Chemo meds

I started Xeloda, which is oral 5FU, on Monday, so I've taken two days of doses. It gives me the sensation of losing some level of sensations, like my feeling is dulled 5 or 10 percent. It sometimes makes me tired and removes quite a bit of anxiety. I can feel the effects waning as I get closer to my next dose.

There are lots of stories here of experiences with the drugs and you have to find them and read through them to get a feel for what a lot of people go through with these drugs. For my situation, I have 28 days of Xeloda and radiation, then surgery, then likely six rounds of XELOX which is Xeloda with Oxapilatan infusions. The type of cancer and the treatment plan can mean that treatment plans vary quite widely. I find it good to find others with similar diagnosis to mine to read their experiences.

if you look around this forum there are plenty of posting about the chemo side effects.  we all have them but to varying degrees.  for me the FU gives me a sour somtach , farther than out and out nausea, there's a metallic taste in my mouth and food just dorsnt taste good, even the taste of water is yucky ..    the "oxi" gave me tingling in your finger and toes, the inability to touch any thing cold , used gloves for getting food out of the frig ,  drinking cold beverage was like drinking shards of glass.   It can leed to neuropathy so be sure to report and all side effects to the doc.  Avastin , think, is giving me a funny nose     And my eyes get really dore and irritated but eye drops help that nicely   

And alo there's a general fatigue and malaise. I tried to fight it the first couple rounds but have found I recover quicker if I just listen to my body and hibernate for a few days. 

Youll get through this, stay strong and positive   And as a caregiver take good care of yourself too!

Wish you both well. 

Pam

Hi -

The standard initial treatment for Stage 4 is oxaliplatin, Avastin and either 5FU/leuk or Xeloda (also called capecitibine)

Things may change depending on the progression or lack therof.

Take care,

Betsy

(diagnosed Stage 4 5/05, NED since 4/09)

How is hubby doing?  It would be good to hear an update.  Hope he is handling it ok.

Kim

lizard44 said:

It is pretty standard

for stage 4.  I had  eight rounds of FOLFOX plus Avastin as initial treatment. As Pam siad, everybody reacts differently.  I was one of those lucky ones who didn't  have   too many nasty side effects. I was warned not to drink anything cold and to wear gloves when  touching anything cold because of the oxaliplatin- I kept a pair of gloves next to the fridge and even wore them in the grocery store for reaching into the refrigerated cases. I also wore socks  all the time- even to sleep in, since the oncologist warned me to not let my feet get cold. I do have some lingering neuropathy from the Oxaliplatin two years later, but  it's not  too bad. My worst side effect was   low white blood cell counts which began after the second infusion.  One or two treatments were delayed but Neupogen shots allowed the rest of the treatments to  go on as scheduled. Fatigue   was  one of the side effects, but like Pam, I just listened to my body and rested when I needed to. The fatigue usually hit after the pump was unhooked ( I wore the 5-FU pump for 46 hours  following the  infusion in the clinic) and I would occasionally feel a little dizzy when I went to lie down or bend over. For the most part the fatigue and dizziness only lasted a day or two and I was able to continue  with  activities pretty much as I had before. I also had some joint pain after the first couple of treatments, but  that went away as treatment progressed. One of the stranger side effects I had was  that I would lose my voice and sound  really hoarse but  my throat never  hurt. I was presctibed medication for nausea but never needed to take it.  I did modify my diet, avoided fried and greasy foods, raw fruits and vegetables (except for bananas, melons, avocados) .  I think the worry there was the risk of infection from  raw  fruits and veggies because of my low   white blood cell counts and the amount of herbicides and pesticides used on a  lot of   produce. I   did eat a lot of cooked veggies and frozen and canned fruits  that didn't have any added sugar. I also avoided red meat. I tried to eat a  nutritious, high fiber diet, ate yogurt every day and took a probiotic.  I hope your husband tolerates the treatment well and that you  are able to take good care of  yourself as well as him, and stay as positive and stress free as possible.

Grace/lizard44

How are you doing now?