First round of Folfox/Avastin and mum's ready to throw in the towel already

Liz2011
Liz2011 Member Posts: 15
in Colorectal Cancer #1
My poor mum is back in chemo hell, this time with Folfox/Avastin. She's spent the last 2 days in bed suffering from strong headaches, severe diarrhoea and nausea. I thought Emend would do the trick but it hasn't. How can I help her? I told my parents to contact the medical team tomorrow and explain how bad it's been. Why is it so so hard on her when most people seem able to tolerate it, some even going to work while doing chemo? My mum's not one to whinge so I don't think she's being a drama queen. I am so worried.
Thanks for any advice you may have.

Comments

  • Buckwirth
    Buckwirth Member Posts: 1,258 Member
    #2
    The Oncoligist
    Is the best bet, in the future do not wait for office hours, someone should be available to return calls 2r/7
  • pepebcn
    pepebcn Member Posts: 6,331 Member
    #3
    Buckwirth said:

    The Oncoligist
    Is the best bet, in the future do not wait for office hours, someone should be available to return calls 2r/7

    There are solutions ! lower dosage, different chemosETC!
    Ask your doc ASAP!
  • luvmum
    luvmum Member Posts: 457 Member
    #4
    Dear Liz
    My mum had severe side effects when she was on Folfox/Avastin. She ended up in the hospital twice (the first two rounds). However, please look at the good side. She did have very good respond to this regimen!

    Best wishes to you and your mum!
  • Liz2011
    Liz2011 Member Posts: 15
    #5
    luvmum said:

    Dear Liz
    My mum had severe side effects when she was on Folfox/Avastin. She ended up in the hospital twice (the first two rounds). However, please look at the good side. She did have very good respond to this regimen!

    Best wishes to you and your mum!

    Thank you for the comments
    Mum is meeting up with another onc tomorrow for a second opinion on her treatment, so hope he will be proactive with regards to the management of side effects too.
    Luvmum were the 2 first rounds the hardest if she ended up in hospital? How did they manage the following rounds? Did they reduce the dosage? I know everybody's different, just being curious. Mum has already had Folfiri and although it worked initially the tumours grew back when she switched from 2 to 3 weeks because of side effects... So can't say we're in too good a place right now :(
    Liz
  • luvmum
    luvmum Member Posts: 457 Member
    #6
    Liz2011 said:

    Thank you for the comments
    Mum is meeting up with another onc tomorrow for a second opinion on her treatment, so hope he will be proactive with regards to the management of side effects too.
    Luvmum were the 2 first rounds the hardest if she ended up in hospital? How did they manage the following rounds? Did they reduce the dosage? I know everybody's different, just being curious. Mum has already had Folfiri and although it worked initially the tumours grew back when she switched from 2 to 3 weeks because of side effects... So can't say we're in too good a place right now :(
    Liz

    Dear Liz
    She only had 4 rounds of FOLFOX/Avastin before her liver resection. In order to let her body recovered from the side effects, she had chemo almost once a month with minimal dosage at that time (from Nov 2010 to March 2011, she only had 4 cycles of FOLFOX/Avastin!) ... She then had 2 more rounds after liver resection, unfortunately she stopped responding to this regimen then. To be honest, she never really managed this regimen well. Even though she did not go to the hospital after the first 2 cycles, plus reduced dosage, she still suffered from the side effects. We did prepare the nutrient and saline infusion at home, so that she got the same treatment like she did at the hospital.

    Her onc are using irinotecan/avastin at the moment, which is similar to FOLFIRI, just without 5-Fu. She is very sensitive to 5-Fu and the onc believes all her severe side effects were coming from it. Do you mind if I ask about your mum's respond to FOLFIRI? After how many cycles did she stop responding?

    I"m so scared everyday, worrying if this regimen doesn't work for her... or it works for a very short period of time... ;(

    Take care Liz,
    Dora

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