Nanuk Re: Bert's Chemo Dosage

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edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
Hey Bud!

I'm so sorry to hear that your still having trouble with your 5fu/leuc/oxi combo. Bert had unbelievable trouble with 5fu/leuc administered by his previous onc at a dosage of 1000 mg each via drip over a period of 3 hours, once a week, six weeks on, two weeks off. He did okay with his first cycle and about half way through the second cycle and from there on out it was downhill all the way...chemo infection, one week hospitalization, colon infection, another hospitalization, and a miserable month of diarrhea in December (15 to 20 times a day). He did complete all his cycles but at a greatly reduced rate for the last two segments on his third cycle.

When we went to see Dr. Lenz in January 2004, the first words out of his mouth were more chemo and I was petrified for Bert, plus adding oxaliplating because of the four nodes being involved and Dr. Lenz considered that a high risk for recurrence. Bert's current dose is as follows:

Oxaliplating 196mg
Leucavorin 784mg
Both administered via IV over a period of about two, two and a half hours.

This is followed by 637mg 5FU push and then 3,992mg 5FU via infusion over 46 hours. He "unhooks" himself when pump is empty at home. This cycle is repeated every two weeks.

As I said, he's done so well on this with very little compromise on his quality of life. Hope this helps a little and I do hope things will get better for you real soon. And remember, it's not forever and there will be many, many good days, weeks, and years ahead.

Hugs,
Monika, who's keeping you in her prayers.

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  • nanuk
    nanuk Member Posts: 1,358 Member
    #2
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    Monika: I'm having truble with the CSN e-mail, so
    have to respond this way for now..
    thank you for the detailed info on Bert's protocol..mine is almost exactly the same, except for the leucavoin, which is about 1/2: 400mg..(I think this is a vitamin?) I weigh about
    220 lbs-is Bert's weight about the same? (I won't tell..) Bud
  • Unknown
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    #3
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    nanuk said:

    Monika: I'm having truble with the CSN e-mail, so
    have to respond this way for now..
    thank you for the detailed info on Bert's protocol..mine is almost exactly the same, except for the leucavoin, which is about 1/2: 400mg..(I think this is a vitamin?) I weigh about
    220 lbs-is Bert's weight about the same? (I won't tell..) Bud

    Bud, actually Bert weighs in at 185...but was down to almost 170 when this current regime started and that was because of all the diarrhea in December. I forgot to mention, Dr. Lenz also has him on Celebrex which, according to many clinical trials that Dr. Lenz himself conducts, has shown not only to prevent colon polyps from recurring but also makes chemo side effects more tolerable. Maybe that's what's doing it for Bert...I don't know, but I sure as heck am so grateful and thankful that all has run well so far. Gosh, when I think back on last year and milder treatment how awful it was for him, I shudder.

    Ask your doc about celebrex...can't hurt.

    Hugs,
    Monika in L.A. where it's 88 degrees today...down from 90's last week. This is insane!

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