Docetaxel Chemo – the highs and the lows

All my bits crossed too David...I'm eating my customary bar of chocolate but have switched from gin to beer in empathy.

Hope you are back on form and grooving to MK again very soon.

Eleanor (Ruth)

xxx

Infusion 9 Day 22

This is the first time there has been a day 22, that's because my days on docetaxel are over. My lovely Onco took no persuading, as I expected she had already made the decision.

It was a really good consultation this morning, I came away feeling encouraged if not a little elated. Here's what transpired.

1. I am recovering well from the pneumonia. Therefore, no more Aunty B's after I finish the course tomorrow. No need for a CT scan of the lungs and no need for a Bronchoscopy (Yessssss! Result! I was not looking forward to that baby! They can give you a sedative it seems but I'm an ex-hippy, they'd have needed to drug me up at least as high as the highest high I had back in the summer of lurve in '69 because I'd probably have done a runner when da man said "now ColU, open wide"). A further chest X-Ray will be performed in 4 weeks time.

2. I'm going into a period of no treatment apart from 12 weekly Zoladex. Scans will be done again in August 2017 and my next consultation with my lovely Onco will be at the end of that month. However, I must let her know if I experience new symptoms. Bloods will now be taken every 7 weeks.

3. PSA last time was 4.98. My educated guess for my next reading was 8.5. I'm obviously educationally sub normal. Actual reading was 4.85. Happy, happy, happy.

4. What's she got left in her box of tricks? Cabazitaxel. Mitoxantrone. Stilboestrol. Radium 223. Dexamethasone. Bisphosphonates. Trials.

A good day.

David

Good news David. Plenty of options still and a good Chemo holiday to look forward to.

Look forward to contributing to your new thread as this one closes.

Regards

Dave

Docetaxel - was it worth it?

We will look at the costs and the benefits. The only way I've got of measuring the benefits is to use PSA as an indicator of whether treatment is working or not. Now we know it is an imperfect measure, PSA can drop but the PCa can still be spreading in the background. However, it's all we've got, if we don't use it then all decisions regarding all treatments are being taken in the dark in the hope that they work but with no way of knowing whether they do until expensive scans are taken. So PSA is what we've got and it is that I will use in defining the benefits.

Costs

1. Hair loss. Not something that bothered me so I consider this a zero cost item.

2. A few crappy days , usually 3, each 21 day cycle. All bearable and thus a low cost item.

3. Peripheral neuropathy, minor in fingers but more marked in toes and feet. Not a pleasant thing but not painful so no pain killers needed. It doesn't affect my ability to walk so it doesn't have a negative impact on my quality of life.

4. Skanky nails, hands and feet. Again not pleasant but not painful so no pain killers needed.

5. Oedema in ankles and feet. Not pleasant but not painful so no pain killers needed.

6. Pneumonia. This has been a substantial cost. Two weeks of feeling pretty bad and quality of life significantly impaired. There will probably be a couple more weeks before I am fully restored.

Benefits

1. My PSA at the start of docetaxel was 26.28. It is reasonable to assume that without docetaxel it would of continued to rise. I can't estimate how far it would have risen but in the 27 weeks I've been on docetaxel it would have been far higher, maybe in the region of 70 to 100. My PSA now is 4.85. During the time on docetaxel, with the exception of the last two weeks, I've maintained a pretty good quality of life.

Conclusion

The benefits outweigh the costs and if I were to be faced with the same choice again I would opt for docetaxel, although I might stop after infusion 8. http://community.prostatecanceruk.org/editors/tiny_mce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif