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Docetaxel is it worth it

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User
Posted 18 May 2018 at 08:37
My husband met up its his oncologist after the third Docetaxel , his P S A has dropped but the side effects has been unpleasant. He questioned whether to have a break since it was palliative treatment and the purpose was on the consent form” to improve quality of life and alleviate symptoms”of his cancer.

He questioned as to whether it was worth keeping on going and was persuaded to continue as he was doing so well!

We both wonder how his quality of life has improved, not enjoying food, reluctant to engage socially and extremely fatigued.

At the end of the meeting he turned to me and said “ it’s either keep going or book a one way ticket to Switzerland! “ so, we’ll keep going.

I know we’re fortunate to have him able to tolerate the chemotherapy but I question the specialists attitude

User
Posted 18 May 2018 at 10:38

Sorry to hear about your doubts and concerns over the treatment.

Of course, everyone is different. I understand that responses to treatment can not only vary between people but also for an individual over the course of the treatment. In addition to any physical reaction to treatment (and the disease), one's mental attitude can also be a block to enjoying life.

What helped me was having gradual and achievable targets for doing the things that we enjoyed. Good luck.

User
Posted 18 May 2018 at 16:25

I was sorry to hear that you are both struggling to see the point of the Docetaxel. I can only outline my own experience on this drug, which may help you to decide

I had 6 cycles of palliative Docetaxel, starting at the end of October 2017 and completing in February 2018. Yes, the side effects were horrible. All I wanted to do was sleep. And I mean sleep! I could quite happily have just slept away about two weeks solid. I also got other varied side effects as well. I remember one which particularly worried me was one morning I woke up feeling that someone had pushed half a house brick down my throat. My throat was so very sore, I had never felt anything like it. Luckily that only happened once.

But after six cycles, my oncologist decided I had had enough and he stopped it, saying the toxicity was beginning to outweigh the benefits. Other than continuing with Decapeptyl hormone treatment, I have not had other treatment since finishing the chemo.

For a couple of weeks after finishing the chemo, I still felt quite rough. I thought of it as a "chemo hangover". But eventually, this passed and I began to feel much better than I had felt at any time since being diagnosed.

I had a CT scan towards the end of April and they showed that all of my existing tumours were stable and there were no new tumours developing, but my PSA has risen from 23 to 53 since stopping the chemo.

So on the whole, I think persisting with the chemo was the right thing to do. It clearly halted progression at least for a while and as I said, I do feel so much better.

I hope this helps. We are all different and all can be affected differently, but I think it is worth carrying on with the treatment for a while longer. It will get better, so don't book that one way ticket just yet.

All the best to you

Peter

User
Posted 19 May 2018 at 23:02

Well yes, it does (hopefully) halt the progression of the cancer, but that is what we are all trying to achieve.

I was told by my onco that having the chemo would extend my life by (on average) 3 months. He did always stress that the 3 months was in addition to any time I had left without it. So I have questioned, as you have. Is it worth going through 3 months of aggressive treatment in order to gain 3 additional months of life? But I have to reiterate that having completed 6 cycles of Docetaxel, I feel much better than I have felt at any time since diagnosis in 2015.

I can say without a doubt that my quality of life improved dramatically after finishing the course. I have no regrets for having it. But we are all different and we all have to make our individual choices.

Best wishes

Peter

 

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User
Posted 18 May 2018 at 10:38

Sorry to hear about your doubts and concerns over the treatment.

Of course, everyone is different. I understand that responses to treatment can not only vary between people but also for an individual over the course of the treatment. In addition to any physical reaction to treatment (and the disease), one's mental attitude can also be a block to enjoying life.

What helped me was having gradual and achievable targets for doing the things that we enjoyed. Good luck.

User
Posted 18 May 2018 at 16:23

Hi my husband had early Chemo last year. PSA went from over a thousand down to 1.1. Very few side effects and continued to work most days. However as soon as Chemo finished his PSA also started to rise. So it only worked for him while he was on Chemo. Now he has just started a trial and will see how that goes. Everyone is different and reacts in different ways.

User
Posted 18 May 2018 at 16:25

I was sorry to hear that you are both struggling to see the point of the Docetaxel. I can only outline my own experience on this drug, which may help you to decide

I had 6 cycles of palliative Docetaxel, starting at the end of October 2017 and completing in February 2018. Yes, the side effects were horrible. All I wanted to do was sleep. And I mean sleep! I could quite happily have just slept away about two weeks solid. I also got other varied side effects as well. I remember one which particularly worried me was one morning I woke up feeling that someone had pushed half a house brick down my throat. My throat was so very sore, I had never felt anything like it. Luckily that only happened once.

But after six cycles, my oncologist decided I had had enough and he stopped it, saying the toxicity was beginning to outweigh the benefits. Other than continuing with Decapeptyl hormone treatment, I have not had other treatment since finishing the chemo.

For a couple of weeks after finishing the chemo, I still felt quite rough. I thought of it as a "chemo hangover". But eventually, this passed and I began to feel much better than I had felt at any time since being diagnosed.

I had a CT scan towards the end of April and they showed that all of my existing tumours were stable and there were no new tumours developing, but my PSA has risen from 23 to 53 since stopping the chemo.

So on the whole, I think persisting with the chemo was the right thing to do. It clearly halted progression at least for a while and as I said, I do feel so much better.

I hope this helps. We are all different and all can be affected differently, but I think it is worth carrying on with the treatment for a while longer. It will get better, so don't book that one way ticket just yet.

All the best to you

Peter

User
Posted 19 May 2018 at 09:06
Thanks for all your responses, it seems that the only positive to come out of chemotherapy is that it tends to halt the progression of the cancer.

To be honest we’re not really “struggling “ with chemotherapy but we are somewhat disdainful of the purpose of it!

It seems that no matter what nothing of significance is gained from it but rather it diminishes the person and his lifestyle

User
Posted 19 May 2018 at 23:02

Well yes, it does (hopefully) halt the progression of the cancer, but that is what we are all trying to achieve.

I was told by my onco that having the chemo would extend my life by (on average) 3 months. He did always stress that the 3 months was in addition to any time I had left without it. So I have questioned, as you have. Is it worth going through 3 months of aggressive treatment in order to gain 3 additional months of life? But I have to reiterate that having completed 6 cycles of Docetaxel, I feel much better than I have felt at any time since diagnosis in 2015.

I can say without a doubt that my quality of life improved dramatically after finishing the course. I have no regrets for having it. But we are all different and we all have to make our individual choices.

Best wishes

Peter

 

 
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