Re: Update - all good so far!

October 13, 2003

Hi :

Congratulations on the good news. I have not corresponded with you

directly but have just read your post below with interest. I'm

feeling very desperate at this time because my husband has been in

the hospital with complications since last Thursday. Some of what

you describe below sounds very familiar, in the particular the

drains, the weight loss the antibiotics and such. My husband's

problem is his stomach. He had his first cycle of chemo two weeks

ago and other than fatigue he seemed to tolerate it well. However I

noticed that four days away from his treatment he started doing

really badly, reporting that he always feels full, that his stomach

is filled with acid and sure enough he started vomiting. After

reaching a freightening 139 pounds (He's 6'1 " !!) I got him admitted

and now he's back to 149 and feeling perkier and looking better.

However, now he cannot eat--period. Everything he eats, or nearly

everything, he vomits. I was hoping that even one dose of chemo

might at least help him to beat back the advancement of the cancer,

yet it seems to have gotten much worse. I say this because the dr.

thinks that his stomach problems have more to do with the

progression of his cancer than with the chemo. Also peculiar was

that his incision (which is still trying to close up from his

surgery on 8/5) seemed to heal much faster after the chemo then

before it. It seemed to me that his cells were dividing and

reproducing more rapidly instead of slowing down. Maybe that's my

imagination, but I'm very curious about his reports of feeling full

and having extreme acid reflux. Is this a symptom that you have

heard reported? Sorry for the long and rambling message.

My best wishes that you feel better and enjoy not being teathered to

drains and such.

Sincerely,

ka N.

> Hi All,

>

> Well, I spent most of late morning/afternoon at IU, and have a bit

of

> good news for a change. They have finally pulled my last

remaining

> drain tube (from lungs) so that I am now completely " bag and

> attachment free " (yay!!!). And that ALSO means I no longer have

to

> take the nasty antibiotic they had me on 4 times per day for the

> purpose of preventing infection while the tube was in place (which

> tended to make me nauseous and to have even less appetite than

> usual as one of its side effects). So I have been feeling a

little

> more like eating and maybe can work on trying to regain some of

this

> weight I have lost recently....

>

> In addition, I met the oncologist for a followup visit/bloodwork.

He

> doesn't have the results of the liver function tests yet, but

seems

> to think that starting Xeloda at the lowest theraputic dose would

be

> ok, even w/ slightly compromised liver. In the hospital, he was

dead

> set against it - guess he must believe that I " look " much better

> now. I think starting Xeloda in a few days (I need a little time

> to determine the effect of being off all these nasty antibiotics

and

> diuretics) is what I am going to do. Who knows, maybe I will be

one

> of the lucky with no side effects! Speaking of diuretics, more

> good news on that front as I really haven't seemed to need one for

> several days now. Amazingly enough, the swelling in my feet,

abdomen

> and elsewhere has all but disappeared! Sometimes I guess things

> really do improve on their own if you just give them some time.

>

> Exhausting day, but after getting home and sleeping a bit I really

do

> feel much better tonight!

>

> Best Wishes,

>

October 13, 2003

Hi ,

It is so good to hear you are feeling better! I'd been holding my

breath hoping that you would be back on the mend soon.

For what it is worth, I read a while ago that women have a higher

incidence of side effects from 5-FU than men. They didn't say

anything about Xeloda, but since they are similar, perhaps you will

luck out and have no side effects. You deserve it. It took me a few

weeks before I started with any hand/foot syndrome. It never laid me

up, although my doc did cut the dose 10% when I mentioned getting

blisters on my feet. I told him they were not bugging me that much,

but, I guess if they got infected that would not be too good.

Rest up and enjoy life without drains!

Best wishes,

Kris

> Hi All,

>

> Well, I spent most of late morning/afternoon at IU, and have a bit

of

> good news for a change. They have finally pulled my last remaining

> drain tube (from lungs) so that I am now completely " bag and

> attachment free " (yay!!!). And that ALSO means I no longer have to

> take the nasty antibiotic they had me on 4 times per day for the

> purpose of preventing infection while the tube was in place (which

> tended to make me nauseous and to have even less appetite than

> usual as one of its side effects). So I have been feeling a little

> more like eating and maybe can work on trying to regain some of

this

> weight I have lost recently....

>

> In addition, I met the oncologist for a followup visit/bloodwork.

He

> doesn't have the results of the liver function tests yet, but seems

> to think that starting Xeloda at the lowest theraputic dose would

be

> ok, even w/ slightly compromised liver. In the hospital, he was

dead

> set against it - guess he must believe that I " look " much better

> now. I think starting Xeloda in a few days (I need a little time

> to determine the effect of being off all these nasty antibiotics

and

> diuretics) is what I am going to do. Who knows, maybe I will be

one

> of the lucky with no side effects! Speaking of diuretics, more

> good news on that front as I really haven't seemed to need one for

> several days now. Amazingly enough, the swelling in my feet,

abdomen

> and elsewhere has all but disappeared! Sometimes I guess things

> really do improve on their own if you just give them some time.

>

> Exhausting day, but after getting home and sleeping a bit I really

do

> feel much better tonight!

>

> Best Wishes,

>

October 14, 2003

In a message dated 10/13/03 10:56:41 PM Eastern Daylight Time,

altman23@... writes:

> I think starting Xeloda in a few days (I need a little time to determine

> the effect of being off all these nasty antibiotics and diuretics) is what I

am

> going to do. Who knows, maybe I will be one of the lucky with no side

> effects!

Oh, I hope so, ! I've been pretty lucky with it so far, fatigue is

about the only thing I've dealt with and even it has been manageable. I haven't

had any problems with hand/foot though maybe that's due to the B6 I'm taking

with it.

I go back to the doc today to see how my CEA is coming along on Xeloda. It's

been going down steadily but last week went up 1 point which my onc. seemed

to think was just normal lab variance. I guess we'll see when we get today's

results...

Oh and BTW, I think I got approved for the Xeloda patient assistance program

that Roche has...I'll find that out for sure today too. Let me know if you

(or anyone else) are interested in it and I can post more details.

Glad you're feeling better!

Terry in GA

October 14, 2003

Wow ...........what a nice change !! You even " sound " better in

your post!! I can't tell you how glad I am to hear you're going to

give the Xeloda a try. You may do very well on it and be surprised

at the great results you get .............you darn sure are due

a " good turn " !! Thanks for all of your wisdom and support .......

and we're looking forward to seeing your posts more frequently as you

feel better and better each day!! It WILL happen!!!!! Too many of

us praying and wishing it for you!!

Donna Sisco