CAPE-OX Chemo in my future

Mike49

At today's visit to my Oncologist yht new plan is CAPE-OX for six months following my recent surgery to remove the lesion on my liver. This the Capecetibine taken orally for 14 days, seven days rest and Oxiliplatin every 21 days, resuming another 14 days of oral chemo. Anybody have experience with this one?

Sundanceh

You Bet....
Hi, Mike

First, thanks for your reply to my post the other day, that was very nice of you to do.

This is Xeloda, which is 5fu orally. I did the 2 week on and 1 week off cycle taking between 6 and 8 tablets each day @ 500mg each. Ouch! Be careful when you start. It's going to do a number on your feet the worst. Your fingertips and hands may get a little bit red and you may have pain or not.

But the feet are where you are going to feel it. Very quickly, the toxicity builds up in your feet and they will begin to crack and split open. It will be painful to walk and balance.

Here's what you can do:
Go to the drugstore and buy some Bag Balm - this is an udder cream that has excellent emollient properties. You slather it on your feet liberally and then put socks over them to hold the moisture in and this will help keep them soft and from cracking as bad. Get on it early and you may miss that problem entirely. Use it in the morning and when you come home and when you go to bed. It really will help you out.

My onc and I adjusted the dosages after the toxicity built up so much. We ended up doing a 7 day on / 7 day off with 3 pills by morning and 3 pills by evening @ 500 mg. each. I did it for about 8 months and have been off it about 8 months now.

Did not want to bum you out - just trying to keep it real so you know what to expect. Wish my onc had given me a heads up. Keep telling your docs all of the symptoms so they can track it to adjust dosages.

It's effective with Oxaliplatin and they work good together, but there is a price to pay. I lived through it and may have to do it again, hope not.

Your onc may introduce Avastin down the road - you have to be out of surgery so many months before they can give that to you. Avastin works by "choking" off blood supply to the tumors, so I'm sure after a short time of recovering from surgery, your onc will introduce this to you.

I did all 3 of these: Oxaliplatin / Xeloda / Avastin It's the 1-2-3 punch!

Hope this helps...stay in touch and let me know. Will try to help you any way that I can.

Good luck - we can do this!

-Craig

Mike49

Sundanceh said:

You Bet....
Hi, Mike

First, thanks for your reply to my post the other day, that was very nice of you to do.

This is Xeloda, which is 5fu orally. I did the 2 week on and 1 week off cycle taking between 6 and 8 tablets each day @ 500mg each. Ouch! Be careful when you start. It's going to do a number on your feet the worst. Your fingertips and hands may get a little bit red and you may have pain or not.

But the feet are where you are going to feel it. Very quickly, the toxicity builds up in your feet and they will begin to crack and split open. It will be painful to walk and balance.

Here's what you can do:
Go to the drugstore and buy some Bag Balm - this is an udder cream that has excellent emollient properties. You slather it on your feet liberally and then put socks over them to hold the moisture in and this will help keep them soft and from cracking as bad. Get on it early and you may miss that problem entirely. Use it in the morning and when you come home and when you go to bed. It really will help you out.

My onc and I adjusted the dosages after the toxicity built up so much. We ended up doing a 7 day on / 7 day off with 3 pills by morning and 3 pills by evening @ 500 mg. each. I did it for about 8 months and have been off it about 8 months now.

Did not want to bum you out - just trying to keep it real so you know what to expect. Wish my onc had given me a heads up. Keep telling your docs all of the symptoms so they can track it to adjust dosages.

It's effective with Oxaliplatin and they work good together, but there is a price to pay. I lived through it and may have to do it again, hope not.

Your onc may introduce Avastin down the road - you have to be out of surgery so many months before they can give that to you. Avastin works by "choking" off blood supply to the tumors, so I'm sure after a short time of recovering from surgery, your onc will introduce this to you.

I did all 3 of these: Oxaliplatin / Xeloda / Avastin It's the 1-2-3 punch!

Hope this helps...stay in touch and let me know. Will try to help you any way that I can.

Good luck - we can do this!

-Craig

Thanks
Craig, Thanks for the info, i just finished a six month course of FOLFOX with AVAASTIN in May, the Oncologist wanted to switch up and change for round two. So far no AVASTIN mentioned for now, wants to get a scan in about 8 weeks in to see if after my resection some remaining activity is in the liver. They resected tumor but the margins were not totally clear.

I don't relish the Oxiliplatin its done a number on my nervous system, hands and feet numb etc. I am going to get some bag balm tomorrow and start early, my feet are pretty trashed already from the last round of chemo. All and all I tolerated the FOLFOX well, I just didn't like the cold sensitivity that seemed to grow worse and last longer over the course of the six months.

I found the Avastin really dried me out, constipation and i didn't like the benedryl either AS a pre-med. I never had a bad reaction to the Avastin in 11 doses. The one thing I know is that I know what I can do and I can do this too.

Fighting this disease has shown me that I am alot tougher than I thought I was, I'd rather not have too, but I plan to put up a hell of a fight. I am also being consulted to Mayo Clinic for a consideration by a radiation oncologist. I don't know how soon that will occur and what direction that will take. I am a pretty involved patient who asks plenty of questions as well as researching the topic pretty thoroughly as I go.

Thanks for the info. Good luck on your new approach as well.

Mike