My Experience with Herceptin and Taxol Treatment

Similar thing happened to me with taxol (paclitaxel). To combat this they gave me higher doses of Benadryl before infusion and sometimes after too, I’m so thankful I survived the 12 weeks of chemo. I had no reactions with herceptin.

I had a reaction to the first infusion. After that I had to take a total of 100mg of Benadryl and 32mg of decadron in divided doses a day before my treatment. It helped except I was very tired!

@Sony and @Lisa T thank you for responding! I’m going back in on Monday and they’re going to try again with the taxol. If I have another reaction then I’ll be switching to abraxane. My cocktail doses are going to be doubled. Did either of you have delayed reactions once home?

@Heather C. After the first incident with taxol, they used “slow drip” infusion so I was there a longer time but this kept the scary side effect to a minimum. Pls discuss this with your oncology team

Other than being tired I was fine. They said my reaction was from the preservatives and not the taxol. I did not have any other reactions following the initial one but I also had a lot of premeds on board

That is scary to go through. I truly hope you never have to go through anything like that again!!!!! I haven't had those kind of reactions. I will say anybody who doesn't use the salt and baking soda mouthwash rinse is missing the boatl for any kind of mouth sores. I am on my 10th round of chemo and unless I bite the inside of my cheek I have had no sores at all in my mouth. Don't waste your money on over the counter products. The ice packs did not do anything for me on my hands and feet and I put extra ice in the containers to make it extremely cold. Also do not shave under your arms or your legs to avoid any kind of infection or ingrown hair problem while going through chemo. Don't even shave a week before you start the chemo therapy.

That sounds like an incredibly frightening experience with the Taxol infusion, and it's completely understandable that you'd be shaken by such a severe reaction. Many patients in the HER2+ community have shared similar stories about needing to switch treatments when one doesn't work well for their body, and there are often good alternative options available that your medical team can explore with you.