stage 4 and starting new chemo

ray slone
ray slone Member Posts: 25
in Esophageal Cancer #1
hello to all i started a new a new chemo plan yesterday. they are giving me leucovin and oxaliplatin in house and then 46 hours of 5fu on the pump at home. i have been told this is very powerful stuff. i would assume many many people have taken this. does this often help? i have read that many times chemo works for awhile then the cancer changes and chemo no longer works. with the bone mets i have to wander if i have any chance of being around for long. i dont know of many stage 4 survivors.

Comments

  • stephikindred
    stephikindred Member Posts: 140
    #2
    Hi Ray
    My mom was diagnosed on Nov 7 th and is on the very same chemo as you. She has mets to the bone also. She is still independent and doing quite well. She doesn't even look sick but the chemo does make her tired. She has a feeding tube and I believe that has made a big difference. She has stopped loosing weight and I think that's important when you're on chemo. If you dont have one I suggest you consider a J tube. It will keep you hydrated and get you the nutrition you need when you're on those chemo drugs.
    Best of wishes to you,
    Steph
  • ray slone
    ray slone Member Posts: 25
    #3
    stephikindred said:

    Hi Ray
    My mom was diagnosed on Nov 7 th and is on the very same chemo as you. She has mets to the bone also. She is still independent and doing quite well. She doesn't even look sick but the chemo does make her tired. She has a feeding tube and I believe that has made a big difference. She has stopped loosing weight and I think that's important when you're on chemo. If you dont have one I suggest you consider a J tube. It will keep you hydrated and get you the nutrition you need when you're on those chemo drugs.
    Best of wishes to you,
    Steph

    i am glad your mother is
    i am glad your mother is doing well. i was diagnosed in nov. as well at first they said the cancer had not spread and were going to do surgery at the end of may. however near the end of may they did a follow up pet scan and saw that even after radation and chemo i now have bone mets. after they had looked back over the first pet scan they saw what they called shadows on it that turned out to be bone mets now. i am going well for the time being as well. i have no j tube and can eat some what normal. my friends and family and doctors have all told me that i look good and not even sick. time will tell if this round of chemo works better than before. has your mother been on this chemo since nov?
    best wishs Ray
  • Amjosmom
    Amjosmom Member Posts: 212
    #4
    My dad is a stage IV survivor!
    He was diagnosed in 2010. It has also metastasized to his bone and liver. He is taking Xeloda (chemo pill). Some days are good, and some are very difficult, especially after the infusions. He doesn't have a j-tube. But he is strong! You can do this. Make sure you are eating healthy foods... your body will need a lot of nutrients to recover from the chemo.

    Best Wishes,
    Jayme

    Dad Stage IV EC
    2010
  • ray slone
    ray slone Member Posts: 25
    #5
    Amjosmom said:

    My dad is a stage IV survivor!
    He was diagnosed in 2010. It has also metastasized to his bone and liver. He is taking Xeloda (chemo pill). Some days are good, and some are very difficult, especially after the infusions. He doesn't have a j-tube. But he is strong! You can do this. Make sure you are eating healthy foods... your body will need a lot of nutrients to recover from the chemo.

    Best Wishes,
    Jayme

    Dad Stage IV EC
    2010

    glad to hear xeloda is
    glad to hear xeloda is helping your dad. they have not offered that to me. maybe because i still have trouble swallowing. is your dad able to swallow ok? what kind of healthy foods do you feed him? i am sure i eat to much junk. i lived all winter on insure and boost until i was able to swallow better. that was several weeks or maybe a month after radation stopped. thanks and best wishs for your dad and his family
  • Amjosmom
    Amjosmom Member Posts: 212
    #6
    ray slone said:

    glad to hear xeloda is
    glad to hear xeloda is helping your dad. they have not offered that to me. maybe because i still have trouble swallowing. is your dad able to swallow ok? what kind of healthy foods do you feed him? i am sure i eat to much junk. i lived all winter on insure and boost until i was able to swallow better. that was several weeks or maybe a month after radation stopped. thanks and best wishs for your dad and his family

    Healthy foods are a must!!
    We have him on an alkaline diet. Very liitle red meat. TONS of organic veggies. Gluten and sugar free foods. We saw a nutritionist at Oasis and she laid out a diet for helping him to fight back against the after effects of chemo. We are fighting EC from as many angles as we can using integrative medicine as well as traditional medicine. At the end of May he could only eat pureed meals, but now he has been able to eat just about anything we've tried. So far, things are going well. He had a CT scan last week and the results were uplifting. His tumors have been visibly reduced!! Not by a lot, but we'll take it!! Just take real good care of yourself. The mind is a POWERFUL thing.

    ~Jayme
  • Amjosmom
    Amjosmom Member Posts: 212
    #7
    Amjosmom said:

    Healthy foods are a must!!
    We have him on an alkaline diet. Very liitle red meat. TONS of organic veggies. Gluten and sugar free foods. We saw a nutritionist at Oasis and she laid out a diet for helping him to fight back against the after effects of chemo. We are fighting EC from as many angles as we can using integrative medicine as well as traditional medicine. At the end of May he could only eat pureed meals, but now he has been able to eat just about anything we've tried. So far, things are going well. He had a CT scan last week and the results were uplifting. His tumors have been visibly reduced!! Not by a lot, but we'll take it!! Just take real good care of yourself. The mind is a POWERFUL thing.

    ~Jayme

    Oh yeah!
    There's a ton of sugar in Ensure and Boost... try Glucerna. It has about ¼ of the sugar and tastes about the same.

    Best Wishes.
  • stephikindred
    stephikindred Member Posts: 140
    #8
    ray slone said:

    i am glad your mother is
    i am glad your mother is doing well. i was diagnosed in nov. as well at first they said the cancer had not spread and were going to do surgery at the end of may. however near the end of may they did a follow up pet scan and saw that even after radation and chemo i now have bone mets. after they had looked back over the first pet scan they saw what they called shadows on it that turned out to be bone mets now. i am going well for the time being as well. i have no j tube and can eat some what normal. my friends and family and doctors have all told me that i look good and not even sick. time will tell if this round of chemo works better than before. has your mother been on this chemo since nov?
    best wishs Ray

    My mom started Chemo in Feb
    She started on Cisplatin, Leucovorin, and 5 FU for her first 4 cycles, but on 4/24 they switched out the Cisplatin for Oxaliplatin due to kidney issues.

    She also was originally going to have the surgery, but a second scan revealed the bone mets. The anti nausea drugs really help but the side effects (tingly fingers and the repines to cold) are the hardest things for her to get used to on the Oxaliplatin. Other than that, she is handling the chemo better than I expected and I am very grateful for that!

    Best,
    Steph

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