Stage 2 colon cancer- should I take xeloda?

"few percentage points" might mean life down the road.

It is very easy to controll side effects, by increasing or deacrising dose, with regullar blood work.

I was on xeloda for 5 weeks, just had burning feet and small cracking of the skin, easilly resolved with cream. Was very tired at the end of treatment, was receiving radiation at same time.

Wish you well, which ever way you decide to go!

As stage 4 person, I always took the most aggressive path. I would never be stronger than today. I hope whatever your decision it works out well.

Chip

I was diagnosed as stage 3  colon cancer but only one of my lymph nodes was affected and so I had the resection done in December and have just started Xeloda on Feb 3 and so some of the side effects such as hands and feet sensitivity is real but i use Burt's Bees hand salve once in the am and again at night and so far no problems.  I looked up the different stages of colon cancer before I knew my results and i found that stage 3 with one affected lymph node faired much better with chemo, my oncologist and i agreed on Xeloda and infusion of Oxaliplatin.  Since you were diagnosed as a stage 2 I think the number of lymph node plays a big role in whether or not chemo is most effective, but you must decide what is best.  I found this site to be of immense help in both learniong and keeping myself from losing perspective given that i search the internet high and low with a variety of good informationand a lot of B.S. My chemo regimen is; 2000mg of Xeloda each day 1000mg in am and again at night, the Oxaliplatin is every three weeks for six months, I just started my 1 week break off of the Xeloda; my schedule is a 3 week schedule  beginning with the infusion of Oxaliplatin (once every 3 weeks), and also the Xeloda (daily) for two weeks and then one week off before going back for the next round of infusion and then Xeloda.  I pray we all are healed and recover well. Brian

My husband, 43, had stage 3b.  His resection was the beginning of October and then he started Xelox in November.  We were told the oral chemo would have fewer side effects and our insurance covered it so we decided that was easier than coming home with a pump and doing Folfox.  (We have nine children, seven of which are boys.  The thoughts of tubing and needles with all those kids was worrisome. Yes, they are all ours and we know what causes it.  )  

During the off week after the second treatment my husband started experiencing diarrhea.  We spent early Christmas morning in the ER.  With each successive treatment the off week got worse and worse until after the fourth one I woke up to find him on our bathroom floor, temperature elevated.  We ended up in the ER and then back at the hospital several times to top off his fluids.  His potassium dropped to dangerously low levels.  

When we went in to start the next cycle the oncologist didn't give us any choice we had to switch to the 5FU, the Xeloda was killing my husband a little too effectively.  

I realize this is a very unusual case, less than 10% of patients have this reaction.  Just be aware that it is a possibility, especially if you've lived a live with no alcohal.

Good luck and God bless.

I am going for LAR at the begining of April, the plan is 12 rounds of chemo after,  surgeon thats gonna do the surgery thing thats over killing, but I am gonna go for it. I am an RN as well, will try to go back to work as well, most likely modified work, dont feel like sitting at home. 

Right now I am back to work after chemo/rad, by my will, and it feels great, was going nuts at home.

If you have to work, than work,  but good thing with nursing is posibillity of changing area that one wants to be in, try to pick the area that suits your current condition.

Good luck!

I was stage 2a in 2012.  I did take the xeloda because I wanted to be sure I had done all I could.  I didn't have any problems with my hands peeling but did with my feet.  It really didn't cause me that much trouble.  It did make me more tired than usual - if I walked 5 miles - which I tried to do most days, I would be really tired.  I was retired by that time so I wasn't working, don't know how that would be.  If you have any questions feel free to ask me anything.:)

Cathy

 I had a recurrence and I'm on maintenance Chemo, 3500mg Xeloda (2 weeks) and a shot of Avastin every three weeks.

 I tolerate it well, almost no side effects except for a little fatigue.

It's keeping my cancer from spreading. 

Good Luck

Stage II B....chose no chemo 8 years ago...still NED.

I have had slightly elevated CEA for years...4-5.

CM

I had surgery for colon cancer on 10/18/2017 and my Oncologist suggests taking Xeloda for 6 months. I had stage IIB with 15 negative nodes. I am at moderate risk but the percentage of survival is so minimal, around 3%. He also said he would like to see me every 3 months for followups. I am still not sure if I should do the treatment or not.  

Kmcgowan:

We share a common disease stage and decision regarding adjuvant chemo treatment.  My tumor was so large that it had to be treated prior to surgery with both chemo (Xeloda in pill form and radiation).  That treatment eradicated the tumor.  The surgeon did not find any evidence of it nor were any of my lymph nodes positive.  What a testament to the efficacy of neoadjuvant treatment!

But even with that outcome my oncologist recommended additional chemo after the surgery.  His argument was predicated upon the fact that none of my lymph nodes were biopsied prior to the neoadjuvant chemo/radiation so they could have been positive, which would have clearly warranted the adjuvant treatment.  I thought that was a good argument, but very speculative.

I agonized over the decision.  Then I factored in two more considerations: my age/state of health and whether or not the medical/insurance industry would approve the treatment.

All things considered, I am in the best physical, mental, emotional and financial condition that I will enjoy for the balance of my life.  It only makes sense to undertake this challenge now instead of possibly having to do so under less than desirable conditions.

I did not receive any pushback from the medical or insurance industry therefore I concluded that this course of action is not abnormal.  That was strong and affirming evidence to me that adjuvant treatment for the lower stages of CRC also has merit.

My decision was to undergo the adjuvant chemo, but with my restrictions.  I told my oncologist that I drew the line for quality of life during the treatment when/if I began to experience any neuropathy in my extremities.  This is not the cold sensitiviy, it's the neuropathy.  Since I was 29 (currently 66) I have suffered from two different hand ailments, Dupytrens Contractures and Reynauld's Syndrome (in both hands).  To quote PopEye the Sailor Man..."that's all I can stands, I can't stands no more!"  Consequently, I told my oncologist that I will only endure 6 cycles of infusion instead of the standard protocol of 12 cycles.  He agreed.

So that describes my decision making process.  Each of us have our own.  But it remains your decision and your responsibility to make that decision.  I want to underscore and emphasize what Tru stated above.  "Don"t look back..."  When we look back and second guess we are squandaring the moment and wasting energy.  It serves little to no purpose.  If a person makes a tough decision, and did so after considering the best available evidence, then that is the best that could have been done.  What is the best available evidence?  My answer to that question is dependent upon how much time is available to make the decision and a realistic assessment of the information that is reasonably accessible to a patient. 

I recall a moment in my life when I was an officer in the U.S. Army and was faced with a tough decision.  By chance the unit chaplain was in the vicinity so he and I socially engaged (talked) briefly.  He then asked me about the ongoing situation and what course of action I would recommend to the commander.  The chaplain was aware of the situation but not as knowledgeable as I was.  That really did not matter because he was trying to assist me in improving my decision making ability, not to influence my decision.  There's a big difference between the two.

As our brief conversation ended and we both needed to do other tasks the chaplain said something to me that I have never forgotten.  It was only a few words, but they meant a lot to me.  He said, "May the Lord be with you in your decision making process." That gave me confidence, and still does, whenever I am faced with and forced to make a difficult decision.

Jim

Worriedchild:

I assume your post was directed towards me.  If not, my information may be beneficial anyway.

My CEA level was so low while I still had a "yet to be treated" tumor that my oncologist ignored it.  He said that for me the CEA indicator was not accurate.

After my LAR surgery my surgeon said that he could not find any evidence of disease in my rectum.  Four lymph nodes were tested and none were positive.  Clean margins as well.  All of this is good news.

The surgical pathology report indicated no evidence of disease so my pathological staging was downgraded to T1N0M0.  Prior to surgery it was staged at Stage 2 simply due to the size of my tumor.

Now for more information about me.  Last week I decided to terminate my adjuvant chemo therapy.  I completed 3 sessions of Oxy and 5Fu (FOLFOX6) and it was so physically devastating to my body that I had to stop.  That combined with the above information and I decided that I really did not need to continue with the chemo.

Each of us must make our own INFORMED decision about OUR cancer treatment regimen.  It is not easy, but then again nothing about cancer is easy.

Jim

I was tested for all of those other genetic markers and the results came back negative, which is a good thing.

My tumor was described as well differentiated, which is a good thing.

The CT scans indicated no evidence of disease anywhere other than my rectum, which is a good thing.

 Best of luck 

May the rest of your journey be uneventful