If you’re up to it, 48 hour fast around the chemo infusion really protects your normal cells while weakens tumor cells. Multiple studies online about that. Therefore it also reduces side effects. If I had known this, I would’ve tried it. Cancer is not a joke, and neither are our bodies. Here’s one such study:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC69....

Fasting and cancer: molecular mechanisms and clinical application

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6938162/

With all the horrible side effects I would hope that new studies are being done to combat or avoid them altogether. So many advances in science and yet we have to choose between taking these drugs or stop treatment .
I can’t say I blame those who stop because it must be unbearable to tolerate these types of chemotherapies and other therapies like hormone blockers, and I am sure we all want to live. But at what cost ? Will our quality of life get back to normal? Nobody can guarantee us that, so we hope it will. Some of us can be financially burdened by the cost of treatments and the stress alone from that affects many decisions .
I believe this is a good support group because there are hundreds of women who give you the tools to navigate this lousy journey, with encouragement and information, and from what I see there is no question that goes unanswered .
There is a light at the end of the tunnel and I pray we will all see it. Hugs to all my pink sisters💕

I’m sorry to say, after about four minutes of my very first treatment of taxol I had multiple bad reactions, flushing, nausea, sweating lightheadedness, and shortness of breath they stopped it immediately and started me on a different chemo drug the following week. I had no bad reaction to herceptin the whole time.

Hi Ilene,

I had a bad experience of those two. I think separately they may be easier on the body, but when they give them together, it really can multiply the side effects. I fainted 3 times on day 3 after the chemo. Make sure you have someone around you for those first few days just in case. I think once the steroids were stopped, my body went into shock. I also had a super bloated and painful belly, it was burning to go to the bathroom (on both ends) and ai had a rash/pimples down there. I would never want to go through it again.
I did continue H+ P and have been fine since. But just be careful. I hope I was a more rare case, but the ER was full of people sick from chemo (this was their dedicated unit). So just take it easy.
I also read that fasting or eating very lightly the week of the chemo makes the side effects less heavy. It’s because when you fast, your normal cells go dormant and aren’t as affected as during normal metabolism. Wishing you well.

My pleasure! I wish you the best through this and am here if there is anything else I can do to help.