caring and positive thoughts,
Grateful for today............Judy

Hi BamaRachel!  Nice meeting you.  I'll send you a PM.  Thanks for your offer of help.  Kaye

Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Trial of Acetyl-L-Carnitine for the Prevention of Taxane-Induced Neuropathy in Women Undergoing Adjuvant Breast Cancer Therapy

Lee21 wrote: Here is a discussion on the use of acetyl-l-carnitine in preventing taxane-induced peripheral neuropathy (http://www.clinicalneurologynews.com/index.php?id=9985&type=98&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=136562&cHash=da03e20e36). There were actually two trials, the one in the US reported no improvement and possibly worsened symptoms; the one conducted in China reported improvements. There was an earlier but smaller and non randomized Italian study where they did neurophysiological studies and reported improvement with the use of carnitine (http://www.ejcancer.com/article/S0959-8049%2805%2900429-6/abstract). One significant difference is that the US trial treated patients for 24 weeks whereas the one in China treated patients for 8 weeks. The Italian study used pre-treatment findings as controls for post-treatment findings. I think the jury is still out as to whether ALC is useful in preventing taxane induced neuropathy.