side effect from taxotere treatment on Prostate Cancer

Taxotere

nupOK123,

Welcome to you here.  I'm sorry your are involved in this battle.

Taxotere is a "conventional" chemotherapy agent; that is, a "cytotoxic drug."  It is not new, and is widely used against several cancers, but most prominently prostate (PCa) and breast.  It is given via IV, and almost always with the steroid Prednisone. (Prednisone is adminstered via pill).

Frankly, taxotere is somewhat harsh. Its common side-effect are among the most common ones for most chemos:  You will lose your hair, but this will return, beginning several weeks after treatments end. Nausea is common, but EASILY controlled via Emend or other anti-nausea meds.  Even people on numerous chemo combination therapies seldom have nausea today -- nausea neeed not happen to any chemo patient in 2018.

Taxotere regularly causes extreme weakness.  Expect to be in bed a lot during treatment. But, Prednisone counteracts that to some extent, at least for the first few days in a "cycle"  (all chemos are given on a very precise schedule). Side-effects like weakness are always cumulative, and intensify or get worse with more doses.  Some people will feel "OK" after a dose or two, but if you remain on it long-term, weakness will intensify as things move along.

There are a variety of less common reactions. Most or all side-effects begin to disappear within a month after last administration.

I can no longer successfully post links, but if you type in chemocare.com there is excellent, detailed information available. It is regarded as the best chemo information site for non-doctors in the world, partially run by The Cleveland Clinic.  I did six months of a chemo cocktail that consisted of five chemo drugs at once for my other cancer (lymphoma), and got pretty familiar with the chemo experience generally, although there are over 200 different FDA approved chemotherapy drugs in the US.  I have never used taxotere itself, but assisted a friend in receiving it years ago. Taxotere is one of the few chemos used against PCa. 

Because your bit of possible relapse is being combined with RT and HT, there is a hope that it will be curative -- eliminate all of the disease. By itself, taxotere is not regarded as curative of PCa, but it will assist the HT in in fact being curative.

Be aware that hormonal therapy is of course not chemo, and has an assortment of its own side-effects, some of which are not pleasant.  Many of the guys here can give detailed information regarding HT, which I have never used myself.

Best of luck to you,

max