I'm a 56 year old woman with stage 3 breast cancer.  I have been receiving
neoadjuvant chemo consisting of 4 AC treatments followed by 4 Taxotere
treatments.  I will have my 4th and final Taxotere treatment tomorrow, then
it's on to surgery, radiation, Herceptin, Arimidex.....and hopefully I get
to stay on this planet for a while longer.

Since I've been taking Taxotere, I have gotten *severe* edema in my legs.
My oncologist had told me swollen ankles were a possible side effect, but my
legs are swollen from the tips of my toes clear up to my hips.  My feet and
ankles feel like they are going to split apart from the pressure, and the
skin near my ankles started to break down.  Walking is very difficult.
Getting in and out of a car is difficult.  Squatting down to get something
from a bottom shelf is difficult.

I have been wearing elastic stockings and elevating my legs whenever
possible; I sleep with my legs on a pile of pillows every night.  The doctor
prescribed 20 mg. of Lasix a day, which was ineffective.  She increased it
to 40 mg., still ineffective.  She increased it to 60 mg., *still*
ineffective.  At this point she sent me for an echocardiogram.  The results
came back normal.  My blood levels are good.  The doctor more or less threw
up her hands and advised me to take 40 mg. of Lasix a day from now on.

She then asked me if I wanted to forgo my last Taxotere treatment.  I said
"NO!"  As uncomfortable as I am, it is more important to me to kill as many
cancer cells as possible.  But isn't there *something* I can do to get this
swelling down?  And will it automatically go away when the Taxotere begins
to wear off?

Thanx for your advice
Eva