Questions about chemoradiation

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polarprincess
polarprincess Member Posts: 202
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
i posted this as well on another forum so if it looks familiar...
Hi, I am just wondering when you start chemoradiation with continuous 5 FU do they give you a much lower dose than what you get with the Fulfox treatments? I had my second Fulfox this past tuesday, and it did not go much better than the first. I feel very sick to my stomach,(no nausea just a different sick feeling) extremely tired etc.. I am not sure if the OXI is contributing to this or not, but the truth is it is really bad for me. Last cycle it lasted about 9 days and then I felt fine. Honestly, if i am going to feel this sick through 30 days of radiation on top of it, i think I will be suicidal. I do not think i could handle it. I am already crying most of the day so tired of being ill. Please tell me it is a lesser dose they give you with the radiation.
Also any other tips on getting through the radiation itself? Any certain creams or anything? They said I should not have burns. Have any of you gotten away with no burns? Anything else i should know? I will also do a search on here with this subject.

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  • kristasplace
    kristasplace Member Posts: 957 Member
    #2
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    Radiation
    Hi Princess! I'm confused about your treatment regime. Did you already receive chemoradiation as a preadjuvant treatment, or are you doing the FOLFOX first, and then the chemorads?
    Are they going to do radiation while you are on FOLFOX??

    I did Chemorads first, and the 5FU is a lower dose than with the FOLFOX. I did not get burns, or anything else on my skin except bad sunburns from the 5FU. I did have many problems as a direct result of the radiation (radiation cystitis was the worst, and i'm still suffering from that). My severe bone loss is also being directly attributed to the radiation.

    Radiation made me very tired all the time. I was already exhausted from the anemia, but the radiation exhaustion was pretty bad. I don't remember feeling nauseous, or sick in any other way.

    As awful as it was, i wouldn't have not taken the 30 doses i was given because i believe it was the radiation that killed my cancer. If i were you, i would have your radiation oncologist keep an eye out for the bone loss. I wish mine had suggested putting me on fossamax and calcium supplements back then. I wouldn't have many of the problems i have now. The radiation also put me into early menopause immediately. Keep an eye on all of your symptoms, and tell you onc about them, and what they can do to lessen long term effects.

    Good luck, and keep us posted!
    Krista
  • polarprincess
    polarprincess Member Posts: 202
    #3
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    radiation
    i am on the sandwich regimen- i had 2 cycles fulfox, then radiation with continuous 5 fu then back to 4-6 cycles of fulfox. I am glad to hear you don't remember being sick, but the extreme fatique is not a good thing either i guess, especially since i have an hour drive. I am concerned about the menopause thing, i do not want that to happen, because i wm worried about being on HRT which i have heard can cause breast cancer. I will ask about the bone loss stuff. Sometimes, I feel like i should just for go all of it and take my chances. This is just such a nightmare that i want to end.
  • apache4
    apache4 Member Posts: 272 Member
    #4
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    polarprincess said:

    radiation
    i am on the sandwich regimen- i had 2 cycles fulfox, then radiation with continuous 5 fu then back to 4-6 cycles of fulfox. I am glad to hear you don't remember being sick, but the extreme fatique is not a good thing either i guess, especially since i have an hour drive. I am concerned about the menopause thing, i do not want that to happen, because i wm worried about being on HRT which i have heard can cause breast cancer. I will ask about the bone loss stuff. Sometimes, I feel like i should just for go all of it and take my chances. This is just such a nightmare that i want to end.

    FYI
    You don't HAVE to go on HRT. I never did. I just used some natural supplements and had minimal aggravation with hotflashes and stuff. If you are worried about osteoporosis (sp?), it would be safer to be on something just for that. I always figured that we are meant to go through menopause biologically and it shouldn't be messed with even if it is brought on early by surgery or medication.
  • katienavs
    katienavs Member Posts: 88 Member
    #5
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    Hi,
    I had four rounds of
    Hi,
    I had four rounds of folfox before chemoradiation and then that was followed by surgery and nine more rounds of folfox. The continuous 5-FU infusion did not cause me many problems at all. I cruised through the first three weeks like nothing was happening at all. The last two and a half weeks were a little bit rough with abdominal cramps that my radiation oncologist blamed on the chemo and my medical oncologist blamed on the radiation. I would get very bad cramps every two or three days but have not heard of this problem from others who have had the radiation. I never felt nauseous or otherwise sick. And the radiation worked! It destroyed the tumor completely, all that was left to take out was scar tissue!
    You will get through it! It is annoying to have it hooked up all the time and feel tethered to the darn thing. I wasn't able to take normal showers but that's a small price to pay to get rid of the cancer.
    Good luck and please feel free to ask any more questions.

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