Advanced prostate cancer: Anybody on Docetaxel chemotherapy ?

1. ⁠Stay hydrated. Drink lots of fluid before, during and after your chemo. Keep it up in the days after. Staying really well hydrated helped me quite a bit. The times when I didn’t keep up on hydration I felt much worse. It resolved with rehydration.

2. ⁠Ice your hands and feet during the infusion. This helps minimize the chances of neuropathy. I put Ziploc bags of ice on my hands for 15 min at a time, let them warm up then repeated. For my feet, these were perfect.
The booties were great and perfect because you could easily keep them on even if you reclined. I got the mittens but found they weren’t as easy. Ice bags worked better for my hands than the mittens. I would not buy the mittens if I had to do it over. Still, I had problems with my nails, several turned black and blue. Like other symptoms, cleared up after I was done.

3. I ate ice chips throughout the infusion as well to prevent taste disturbances. Not sure it helped though. When my wife asked me about dinner and what I wanted, I said no offense, but it all tastes the same...that metallic taste. Worth a try though!

4. Starting with infusion 3, I started taking 10 mg of Claritin once a day the day before, the day of and two days after. This seemed to help with the achiness I was feeling. Other people I know receiving chemo did this as well. I tried it and it worked well for me. Ask your doctor or nurse if it’s OK for you.

5. Hair: I chose to not do anything about the hair on my head. Some people will wear ice caps and other devices on their head. I just chose to buzz off all my hair once it started coming out. Some do it in advance. You’ll know when it’s right for you. Mine started coming out 2 weeks to the day from my first infusion. I went down to the barber, had them take it all off, cried a bit in the car then went to my favorite bar and had a shot and a margarita with my wife.

Body Hair: Yes it thins (eyebrows, chest / belly, pubes) but it took longer than head hair for me.

6. Dry skin. Your skin is going to get more dried out from the chemo as well as from the lack of testosterone from the Lupron shots (skin oil production goes down). Use good moisturizer twice a day and SPF 50 sunscreen on your face. (Even though I have been out in the sun a lot, my skin got really sensitive to the sun.). This made a big difference for me.

7. Stay active. I think this is one of the most important things that really helped me. I have consistently walked 5-7 miles a day since my diagnosis as well as going to the gym when I can - used the elliptical, lifted weights, swam, played basketball, rode my bike. Even on the days of chemo and after, I kept walking. I just went in the morning when I had energy. Even if you are tired, get out and walk some. Even if you can only do a few blocks, do it and work up to more.

8. Fatigue: I got my infusions on Monday and every three weeks thereafter. (Always on a Monday.). I felt fine Monday after and Tuesday AM. I started to hit the wall Tuesday PM. I was pretty wiped out the rest of the week and start to feel better by Friday or Saturday. The rest of the time after that, I felt pretty good. You’ll learn your pattern. Work and walk when you have energy. Rest when you need to. Stay hydrated!!! I will say this, the fatigue was manageable the first three infusions, the 4th one it was like the proverbial "hit by a truck...! Still, I did what I could exercise why. Set out on a 25 mile bike ride, had to call my daughter to come get me after 20...

9. Get your flu shot, COVID booster and pneumococcal vaccines taken care of before you start chemo. Your immune system response drops off when on chemo so do the vaccinations before or wait until a few weeks after your last infusion. Ask your doctor and do your vaccines they suggest before you start.

10. Pay close attention to hand washing , wearing a mask to protect yourself and food precautions (no undercooked eggs, no blue cheese or soft cheeses like Brie or cotija cheese, no sushi, no smoked fish, no rare meat) while on Chemo. Pay attention to what they tell you about getting care when you have a fever or other symptoms.

11. I did travel, with the ok of my oncologist, wore a mask on the plane. We went to Las Vegas where my daughter was playing in her college basketball post season conference tournament. Pretty much did everything, went to the games, a show, hiked in Red Rock Canyon, Hoover Dam...

12. Know the number of who to call both during and after office hours when you have a problem.