what is the name of oral form of 5fu?

lindadanis
lindadanis Member Posts: 235
edited March 2014 in Esophageal Cancer #1
My husband's doctor may be changing him to this oral form of 5fu, what is the oral name and how big are these pills as he has a swollowing issue? what other chemo drug is it usually put with? Is 5fu stronger than cisplatin and campostar which he did three rounds and the pet scan showed it did nothing and actually his cancer has spread. We are upset and are meeting the doctor tuesday to discuss new treatment plans, any advice would be greatly appreciated. Linda

Comments

  • JaneE2366
    JaneE2366 Member Posts: 289 Member
    #2
    Xeloda
    Xeloda is the name of 5-FU in pill form. The pills (500 mg) are about the size of a vitamin....maybe a bit smaller. Maybe they can be crushed if they are too large. I don't know if 5-FU is stronger than Cisplatin or Campostar.....have had not experience with the latter.....Charlie's had 5-FU along with Cisplatin and Taxotere.
    Jane
  • Betty in Vegas
    Betty in Vegas Member Posts: 290 Member
    #3
    I would ask before crushing the pills
    We were told to handle them just like chemo, washing hands before giving them to Layne and after...I am not sure if they want them crushed. They are big pills...Layne's are like horse pills.

    You might want to ask about this if your hubby has swallowing problems.
  • mumphy
    mumphy Member Posts: 440
    #4
    Betty in Vegas said:

    I would ask before crushing the pills
    We were told to handle them just like chemo, washing hands before giving them to Layne and after...I am not sure if they want them crushed. They are big pills...Layne's are like horse pills.

    You might want to ask about this if your hubby has swallowing problems.

    Betty's right
    Hi,

    Al was on 5fu infusion for 21 days straight. I did cause him to have some neuropathy but I do
    think that it helped to shrink his primary tumor.

    We were scheduled to take Xeloda post surgery but his the Oncologist wants to use CPT 11 othwise know as iren---that I can't spell along with something else.

    Xeloda would be better but he probably will have to swollow the entire pill.
    I doen't hurt to ask.

    Hope this helps.
    Kath
  • Tina Blondek
    Tina Blondek Member Posts: 1,500 Member
    #5
    mumphy said:

    Betty's right
    Hi,

    Al was on 5fu infusion for 21 days straight. I did cause him to have some neuropathy but I do
    think that it helped to shrink his primary tumor.

    We were scheduled to take Xeloda post surgery but his the Oncologist wants to use CPT 11 othwise know as iren---that I can't spell along with something else.

    Xeloda would be better but he probably will have to swollow the entire pill.
    I doen't hurt to ask.

    Hope this helps.
    Kath

    Hi Linda,
    Yes they are
    Hi Linda,
    Yes they are correct, Xeloda the oral chemo, in 500 mg pill form does have to be taken in full. The crushing makes it lose its effectiveness. My dad had a stent put in his esophagus this past december. This has helped his swallowing tremendously, as well as being able to swallow the xeloda pills. You can always ask his onc. what he thinks. Good luck.
    Tina

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