Docetaxel Injections: Benefits, Uses and Side Effects

Docetaxel Injections

Docetaxel is sold under the Taxotere brand name and helps treat a wide range of cancers, such as the stomach, head, prostate, lung, neck, and breast. It is a popular chemo drug, which healthcare professionals use mainly for treating breast cancer.

Research and studies have shown that using Docetaxel injections  can extend survival and prevent tumors from spreading to other regions of the body. However, being a solid chemo drug, it is toxic and can cause different side effects in the body.

What is Docetaxel?

Docetaxel is a potent chemotherapy or antineoplastic medication prescribed mainly to treat various cancers, particularly breast cancer. In addition, healthcare professionals recommend Docetaxel injections to patients suffering from head or neck cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, stomach cancer, and metastatic or advanced prostate cancer.

Uses of docetaxel

The Food and Drug Administration approved docetaxel as a combination or standalone drug to treat advanced or metastatic stomach, gastric and renal, breast, and nonsmall lung cancer. In addition, Docetax 120mg Injection, can be used with many other chemotherapy medications for patients in advanced cancer stages who are not responding to any other treatment.

Side effects of using docetaxel

Docetaxel contains active ingredients like cytotoxic agents; therefore, being a powerful chemotherapy medication, it can sometimes cause side effects such as the following

• Nausea and vomiting“
• Swelling of abdomen area and joints
• Loss of appetite and Constipation
• Temporary hair loss
• Weakness and fatigue
• Redness of eyes
• Allergic reactions like dryness of the eyes, irritation, and skin rashes

Like any other chemotherapy drug, Docetaxel injections causes hair thinning and hair loss. This is why precautions such as wearing a scalp cooling cap at the time of chemotherapy and limiting the drug dose are necessary to reduce the risk of permanent hair loss.

Docetaxel is often combined with radiotherapy and hormone therapy to relieve symptoms and signs of prostate cancer and provide better outcomes. Bone pain can also be associated with this medication for two to three days; over counterdrug like painkillers can help eliminate this side effect.

How Does Docetaxel Work?

Cancer cells are abnormal cells that tend to multiply and divide continuously and may spread to other body regions. Chemotherapy medication functions by preventing cancer cells from multiplying and dividing abnormally. Docetaxel is a potent chemo drug that kills cancer cells that are growing rapidly. As this medication travels throughout your body, therefore it can also affect healthy and normal cells and cause specific side effects.

You need to consult your healthcare professional and discuss all the side effects before taking this medication because not every drug has its benefits and risks. The common side effects of taking this medication are temporary and will go away without requiring medical attention. This medicine is not used to shrink the size of the tumor. However, it works by inhibiting the growth of cancer tumor cells.