Currently taking taxol (paclitaxel) chemotherapy, have a cold. hurts to swallow, chest hurts when i cough. is there anything i can do?

Take pain meds: You should report this problem to your oncologist and ask for medication for what appears to be virus/Flu type of sore throat. If your blood counts are not low, you could also use tylenol (acetaminophen) for pain control but make sure that you do not have fever. With low counts or Fever, tylenol (acetaminophen) is not safe unless your doctor is monitoring your condition.