Folfox7 2 down 10 to go

Tom M.

So far I have been blessed I guess. I get tired at the clinic during my treatment and a little tired for the 2days with my bag buddy. Other than that the only side effect I get is the prickly feeling on fingertips and throth. Blood counts remain good. All in all I feel pretty good. I am attacking this all with a very positive attitude. Faith, hope, and trust. I will update after each treatment. 

myAZmountain

Glad it is going reasonably well!

Hope you can continue not having a lot of side effects--FOLFOX is cumalitive though so if you do start with neuropathy make sure you squawk loudly so they can either reduce the dose or discontinue treatments--it is supposedly still effective at lower dose and shorter duration--I have been told by 2 different oncologists their protocol is 8 treatments for Folfox but you will hear many differing opinions--best of luck during your chemo!!

Annabelle41415

Great

You've got a great attitude and that always helps going forward.  That's the way to come at the treatments as counting down.  It was a big help to me and had a big calendar on my wall and would mark off each one and then mark how many left and it seems good looking back to see that a certain amount was crossed off.  Hope that you continue to do well and please keep us informed as to how you are doing and if you need any advice going forward.

Kim

SophDan2

Good attitude Tom

It is good to look at this treatment with a positive attitude. I made it trough all 12 treatments of my Folfox5FU treatments over a 6 month period. You want to make sure that you keep track (diary helps) of how you are feeling during the treatment and the days in between treatments, as the effects are definitely cumulative. It is so important to communicate with your oncology doctor and nurse about how you felt in between treatments. I had the oxy reduced for treatments 10 and 11 and eliminated it for #12.

Make sure that you eat the best food that you can, even though you won't feel like it and everything tastes like aluminum foil. What I found was by eating very healthy meals (work with colors), as the chemo wore off in my system, my body was positioned to rebound by rebuilding the healthy cells (Red/White etc...).

I know that it is different for everybody, but it worked for me. I have been clean 17 months now!

Stay positive!

JanJan63

I hope it continues like that

I hope it continues like that. It's rare but not impossible. Good luck!!

Jan

Tom M.

4 down 8 to go

Completed #4 on folfox7. So far so good. Side effects are mild. I get tired at the clinic and after they remove my 2 day bag buddy. Neuropathy is slight as long as I remember no to drink anything cold. Seems to improve greatly during my full off week. Blood work always comes back great. Cea is down to 3.7 from 9.8 a month ago. I remain very positive through all this. Over all I feel pretty good. I keep people laughing when I go for my treatment day. Keeping the faith. We are not in this alone. Not only do I pray for a positive outcome, I pray for all of you as well. God bless.

Trubrit

Great news, Tom

It really is good to hear from you, and know that, on the whole, you are doing well with treatment.  REALLY happy to see the CEA # going down. Such a good sign. 

Keep on keeping on.  You'll be celebrating your last chemo before you know it. 

Tru

Steelkiwi686

CEA question

Not to hijack the tread but I’m wondering whether there is a certain CEA number that represents “Good” or if when looking at CEA numbers the important thing is that’s it’s going down or staying stable ???

I’m positive the dr explained this to me way back ....when I sat in a daze at those early meetings and I keep forgetting to ask him in our recent visits due to other questions....and frankly it didn’t feel like a priority to me before and I now begin to understand its potential importance based on the threads in this group.

Thank you 

Annabelle41415

Awesome

Keep the countdown going.  I'm glad that the side effects are bearable and you seem to be tolerable the treatments well.  Thanks for the update.

Kim

Tom M.

Reached the half way mark. Only 6 treatments to go. Handling all of it very well. Side effects very mild. I miss ice cold drinks. Oh well, I have to give to get. Blood counts remaining very good. Cea  continues to drop, it was 2.6 this time. Onc seems pleased. Keeping everything as is. I'm in this to win. I fully intend to be a long term survivor. God bless you my friends.

suzycruise76

Tom M. said:

Reached the half way mark. Only 6 treatments to go. Handling all of it very well. Side effects very mild. I miss ice cold drinks. Oh well, I have to give to get. Blood counts remaining very good. Cea  continues to drop, it was 2.6 this time. Onc seems pleased. Keeping everything as is. I'm in this to win. I fully intend to be a long term survivor. God bless you my friends.

Tom,

I love your attitude,I have the same. Yes,we are in it to win it !

Wish you all the best,

Suzy

myAZmountain

Hang in there!

So glad to hear you are tolerating the dreaded FOLFOX well--do you have a scan scheduled now? Congrats on the CEA number too! Hope the next rounds are easy on you--and don't forget you can ask for dosage to be reduced if things get rough. Prayers and hugs!

Tom M.

suzycruise76 said:

Tom,

I love your attitude,I have the same. Yes,we are in it to win it !

Wish you all the best,

Suzy

Thank you Suzy. 

Thank you Suzy. 

Tom M.

myAZmountain said:

Hang in there!

So glad to hear you are tolerating the dreaded FOLFOX well--do you have a scan scheduled now? Congrats on the CEA number too! Hope the next rounds are easy on you--and don't forget you can ask for dosage to be reduced if things get rough. Prayers and hugs!

No scan lined up as of yet. I

No scan lined up as of yet. I do what they say and what I can. The infusion clinic nurses are my angles. I feel very confident about the whole process. I have from day one.

Steelkiwi686

Half way

So glad to see you’re doing well. I am enjoying seeing how you are making out.

Go You!

I have now been on Folfox for about a year with treatment every two weeks. I'm still going strong although disappointed I unexpectedly did not get to finish at 6 mos.  I’m mostly over that now and keep a mind set of just managing like chronic disease as JanJan says. It has helped my mind set to see things that way.  As long as the chemo is working for me, which it presently is then I am at this moment happily ready to just keep marching and doing what I’m told by my oncologist and team.

Couldn’t agree more with the nurses as angels comparison.  I absolutely love the nurses and have so much respect for their professionalism.  That thought was sealed when i had an allergic reaction and couldn’t breathe and they jumped-in and the incident was over soon. It may have been routine for them but not for me!

Anyway I feel you will be ringing that bell soon and I hope we get a picture of you smiling as you do it. 

Wishing you the best. 

Tom M.

I'm always happy and grateful

I'm always happy and grateful to read all the positive comments on this site. We all have a special bond to one another. I pray for a good out come for all of us. All of my new friends here are in my thoughts and prayers. I cannot tell you all enough how much you mean to me. We really don't have a cancer support group where I live. This is it for me. My family and you are it. These last 2 years for us have sent us many changes in our life. God bless you all.

Annabelle41415

Treatment

Half-way already is great.  It just seems like you posted this initial post a couple weeks ago.  Glad that things are going well.  So glad that we are able to lift your spirits and give you some encouragement.  There was no support group by me either so this was it.  This group helped me so much with my fears, questions and concerns.  It's hard to ask people that haven't gone through it to try and understand how you are feeling so that's why it's great that we have such a wonderful group.  God Bless you too and hope your treatment continues to go well.

Kim

Tom M.

Annabelle41415 said:

Treatment

Half-way already is great.  It just seems like you posted this initial post a couple weeks ago.  Glad that things are going well.  So glad that we are able to lift your spirits and give you some encouragement.  There was no support group by me either so this was it.  This group helped me so much with my fears, questions and concerns.  It's hard to ask people that haven't gone through it to try and understand how you are feeling so that's why it's great that we have such a wonderful group.  God Bless you too and hope your treatment continues to go well.

Kim

Thanks Kim. You and Tru were

Thanks Kim. You and Tru were my first friends here. Everyone here always has great words of encouragement. On my treatment days I keep the nurses laughing.  I have no intention of this bump in the road of my life getting to me. Just over a year ago we lost one of our sons in a accident. That being said it kinda put things into perspective for me. I have no fear of what I am going through now. We have 10 other children and I will deal with all of this by leading by example. I will keep all of you posted as the treatments continue.   God bless you all.

Trubrit

Tom M. said:

Thanks Kim. You and Tru were

Thanks Kim. You and Tru were my first friends here. Everyone here always has great words of encouragement. On my treatment days I keep the nurses laughing.  I have no intention of this bump in the road of my life getting to me. Just over a year ago we lost one of our sons in a accident. That being said it kinda put things into perspective for me. I have no fear of what I am going through now. We have 10 other children and I will deal with all of this by leading by example. I will keep all of you posted as the treatments continue.   God bless you all.

Dearest Tom

It hurts my heart to hear that you have lost a child to an accident.  

I fear the pain of losing a child is one of the hardest things to deal with. 

Bless you! 

Tru

Annabelle41415

Tom M. said:

Thanks Kim. You and Tru were

Thanks Kim. You and Tru were my first friends here. Everyone here always has great words of encouragement. On my treatment days I keep the nurses laughing.  I have no intention of this bump in the road of my life getting to me. Just over a year ago we lost one of our sons in a accident. That being said it kinda put things into perspective for me. I have no fear of what I am going through now. We have 10 other children and I will deal with all of this by leading by example. I will keep all of you posted as the treatments continue.   God bless you all.

Sorry

So sorry for your loss.  You have been through so much and losing a child has to be devestating.  This board is always in my prayers.  Prayers along with this board helped me.  Keep up the great work getting through this. 

Kim

Tom M.

Annabelle41415 said:

Sorry

So sorry for your loss.  You have been through so much and losing a child has to be devestating.  This board is always in my prayers.  Prayers along with this board helped me.  Keep up the great work getting through this. 

Kim

Thank you for your kind word

Thank you for your kind word's Tru and Kim. We deal day to day with it all. Some better than others. Treatment 7 is this week. I will post the update. Take care my friends.

E