Rough start to Chemo Regimen

Quick follow up: my allergic reaction was to paclitaxel and symptoms are described as
Diaphoresis (severe); Flushing (severe); Fatigue (mild). I did not complete the infusion.

No doubt they will substitute for the Taxol next infusion. Probably Taxotere (docetaxel) or Abraxane. I suppose they could slow the infusion rate of the Taxol... but I doubt that.

Good luck.

Gary

My reaction to Taxol was severe back pain. The infusion was stopped immediately. My next infusion was slowed from 1 hour to 6 hours and remained that way for the duration of treatment. I had no further problems.

@pliddle, I'm glad they found out which drug was causing the reaction. What did the team suggest for your next treatment?

I'll find out in a few hours.

My second chemo session was successful, but also somewhat confusing. The nurse administering the prescribed and allergic reaction-causing med was prepared to simply do the same procedure a second time. When I and my wife stressed the seriousness of my initial adverse reactions she hesitated with apparent uncertainty, causing me to state flatly that if the situation was not addressed I was prepared to refuse that chemo drug. She took the time to closely review the record of the first chemo session, my apparently limiting existing medical conditions and my bloodwork results from a few hours earlier. With respect to the latter, she observed a high potassium reading--5.6 v. specced high of 5.0--and started increasing my potassium (kind of sounds irrational?) through my port. She also noted that I had been heavily dosed with Benadryl at the initial session and proposed doing the same, except at the outset rather than as a response to the allergic reaction. I elected (somewhat grudgingly) to discontinue my reluctance and rely on her recommendation. The result was a sleeping patient and an uneventful administration of the chemo. After all was over, I apologized if I had sounded a bit hostile and thanked her for her patience and attention to my concern. I woke this morning feeling as well as usual and encouraged that apparently future sessions will be similarly uneventful.

Cudos for you an your wife advocating for yourselves. Always do this. The nurse should have been thanking you. It would be a medical error if they gave you potassium if your level was at 5.6. Glad everything went well.

My wife is an advocate, but she's also a retired RN, so she's pretty keenly an advocate of nurses/nursing generally--and particularly with the nursing staff at Roswell Park in Buffalo, which has well-deserved honors and ranking nationally. When I returned to coherency early today she explained the rationale behind our nurse's treatment strategy, including the realization that the potassium issue and the associated fact that I cannot swallow anything, even water, from esophagus to stomach, meant that dehydration was a real concern and almost certainly contributed to my first treatment reaction. So the second was preceded with an H2O feed among other things and the procedure was a success.