Search results for "cabazitaxel"

I think all of the treatments have some side effect or other, but not all people get them.  It didn’t seem to give me any side effects that I wasn’t already experiencing - although I appreciate everyone is different.

I think I surprised my cancer nurse when she asked “any side effects from the chemo (Cabazitaxel)”, and I reeled off nearly every single one of them, except numbness and blood clots!).

I’m so glad I found this post - I thought it was just me!

First time post - I can’t believe I’ve only just found this community after having been diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer over 3 years ago!

I’ve put my history in my bio, but basically, since a point in time that I can’t really put my finger on, and no matter what time I go to bed, I can pretty much guarantee that I will wake up exactly (practically to the minute) 2 hours later.  I’ll fall back to sleep eventually, then PING! - another 2 hours later I’m back awake.

Last night I think I did well - I fell asleep watching TV and went to bed at about 1am, then didn’t wake up til about 6.  I class that as a win, but tonight it’ll be back to the 2 hour wake up.

I’ve heard others talk about magnesium supplements - did they work?  Any chance they can have any other side effects on medication (I’m currently undergoing chemo (cabazitaxel, but only at 80% strength because of some of my liver functions not looking great, but improving).

@Adrian56 - which magnesium supplements did you take?  I’m willing to give anything a go at this point to get my sleep back on track!

Cheers!

Matt

Hi All

I started Lutetium 177 Treatment back in September. Just thought I would post to try to help with an understanding.

I have received both Docetaxel and Cabazitaxel and neither brought any positive results. Please read my profile for more understanding on the progression.

Luckily I have private Health Insurance through my employer, so this made the treatment available.

14/08/2025 - PET Scan completed to understand if the body will accept the treatment.

18/08/2025 - PET scans positive so treatment to be arranged.

Six cycles to be administered every six weeks.

23/09/2025 - Cycle 1 - PSA 5.18, ALP 304

The treatment takes 2 hours to complete. The treatment is administered and then you receive a scan before leaving to ensure the treatment has been administered throughout the body.

Felt a little nausea during the first week after the treatment. A little off my appetite, by apart from that all was ok.

04/11/2025 - Cycle 2 - PSA 0.5, ALP 224 

No side effects after cycle 2

16/12/2025 - Cycle 3 - PSA 0.43, ALP 216

Again no side effects after treatment, consultant encouraged by the results from bloods taken.

My hubby has aggressive, incurable G9 PC diagnosed in 2015.  Since last year the cancer has spread into lymph nodes and bones despite all the hormone therapy and 10 cycles of Docetaxel only had a minimal effect on it.  His PSA, which had reduced from 95 to 6.4, started rising again as soon as it finished.   He’s just had his 2nd cycle of Cabazitaxel (apparently known as a ‘last resort’ chemo) and we’ve yet to find out whether it’s started working.  Possibly some RA-223 after that.

From the posts by others in much the same situation, it looks very much as though the options are running out and suddenly it feels like the end of the road is approaching.  We’re trying to be philosophical (after all, he’s lasted longer than many men) and are playing it down to friends and acquaintances.

Unlike me, my hubby has always rejected forums, support groups, counselling, research etc so has  always been a bit in the dark about the various treatments he’s been on.  I haven’t told him about the above-mentioned posts, but even he has the feeling that time is running out at last going by some of his recent remarks.

His way of forgetting about it is to immerse himself in his voluntary work while I find Buddhist mindfulness meditation helpful but it always feels as if there’s a dark cloud overhead these days and times when I start worrying about getting end of life care (after my friend’s awful experience); also dreading being without him after having been together for 57 years.  All we can do now is make the most of our time together.

Sorry – just needed to vent!

I have just had cabazitaxel chemo finished after 14 rounds of it. They are now again talking about the carboplatin and etoposide chemo. I still have no more information about it than I had in April. Surely someone else out there can share their experience with it ?

Hi Phil,

Thanks for your reply.

I’ve read other people’s comments that they didn’t feel so bad on Cabazitaxel.  Peter’s worst ones last time were the oral thrush and strange taste.

I’m sorry it wasn’t as successful for you as hoped.  Although Peter had all 10 Docetaxel cycles his PSA only dropped to 6.4 from 95 and started rising again as soon as he’d finished the Docetaxel despite the Zoladex and steroids.  The last BT in September showed 27 but it’s probably shot up again since then. The PC was back in the  lymph nodes, bone mets too now in femur, rib and clavicle although he’s not in pain at present.

Beginning to wonder how many options are left.  Radium 223 has been vaguely mentioned.   Meanwhile he starts the Cabazitaxel next week.

Wishing you well on your own journey.

Hazel

Cabazitaxel cycles are usually 6–10, depending on the patient's tolerance and response. It is common practice to use an 80% dose to reduce toxicity, especially when side effects are a concern. The final decision on the number of cycles and dose will be individualized by your doctor based on your husband's medical condition and tolerance to the drug.

Edit by grow a garden a day ago.

Edited: by member 13 Nov 2025 at 14:52  | Reason: Not specified

Hi Churchie,

Really sorry to hear you're going through this. Neuroendocrine cases are tough, but there are options after your current carboplatin chemo, it shouldn’t just be “wait and see”.

To my knowledge, cabazitaxel + carboplatin (together) is often used for neuroendocrine / aggressive variant cases, and can be a common next step after carboplatin alone.

There are also drugs like Lurbinectedin, or Irinotecan / Topotecan (borrowed from small-cell lung cancer protocols). You don’t need to decide anything now, but it’s worth asking your oncologist about these so your team are thinking ahead and you’re not left in limbo after this first round.

The other thing which can make a real difference is full molecular profiling. Worth asking whether your tumour has been tested for:

• 
  

  BRCA1/2 and other DNA repair genes (DDR panel)

  
  


• 
  

  MSI (microsatellite instability)

  
  


• 
  

  TMB (tumour mutational burden)

  
  


• 
  

  PD-L1

  
  

The reason why I'm suggesting this is, if there’s a BRCA-type mutation, you may be eligible to have a PARP inhibitor (e.g. olaparib). If the tumour is MSI-high or TMB-high, then pembrolizumab (immunotherapy) is allowed regardless of where the cancer started. So the “wrong origin” explanation is not the whole story, the molecular profile actually matters more than the original site.

Also, it’s worth asking for a referral to a centre that runs neuroendocrine / small-cell trials. This is worth doing now rather than waiting three months. Trials for this subtype do exist, but they’re usually run in larger cancer centres, so you often need a referral.

Hope this is useful, and best of luck. 

Edited: by member 10 Nov 2025 at 23:32  | Reason: Not specified

Hi,

my husband is due to start Cabazitaxel in November.  As they haven’t let him know, I would be grateful if somebody could tell me the usual number of cycles for this chemo.  As he tolerated Docetaxel well with few side effects he had the full 10 cycles after the original 6 was proposed so I’m wondering whether it will be the same for Cabazitaxel.  I understand the side effects are much the same.

They told him that this one is stronger than Docetaxel but they also said it will be at 80% strength and am wondering if this is the usual practice.

Thanks.