Starting Chemo Taxotere/docetaxel, what to expect?

Due to their different mechanisms of action. ADT which includes Orgovyx, Firmagon, Lupron, Eligard, Prostap, Camcevi, Lucrin, Zoladex, Trelstar, Pamorelin, and Decapeptyl can cause numerous side effects. These are actually due to a lack of testosterone.

Hot flashes
Fatigue
Muscle deterioration
Bone weakening
Brain fog
Depression
Weight gain
Difficulty in breathing

Not everyone gets all of them.

They should’ve told you to get on calcium and vitamin D. Need to exercise a lot, that will Really help reduce fatigue. Not sure how much you’ve looked into this, but there are many videos on exercise and prostate cancer because of the fatigue, bone and muscle Deterioration, if you do not exercise and do some weight training.

Another thing is, you need bone strengthening because these drugs really chew up your bones. Fosamax, Zometa, Or Xgeva are common drugs used to do this. If your doctor has not brought this up, you should mention it, In a webinar, I went to, a Doctor Who specialize in bones, said that everybody on ADT should be on bone straighteners.

Chemo does not change your life, Yes, while you are on it, it can be not too bad or a real pain, Again, no two people are the same. I was in an Ancan.org Advanced prostate cancer meeting and one guy came in and said he was doing chemo but after doing chemo, for 10 days, he couldn’t eat food, didn’t taste good. He lost a lot of weight then he’d have a few days where he’d recovered completely, ate a lot of food, then back to the next chemo session. The other people that said they were just uncomfortable for a few days after, had to rest to recover.

Hello Bruce, my father was on docetaxel, so i wanted to share his story as a warning because docetaxel has serious, life-threatening side effects. He was diagnosed in 2020, Gleason 4+3=7, locally advanced. He was on injections plus radiation, then later abirateron when injections failed, and then about 6 months ago his PSA started raising again, so he was offered docetaxel (at least one dose) after which he would get 6 cycles of Pluvicto (for which he was an ideal candidate-all mets showed score 3). After first round of chemo his PSA almost halved (from 128 to 72) so doctor decided to include 2 more cycles before Pluvicto. My father died from sepsis 10 days after receiving his second dose. Not once were we informed that this might happen. The only thing he complained was lower back pain which which started 3 days after the second dose and was progressively getting worse. The oncologist discarded it as pain from metastasis in his spine (which he did have, but never bothered him until he started chemo) and gave him stronger pain killer. No fever, rash, burns when i pee complaints, it just jumped from extreme pain to loosing consciousness. When i called ER, their first diagnosis was dehydration, then heart attack, and finally after 4 hours-sepsis. His CBC was completely normal (except mild anemia), but his CRP and procalcitonin were off the chart! Unfortunately even though drug comes with a warning that sepsis is a possibility, patients only get CBC checks when on chemo (at least in my country). My father didn't have to die, he is a victim of under-educated doctors and drug that don't come with proper instructions! PLEASE check CRP and procalcitonin with your CBC when on chemo, stay away from crowds (no gym) so that you minimize your exposure to bacteria, and if you notice any side-effects immediately go for a check-up! We were told that with chemo and pluvicto he would be in remission for 3-5 years, and he died 2 months after. I blame myself for convincing him to accept the treatment. He would still be alive if we declined (we were told 2 years with no further treatment). And the worst part is that his cultures came back 3 days after he died and they weren't able to identify the bacteria, so i don't even know what killed him! Please take care of your self and best of luck!

I took photos of what you said about docetaxel/Pluvicto and extra bloodwork. Others may need this information too- it’s very helpful. Thanks.

Hello Bruce, my father was on docetaxel, so i wanted to share his story as a warning because docetaxel has serious, life-threatening side effects. He was diagnosed in 2020, Gleason 4+3=7, locally advanced. He was on injections plus radiation, then later abirateron when injections failed, and then about 6 months ago his PSA started raising again, so he was offered docetaxel (at least one dose) after which he would get 6 cycles of Pluvicto (for which he was an ideal candidate-all mets showed score 3). After first round of chemo his PSA almost halved (from 128 to 72) so doctor decided to include 2 more cycles before Pluvicto. My father died from sepsis 10 days after receiving his second dose. Not once were we informed that this might happen. The only thing he complained was lower back pain which which started 3 days after the second dose and was progressively getting worse. The oncologist discarded it as pain from metastasis in his spine (which he did have, but never bothered him until he started chemo) and gave him stronger pain killer. No fever, rash, burns when i pee complaints, it just jumped from extreme pain to loosing consciousness. When i called ER, their first diagnosis was dehydration, then heart attack, and finally after 4 hours-sepsis. His CBC was completely normal (except mild anemia), but his CRP and procalcitonin were off the chart! Unfortunately even though drug comes with a warning that sepsis is a possibility, patients only get CBC checks when on chemo (at least in my country). My father didn't have to die, he is a victim of under-educated doctors and drug that don't come with proper instructions! PLEASE check CRP and procalcitonin with your CBC when on chemo, stay away from crowds (no gym) so that you minimize your exposure to bacteria, and if you notice any side-effects immediately go for a check-up! We were told that with chemo and pluvicto he would be in remission for 3-5 years, and he died 2 months after. I blame myself for convincing him to accept the treatment. He would still be alive if we declined (we were told 2 years with no further treatment). And the worst part is that his cultures came back 3 days after he died and they weren't able to identify the bacteria, so i don't even know what killed him! Please take care of your self and best of luck!

Yes, please do share! I feel like screaming at the top of my lungs about this so that everyone can be warned. I'll start a new post tomorrow to try to find others who had sepsis following docetaxel. I've heard of another case that happened about a month before my father died (same oncologist, and patients talk).

Severe responses to chemo are not uncommon, but I have not heard of sepsis and I attend weekly Advanced prostate cancer online meetings at Ancan.orb. Have done it for about four years and people come in and talk about their problems, but nobody has mentioned that, that I recall..
One person recently had his 3rd Docetaxel and it caused water in a lungs. He took two extra weeks off and went back on a 60% dose

Another Ancaner had it in both lungs and was in the hospital for a couple of weeks.

You could go to an ancan.org meeting. There is one next Tuesday at 3pm pacific time.. You could warn everybody about this risk. Find out if over the many years, they’ve held these meetings that Somebody has had the same thing happen.

Thank you so much for this info, i definitely will go to a meeting. Don't know if I'll be ready for the one next Tuesday since I'm still unable to finish a sentence without bursting into tears. I'm not surprised that sepsis didn't come up, it's rare and fatal, so those who had it probably aren't around to tell. But docetaxel medication package insert comes with a warning - TAXOTERE 100mg/m² single agent: Very common: Neutropenia (96.6%; G4: 76.4%); Anemia (90.4%; G3/4: 8.9%); Infections (20%; G3/4: 5.7%, including sepsis and pneumonia, fatal in 1.7%); Febrile neutropenia (11.8%) . So it's fatal in 1.7%, and unfortunately my father was in that 1.7%.