8 vs 12 rounds of chemo after stage 3 surgery.

stats?
They say having chemo after surgery decreases your chance of recurrence by 15-20%. I imagine that the difference between 8-12 weeks is probably small. So if it's a small percentage of an already small percentage then it might not be worth the trouble. I think the more important approach is to follow up extensively. Catch any recurrence early.

Kathleen808 said:

Hi Petrina,
My husband had
Hi Petrina,
My husband had surgery for stage 3c colon cancer. He will have his 12th and last folfox 6 treatment tomorrow. That was recommended by both his oncologist here in Hawaii and Dr. Lenz at USC.

Aloha,
Kathleen

8 vs 12
I am finishing my 12th treatment tomorrow. I only did 9 with the oxilaplatin. The neuropathy got too bad. It is still there. Hopefully it will go away soon. It started lasting the full time between treatments on #7. My onc. said that was probably enough of that, but we still needed to do the rest for the 12 cycles. I also had stage 3. I had stage 1 in 2007, and didn't do chemo. Surgeon said I did not need chemo. Show what he knows. Good surgeon, bad cancer dr. I believe 12 is the standard scheduled amount most of the time, but who really knows how much is enough? If i were you, I would see how I tolerate the chemo and if its not bad, perhaps give it the full treatment. That's a lot easier to say since I am finishing up, back on # 6 or 7 I might have had a different opinion.
Carletta

nudgie said:

It depends
on the individual and the type of tumor and stage you are fighting. The protocol is different for each. I was DX with Stage II colon cancer with no lymph node involement or signs of spreading. Had emergency surgery to remove the tumor and according to my Onc Dr in 2006, the industry standard for Stage II was adjuvnt chemo treatment with FLOFOX. Had to reduce my regime by 20% and I only finished 6 of 12 due to an allergic reaction at #6.

Making a decision to stop a regime before hand is one that YOU can only make, but that YOU must be positive about and NEVER second guess.

Good luck and keep us posted

I am a stage III and will do
I am a stage III and will do the 12 rounds my 8th is coming up next week.

mommyof2kds said:

chemo before and after surgery?
I had 5 1/2 wks chemo before surgery, so I had 5 doses of oxy before surgery and after surgery they count the next dose as 6, so I have had 9 of the oxy so far. I have been lucky. I have the cold sensitivity, but no neuropathy yet. I get an infusion of the magnesium and calicium before and after the oxy to help with preventing the neuropathy-don't know if that is what is helping me or not, but so far so good. I would get the whole 12 wks if I didn't get the 5 1/2 wks of chemo before surgery. did all of you get the chemo before surgery and then 12 wks after also? Thanks for the replies. Petrina

Magnesium Sulfate
Petrina

I talk about this frequently on the board.

Believe me when I tell you that it is the Magnesium Sulfate that is helping you fight off the neruopathy.

I had the oxy with and without it - I know the difference! If it works for you, then it's a blessing and makes your quality of life a 100% improvement when on the Oxy.

I talked to my new onc about it again the other day - some people have posted that it is not a benefit during treatment and might negate the chemo's effects.

Nothing could be further from the truth my onc said - studies can't show that it hurts chemo treatment at all - but it is working for you.

Take care
-Craig

Just realized this is an old

Just realized this is an old post that resurfaced.