Anyone have to take the chemo pills? Do they make you sic? I will be taking them when I start radita

I have two friends currently taking the chemo pills... one has anal cancer and one has lung cancer... both are feeling the effects of overall feeling sick, nausea, vomiting, and both are taking up to four different medications to deal with the nausea/vomiting.  I have read many professional articles on the treatment of anal cancer and the doctors themselves know that they need to find safer, less toxic drugs.  The group that sets the standard protocols (NCCN) actually has on their home page a note :

"NCCN believes that the best management for any patient with cancer is in a clinical trial."  "Participation in clinical trials is especially encouraged."

From everything I have read and from patients and survivors... it seems that you should make sure to discuss the side effects with your oncologist and go ahead and get all of the necessary meds on hand so you will have them when you need them.  Maybe like pain pills... get them into your system before the side effects begin ... 

I was uneasy about having the pump and fanny pack, although most people don't seem to mnd it.  I pressured my medical oncologist for the pills (Xeloda) capecetabine, the pill form of 5FU.I had read the results of a study that stated MSKCC was using capecetabine and found it less toxic and as effective as the 5FU infusion.

Everyone reacts differently to chemoradiation.  Fatigue,  bowel ,and maybe bladder problems(frequency and urgency) and diarrhea   are standard.  It is often difficult to determine what is causing what. 

I did not vomit and was not nauseated...no mouth sores..hair thinned and a month or so after the end of treatment, there was alot of shedding, but I did not have to cover my head  .  I had no appetite and ate very little, but only lost about 3 pounds. I was ok for the first 2-3 weeks and then I was just too tired and too uncomfortable to do much of anything.  The "crescent area-from front to back, ) was very sore and painful. AS  Jane mentiond, the last 2 weeks of treatment and about 2 weeks after are the worst...maximum pain, fatigue, bowel and bladder problems, etc and then things begin to turn around. Near the end I had some Rx pain meds .

It is essential to keep hydrated.  I didn't drink enough water and became dehydrated and had to have some hydrating infusions near the end.  I also tried to eat protein (yoghurt, peanut butter,etc) 

Near the end I developed hand and foot disease which is a sometime side effect of capecetabine.  Not veryone gets this and it clears fairly quickly once you stop taking the pills.  It just makes your hands and feet red (sometimes feet peel) and very sore and uncomfortable. I applied eucerin several times a day and wore cotton socks, soft slippers and cotton gloves to protect the skin.

The treatment is miserable, but it is only about 5-6 weeks and then the healing begins.  It took me a while to regain my energy, but many people recover rather quickly.

I had an excellent nurse practitioner that I could communicate with via the EHR as often as needed; I saw the radiation oncologist weekly and also the medical oncologist every so often.  I  am not a stiff upper lip type and I let everyone know about  pain and other issues.

I don't recall taking alot of meds other than Advil and, the oxycodone near the end.  In fact, I was so tired of taking big pills that I discontinued Citrical and Centrum.  I used Aquaphorn and Aquaphore with lidocaine.  As things progressed the nurses supplied me with creams and other remedies.

It's all about the nurses! Hopefully your treatment center  provides patient support services(ie dieticians, counselors, social workers that can often arrange transportation, meal deliveries, etc if needed)

Keep us posted and we will share our wisdom!

I wasnt given the option of a pump. I took the chemo pills and it didnt get hard until the end of treatment.

annie4145 said:

I haven't started yet, but I

I haven't started yet, but I was wondering whether you plan to take the anti-nausea medicine the whole time you are on chemo or whether you will wait and take anti-nausea medicine only if you are having side effects from the chemo.  I will start in about 2 weeks, and plan to ask my nurse that before I start.  I don't want to throw up and loose any of the chemo medicine from my system, so I didn't know whether the side effects come on gradually, or whether you can be well one day and then sick the next. 

Hi,

You bring up a good point in not wanting to throw up any of the chemo meds. I did not take chemo pills but rather IV meds but still was advised to take anti-nausea meds regardless and to take them on a scheduled basis as a means to stay ahead of the feeling to vomit. I had read somewhere that once you do start throwing up it becomes like muscle memory and you are more likely to continue, not sure if thats true, but better safe than sorry. I did still feel a little queezy and tired but never did throw up during treatment. 

It is also helpful to keep just a little something in your belly even when appetite drops. I would sometimes just eat a cracker or two randomly, nibbles of cheese, and a spoonful of yogurt through out the day.

It is probably different when using pill form chemo, but I never felt too bad the day of chemo infusion...it usually hit a couple days after. Chemo of any kind though has a cumulative effect so may worsen the further along you go. Some people have very little negative effects while others feel awful, we all react differently. I will pray you are one who sails through swiftly!

katheryn

The good thing about having the PICC line was my chemo doctor put me on a schedule to receive IV fliuds at the end of my treatment.  I was so sick from the chemo.  I couldn't keep anything down and the IV fluids got me through it. 

Greetings, Brendaklein -

The radiation oncologist and his staff told me just yesterday that radiation itself might also cause nausea, even from the first treatment. They recommened that I take an anti-emetic about an hour before getting zapped (I have Zofran). Just like taking pain meds, don't wait until you feel it - act prophylactically. 

I was lucky and didn’t get any nausea during my radiation treatments, so I didn’t need to take anti nausea meds. However, when I was getting my original rounds of IV chemo, I was put on anti nausea meds (ondansetron) as a matter of routine. Well, by the time I was done with the second round of chemo, I realized that it was the ondansetron that was making me nauseous! As soon as I stopped taking that I was fine.

Ouch_Ouch_Ouch said:

How big are they?

I am scheduled to take Xeloda 500mg 2 tabs twice a day 12 hours apart 30 minutes after eating a meal.

However, I have a really bad gag reflex. How big are these pills? (The nurse told me that I can't cut them.) I can handle asprins and ibuprofen 200mg just fine, but have to choke down most multivitamins.

I have not personally taken them yet, but I walked over to the pharmacy and asked to see one before I dediced to go with them as compared to the 5FU.  They look a lot like multivitmins.  It is bigger than an asprin.  But the way the doctor was talking about them, I was expecting something bigger than it actually appears to be.  It seems that if you can take a multivitamin like calcium, you should be able to take one.  It is not as big as some multivitamins, but it is not tiny either.  You can see if the hospital pharmacy has one that you can look at to help you make the decision.  I would measure it, but I won't have mine until this Wednesday. 

Barbara