Stage 3 colon cancer

It seems that your oxi is affecting you right off the bat for a long time.  Please discuss this with your doctor because it can only get worse as it is cumulative and the more you get it the more you react to it and the longer it takes for the side effects to go away.  My doctor wouldn't listen to my concerns and now have permanent damage.  You can nip this in the bud and they might be able to reduce it or use another form of treatment.  Please explain all of this to them as they need to know what is going on with you.  Hope you can get this resolved.

Kim

Wanny said:

I have a Port my veins and

I have a Port my veins and nerves are smaller than normal, I believe thats why I am having so much trouble with this Med. Have you had an Neuropothy bad yet.

Yup. I have it right now but it's confined to the fingers and toes. I have Hands and Knees in the hand joints from the Xeloda. It feels like arthritis.

Boy do I understand this. 6 and a half hears ago I had 8 months of infusions that included oxaliplatin. By the time I finished the 1st infusion my hands and feet were sensitive to cold. They burned. By the 4th infusion my feet had gone numb all the way up my shins to my knees. I finally broke down and told my oncologist I was afraid I wouldn't be able to walk soon. She adjusted my dose and we added a couple infusions. She put me on massive doeses of vitamin B complex and also authorized acupunture. I had 38 sessions and by the end of those sessions I had most of the feeling back in my hands and feet. Now, 6 years later I have a very tiny area of numbness on the balls of my feet and at the tip of my toes. I can walk, hike and have very few problems. I had to get rid of my heels and wear flats and good fitting shoes these days, but isn't a huge sacrifice. My hands are almost completely back to normal. I just find they get colder in the winter. I have learned to wear gloves. I guess where I am going with this is. Be open with your Doctor, he/she can't help you if you told tell them what is happening during the course of your treatment. I think often we are so worried about messing up the cure that we are afraid to say anything. Also, check out acupunture. It really did help me. It is worth giving it a try. I still take vitamin B complex every day.  I really hope you can get your treatments adjusted so they work for you and are successful. 

Blessings

MAlice

   I can't help much with oxilaplatin;. I had chemo before it was released in Australia where I live. We do tend to forget tho that neuropathy is not unique to the platinum drugs. I had infusions of 5 flourouricil every week for 48 weeks. Every second week it was enhanced with 9 tablets of levamisole. 3 a day for 3 days after the 5fu. It was also a combination known to ,at times,  produce severe neuropathy. I was dxed stage 3 c into 6 nodes in Jan 1998. I initially suffered no  neuropathy but it gradually showed up and got progressively worse over the next 5-10 years.   Levamisole was banned in 2001 . It was a dangerous drug and caused some deaths.  My neuropathy is severe and is up to the tops of my legs. I was tried on  lyrica, neurontin ,endep , fentanyl and norspan patches. I spent nearly three years on targin which is a nasty mix of oxycodone and naloxone. Naloxone is an opiate antagonist and was supposed to stop opiate induced constipation. It didn't and with every dose of targin I had to take two dulcolax and two coloxyl. It was all very unpleasant and in the end everything i took made no difference to the neuropathy... My neuropathy was officially dxed around ten years ago by a neurologist who ran nerve conductivity tests. I hate the difference it has made to my life. Just last night I had the most recent of a long history of falls. It hurt and i am not moving too well today.  To round out my long term side effects of chemo , I have auto-immune nephrotic syndrome of the kidneys, varying degrees of auto immune hepatitis , peripheral and pulmonary oedeema , seronegative poly arthritis. Type two diabetes from botched kidney treatment with high dose prednisone.  I have also been diagnosed with frequent ectopic heart beats as well as atrial flutter and atrial fib. I take cyclosporine twice a day and warfarin once a day.

              The upside is that I have survived cancer free for over twenty years, thanks to regular scopes. I wish you well. When you talk about survival you have to appreciat that there is a whole lot of different ways to survive and so far neither we nor the medical profession have much input on our survival. It is what it is. Wishing you very good luck, Regards Ron.

Bettencourt61 said:

Terrified Mom
Hi,
My name is Ellen. My 33 year old daughter was just diagnosis with stage 3 colon ca she has a resection and had her first treatment today god it was so upsetting I no we have a long road ahead of us and would love any tips on how I can possibility. Make this a little easier I feel totally helpless am trying to stay positive but there is only negativity on the few sites I have been to ill pray for you all
Thank you in advance for any info you can give

If you start your own thread, you will get all kinds of help. 

Here is the link https://csn.cancer.org/forum/128

let us know if you need help navigating.

Tru