Chemo starts tomorrow

Helen321
Helen321 Member Posts: 1,459 Member
in Colorectal Cancer #1
Starting chemo tomorrow. Have all the supplies suggested. Have my emergency pickups and some very lovely people from work made me want to cry because they are going to go to HR and ask if they can each donate a vacation day. I know the job will say no (it's a very corporate rule following place) but the thought is so amazing. Thank you all for the great advice. I always butcher the names but I'm doing xeloda and oxilaplatin. I'm dreading chemo brain because I'm already very forgetful. At least now I have something to blame besides my kid driving me crazy and age=) Going in! I'm reading all the posts, just not responding. Praying and thinking of all going through surgeries and chemo. My cheerleading squad is going to get new uniforms that say GOOOOO CANCER! No REALLY GO! I'm also fond out out damn spots out.
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Comments

  • Semira
    Semira Member Posts: 381 Member
    #2
    Thinking of you...
    ... and wishing all the best. Don't worry too much in advance! Take one step after the other and deal with problems when they occur.
    Hope you will get as good through oxi and xeloda as my husband did.

    Hugs from germany
    Petra
  • smokeyjoe
    smokeyjoe Member Posts: 1,425 Member
    #3
    Semira said:

    Thinking of you...
    ... and wishing all the best. Don't worry too much in advance! Take one step after the other and deal with problems when they occur.
    Hope you will get as good through oxi and xeloda as my husband did.

    Hugs from germany
    Petra

    Good luck tomorrow....I
    Good luck tomorrow....I can't remember did you have a port installed? I've never had oxi. I'm thinking it's infusion through port. Chemo nurses are very nice.
  • Doc_Hawk
    Doc_Hawk Member Posts: 685
    #4
    Good Luck!
    I'll be thinking of and praying for you, Helen! Don't worry too much about chemobrain just yet, it shouldn't be very bad at first.
  • Momof2plusteentwins
    Momof2plusteentwins Member Posts: 509 Member
    #5
    Doc_Hawk said:

    Good Luck!
    I'll be thinking of and praying for you, Helen! Don't worry too much about chemobrain just yet, it shouldn't be very bad at first.

    Hey Helen
    Good luck with chemo! Are you only doing pill form? I start chemo July 17th, that is 4 weeks post op. I will be doing IV oxy & leukorforin, then 48 hour take home bag of 5FU. I get my port changed on the 17th also. I have been thinking about you a lot after reading your posts, I hope you are feeling better. I feel you are very fortunate that your cancer hasn't spread to another organ. I know you will be fine, they will get it all and cancer will just be a bad memory. I hope you have had a good weekend.
    Sandy
  • relaxoutdoors08
    relaxoutdoors08 Member Posts: 521 Member
    #6
    Thinking of you as you Start the Next Phase in the Chemo Journey
    Helen,
    Everyone wonders how chemo will go for them. The first few were OK for me so ease in and keep a count taking one treatment at a time. I kept a lot of my blood counts since these determine if you can continue on schedule with the chemo plan. We will be here to help you get through the chemo phase. Prayers and positive thoughts coming your way.
    NB
  • relaxoutdoors08
    relaxoutdoors08 Member Posts: 521 Member
    #7
    Momof2plusteentwins said:

    Hey Helen
    Good luck with chemo! Are you only doing pill form? I start chemo July 17th, that is 4 weeks post op. I will be doing IV oxy & leukorforin, then 48 hour take home bag of 5FU. I get my port changed on the 17th also. I have been thinking about you a lot after reading your posts, I hope you are feeling better. I feel you are very fortunate that your cancer hasn't spread to another organ. I know you will be fine, they will get it all and cancer will just be a bad memory. I hope you have had a good weekend.
    Sandy

    IV Folfox
    Sandy,
    Sending prayers and positive thoughts your way as well as you start the next phase of your treatment. I was told as soon as you have surgery you are a survivor. So know you made it this far and now sounds like you are ready for the next phase. I actually preferred the IV method since I had some mouth sores and heartburn chemo effects. It was easier than trying to time the pills, pushing fluids, and eating small meals with those pesky side effects.

    Thinking of you both ... take one treatment at a time and do the count. We are here to help with any concerns as as you do this next phase.

    NB
  • annalexandria
    annalexandria Member Posts: 2,571 Member
    #8
    Good luck, Helen.
    Hope everything goes smoothly for you. You might want to ask your doc about adding the anti-inflammatory Celebrex to your Xeloda. I've been reading that an oncologist here in Seattle, who does a lot of research in the crc world, has been getting better results with that combo rather than just Xeloda on its own. Hugs-Ann
  • jjaj133
    jjaj133 Member Posts: 867 Member
    #9
    I just wanted to wish you
    I just wanted to wish you good luck. One day at a time. (how tired are you of hearing that?))
    Praying for minimal side effects and maximum results.
    Hugs,
    Judy
  • Helen321
    Helen321 Member Posts: 1,459 Member
    #10
    smokeyjoe said:

    Good luck tomorrow....I
    Good luck tomorrow....I can't remember did you have a port installed? I've never had oxi. I'm thinking it's infusion through port. Chemo nurses are very nice.

    Hey Leena, No port. Doing
    Hey Leena, No port. Doing the three pills in the AM, three in the PM 7 days on, 7 off. Every other Monday is a 2 hour infusion at the hospital. I am trying to get the 6 pm time slot so I don't have to miss work. Now that my surgery will be pushed so far back, I actually can take a few weeks of disability if this goes bad. My body doesn't respond to medications so I don't usually take any so even though I may not get any side effects, I already have lotion on my hands and feet tonight and I'll do an antinausea tomorrow. Those are the two things that would bother me the most. Diarrhea I can pop some Imodium when it happens, I bought a box today. But I type for a living and do a lot of walking as I am in NY and that's the lifestyle that exists here, buses and trains to work and sometimes standing waiting for the train and then standing for the 30 minutes on the train and I cry like a baby at nausea, go figure.
  • Helen321
    Helen321 Member Posts: 1,459 Member
    #11
    Doc_Hawk said:

    Good Luck!
    I'll be thinking of and praying for you, Helen! Don't worry too much about chemobrain just yet, it shouldn't be very bad at first.

    Thanks for the prayers. Hey
    Thanks for the prayers. Hey don't take away my excuse! lol That's all I got when my boss says and why didn't you call and arrange my car again and I had to take a taxi. I do that already.
  • Helen321
    Helen321 Member Posts: 1,459 Member
    #12
    Momof2plusteentwins said:

    Hey Helen
    Good luck with chemo! Are you only doing pill form? I start chemo July 17th, that is 4 weeks post op. I will be doing IV oxy & leukorforin, then 48 hour take home bag of 5FU. I get my port changed on the 17th also. I have been thinking about you a lot after reading your posts, I hope you are feeling better. I feel you are very fortunate that your cancer hasn't spread to another organ. I know you will be fine, they will get it all and cancer will just be a bad memory. I hope you have had a good weekend.
    Sandy

    Thanks. Congratulations on
    Thanks. Congratulations on being 4 weeks post op!!! No port. I'm doing 3 pills AM, 3 PM and a 2 hour IV infusion in hospital every other Monday. Me too about the fortune. It's moving very quickly but I think with immediate treatment we can stop it. Medical oncologist thinks it is in an organ and we just can't see it yet. Until it actually shows up to be true, I'm not really worried about it. I can't worry about what could be. I'm not even sure why she thinks it. She said the chemo will take care of it which is why she switched me to 4 months chemo, 6 weeks rad and chemo then surgeries followed by more chemo possibly. The original plan was 6 weeks, surgeries, then 4 months. She feels we should be hitting the body hard. Maybe she disagrees with the GYN doctor who feels the spot on my ovary is a cyst and she lost the argument at their meeting. She did talk to the radiation oncologist right after the spot was brought up and changed the treatment plan.
  • Helen321
    Helen321 Member Posts: 1,459 Member
    #13
    annalexandria said:

    Good luck, Helen.
    Hope everything goes smoothly for you. You might want to ask your doc about adding the anti-inflammatory Celebrex to your Xeloda. I've been reading that an oncologist here in Seattle, who does a lot of research in the crc world, has been getting better results with that combo rather than just Xeloda on its own. Hugs-Ann

    Hi, I'm going to have to
    Hi, I'm going to have to look that up. Do you mean anti-inflammatory for joints? I have had athritis since I was 23. I didn't even mention that to them. I just told them about my thyroid. Those are my only two preexisting conditions. I'll look it up to see if it is joing related. I've managed to functions without taking anything for the athritis. It's very tolerable most of the time.
  • Helen321
    Helen321 Member Posts: 1,459 Member
    #14
    annalexandria said:

    Good luck, Helen.
    Hope everything goes smoothly for you. You might want to ask your doc about adding the anti-inflammatory Celebrex to your Xeloda. I've been reading that an oncologist here in Seattle, who does a lot of research in the crc world, has been getting better results with that combo rather than just Xeloda on its own. Hugs-Ann

    Now if I could only get my
    Now if I could only get my fingers to type what my brain is thinking. lol I must be more tired than I realize. I'm sitting here with cream on my hands (with gloves) and feet (with socks). I figure if I don't get the cracked feet, I'll have the most beautiful hands and feet=)
  • Helen321
    Helen321 Member Posts: 1,459 Member
    #15
    jjaj133 said:

    I just wanted to wish you
    I just wanted to wish you good luck. One day at a time. (how tired are you of hearing that?))
    Praying for minimal side effects and maximum results.
    Hugs,
    Judy

    lol Judy, I do hear that a
    lol Judy, I do hear that a lot, I think everyone does. That and "how are you" in the creepy, whisper voice. Thanks for the prayers and hugs. Hugs right back to you!
  • annalexandria
    annalexandria Member Posts: 2,571 Member
    #16
    Helen321 said:

    Hi, I'm going to have to
    Hi, I'm going to have to look that up. Do you mean anti-inflammatory for joints? I have had athritis since I was 23. I didn't even mention that to them. I just told them about my thyroid. Those are my only two preexisting conditions. I'll look it up to see if it is joing related. I've managed to functions without taking anything for the athritis. It's very tolerable most of the time.

    Celebrex was originally added
    to help reduce the neuropathy but then it turned out that patients taking Celebrex were also having longer periods of remission, maybe due to the anti-inflammatory nature of the drug. If you need it anyway for arthritis, it might be worth a try! Here's a link to one of Dr. Lin's studies (he's the local oncologist at one of the big cancer centers here in Seattle who did the research...I saw him for my 2nd opinion).
    http://www.cancernetwork.com/display/article/10165/102608
  • dmj101
    dmj101 Member Posts: 527 Member
    #17
    Team Helen
    Go Helen!... Good luck with everything. and let us know how we can help you along the way..
  • omrhill
    omrhill Member Posts: 125
    #18
    Go get 'em
    Wishing you the best. Helen. You're prepared and we'll be here tfor you. You can do this!!!
  • PhillieG
    PhillieG Member Posts: 4,866 Member
    #19
    Best of Luck Helen
    You're going to Sloan, right? I know that chemo nurses in general are all very special, but Sloan Kettering in NYC has the most incredibly wonderful nurses. They are all very caring people. For those who become nurses working with cancer folks, I really do believe it's a calling that one has. They just are extra special people who really become (yet) another support group.
    So while cancer can suck very hard in soft places, at least you'll be spending a few hours surrounded by real nice people. The rooms are nice there too. If you're infusion is 2 hours or longer they get a nice lunch for you from a place around the corner so it's not hospital food.

    I'll be in there on July 4th. Oh boy. There's no better way to spend a HOT summer holiday than hanging in the city and getting chemo!
    I hope everything goes smoothly for you Helen.
    -phil
  • Borac
    Borac Member Posts: 14 Member
    #20
    PhillieG said:

    Best of Luck Helen
    You're going to Sloan, right? I know that chemo nurses in general are all very special, but Sloan Kettering in NYC has the most incredibly wonderful nurses. They are all very caring people. For those who become nurses working with cancer folks, I really do believe it's a calling that one has. They just are extra special people who really become (yet) another support group.
    So while cancer can suck very hard in soft places, at least you'll be spending a few hours surrounded by real nice people. The rooms are nice there too. If you're infusion is 2 hours or longer they get a nice lunch for you from a place around the corner so it's not hospital food.

    I'll be in there on July 4th. Oh boy. There's no better way to spend a HOT summer holiday than hanging in the city and getting chemo!
    I hope everything goes smoothly for you Helen.
    -phil

    Good luck
    I am on the same protocol xeloda one week on,one week off ,avastin and oxaliplatin.So far had 4 ,no major issues. Few days cold sensitivity ,no nausea or womiting. I get emden and aloxi for nausea iv before treatment and also calcium and magnesium both before and after oxaliplatin. It helps to preven neuropathy. I work fill time .
  • Coppercent
    Coppercent Member Posts: 158
    #21
    Helen321 said:

    Now if I could only get my
    Now if I could only get my fingers to type what my brain is thinking. lol I must be more tired than I realize. I'm sitting here with cream on my hands (with gloves) and feet (with socks). I figure if I don't get the cracked feet, I'll have the most beautiful hands and feet=)

    Finger Nails
    Helen I used the Udder Cream when I was on Xeloda and Xelox (Xeloda & IV Oxy). One side effect I got was that I had strong finger nails and for the first time in my life I had to keep cutting them because they would grow too long. Now that I am done with treatment I continue to use the Udder Cream to keep my nice finger nails. I found that to be a nice side effect of cancer. :)

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