The aches and pains and upset stomach are lingering far too long. But they could last even longer. I read answers to this question posed on an American Cancer Society website, “How long does it take for Taxol side effects to go away?”
“Many side effects go away fairly quickly, but some might take months or even years to go away completely. These are called late effects. Sometimes the side effects can last a lifetime, such as when chemo causes long-term damage to the heart, lungs, kidneys, or reproductive organs.”
I hope Taxol has not caused and is not causing long-term damage to my heart, lungs, kidneys, etc. And I hope the side effects I am experiencing will disappear soon. Already, though, they have lasted longer than the three or four days M.D. Anderson Cancer Center says is typical of their duration. My chemo treatment was last Thursday; I am now in the day five aftermath. The pain has diminished considerably, but there is room for more comfort in and around my joints, muscles, and other component parts. If each chemotherapy session mimics this one, I will take a strong disliking to every one of them. I should not complain, though; better now than I felt a couple of days ago.
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Mi novia drove my car to the auto repair shop this morning, where she left it to be coddled and nurtured and otherwise treated with tenderness and compassion (because, in her view, I think, I am too weak and fatigued…unfit to drive or even ride as a passenger). The morning reacted to the trip with growling and grimacing, filling the sky with menacing thunder and threatening lightning. Light grey clouds filter most of the sun’s light, as if hiding celestial dangers behind mysterious clumps of poisonous smoke. Those angry clouds appear dull and rounded, but they are as sharp as scalpels and as lethal as grenades. A particularly loud clap of thunder can spray blood-soaked blades and devastating shrapnel into the far reaches of the edge of the universe, a place where safety failed to find a hiding place. One’s imagination can rip comfort to shreds, leaving it frayed and torn and nearly disemboweled. A demonic morning transforms into an era of bleakness and hopeless regret. Where does all this gloom originate? The solution is laughter, of course; howling, screeching, shrieking laughter.
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Enough of this!
I will watch for swelling, etc., Bev, Thanks!
Don did a couple of treatments of Taxotere (docetaxel) – similar class of drugs. He had to discontinue due to heart damage. Should really have stopped after the first treatment as his feet swelled — so that’s what I would be watchful for — foot swelling. If you see that, don’t ignore — talk to your onc. I think the other stuff — aches, etc.. are just par for the course with a lot of chemo. Sorry you’re experiencing painful effects. These are strong medications. Hang in there. Find good things to do that don’t require too much moving around. I’m sure you’re doing that already. We used to go for drives just to get a change of scene.