Oncura

TC (Docetaxel/Cyclophosphamide): what to expect, day by day

Breast21-day cycle5 effects documented

A non-anthracycline chemo (no long-term heart risk). Low white cells hit early (~day 7); joint aches and fluid retention are more common than with AC.

Docetaxel + cyclophosphamide q3wk ×4. Non-anthracycline — no cumulative heart risk. Docetaxel nadir is early (~day 7).

Get help straight away — this is true on any regimen, on any day.

A temperature of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher during treatment can mean a serious infection while your blood counts are low. Call your team or go to the ER — do not wait it out.

Also urgent: trouble breathing or chest pain · swelling of the face, lips or throat · new confusion or fainting · shaking chills · not being able to keep fluids down.

This is standing guidance shown to everyone. Nothing on this page is based on anything about you, and nobody is monitoring you.

2 of the 5 entries below are marked provisional. They are shown because leaving them out would be its own distortion, but they have not yet been checked against the source document by a person, and they are not presented as authoritative. Every provisional entry is labelled where it appears.

Timed to the cycle

Day 1 is the day of your infusion. These are the effects a retrievable document ties to a day range for this regimen — not a prediction about you.

NeutropeniaPROVISIONAL

Typically around days 7–20

Low infection-fighting white cells, lowest early (~day 7 after treatment).

Call your team urgently: A temperature of 100.4°F (38.0°C) or higher — an emergency.

severe in 65-70% · Timing from the manufacturer’s prescribing information · from Docetaxel, Cyclophosphamide

Febrile neutropeniaPROVISIONAL

Typically around days 7–20

A fever during the low-count window. Reported around 5% in the trial, but higher in real-world use without a white-cell booster — many teams now give one.

Call your team urgently: Any fever of 100.4°F (38.0°C) or higher — call immediately.

reported by about 5 (trial); ~20-30 without G-CSF% of people · Timing from the manufacturer’s prescribing information · from Docetaxel, Cyclophosphamide

Hair loss

Typically around days 14–21

Near-universal; grows back after treatment.

reported by about 100% of people · Timing from a drug-monograph reference · from Docetaxel, Cyclophosphamide

Not tied to a cycle day

These build with the number of doses, or are measured from when treatment started, so a cycle day would be the wrong shape for them. Each keeps the timing its own source states.

Fluid retention

cumulative; typically after ~800 mg/m² total docetaxel (above the usual 4-cycle dose)

Swelling from fluid buildup. Uncommon at 4 cycles — it's a cumulative effect that usually appears only after much higher total docetaxel doses; a steroid premed reduces it.

Call your team: Rapid weight gain, or swelling in the legs, belly, or around the eyes.

reported by about low at 4 cycles% of people · from Docetaxel

Myalgia

Muscle and joint aches, more common with TC than AC, usually a few days after treatment.

Call your team: Severe or worsening muscle pain, or dark urine.

from Docetaxel

Where this comes from

S1. Jones S, US Oncology 9735 (TC vs AC) (2006) — PMID 17135639
S2. Docetaxel (Taxotere) FDA prescribing information (2020) — FDA label

Timing windows on this page rest on:

Taxotere (docetaxel) FDA prescribing information — “The median time to nadir was 7 days, while the median duration of severe neutropenia (<500 cells/mm3) was 7 days” source
BC Cancer Drug Manual — paclitaxel — “usually complete, generally occurs 14-21 days after administration of paclitaxel; onset sudden, often occurring in a single day” source

A window appears here only where a retrievable document ties it to a drug in this regimen. Where nothing could be found, the window was removed rather than estimated — so a missing time is an honest gap, not an oversight.

Track your own cycle in Oncura →

Free, no account, nothing leaves your device.