Guest guest Posted January 9, 2004 Report Share Posted January 9, 2004 Hi everyone I would appreciate any feedback about the combination of xeloda and oxaliplatin. My husband has stage 4 colon cancer - in the liver and has been treated with 5fu leuc, camptosar and most recently xeloda over the past almost 5 years. Now the two tumors in the liver are growing in size and the xeloda is not working by itself, so the Dr. wants to put him on the combination of xeloda and oxaliplatin. My husband is getting pretty worn out from all of this ( he is 67) and is considering discontinuing treatment and letting nature take its course. But of course one never knows what the future holds. He can't stand the iv's anymore he says--very painful. He absolutely WILL NOT get a port, so part of his decision is based on this. Of course the xeloda was pills and he got used to not having an iv. Now he would have to go back to the iv. He has taken two weeks off to think about what he wants to do. As we all know this chemo takes its toll. But he will take the new drugs I think if he feels there is some hope of shrinking the tumors and improving his quality of life and also extending it. Has anyone had this combination of drugs and has it shrunk the tumors? They say when it is given as the first treatment it is more effective than a treatment given after several others. But I have read that it is pretty effective. Would appreciate any help with this decision while understanding that everyone reacts differently. What about the side effects? Thank you everyone, Barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 9, 2004 Report Share Posted January 9, 2004 Hi Barb - I did have oxali and 5fu, but my situation is somewhat different than your husband's. However, I wanted to throw out there that I'm pretty sure (not 100% positive though) that they won't administer oxali without a port of some kind because it burns the veins. I had a Groshong catheter instead of a port (a " permanent " catheter in your chest that just sticks out a little, and when they remove it they just pull it out instead of your having to have a surgery) and it wasn't too bad. They used it for bloodwork too, so no more needles pricks. I had it for about 6 months. Good luck with your decision. Best, Jodi > Hi everyone > I would appreciate any feedback about the combination of xeloda and > oxaliplatin. My husband has stage 4 colon cancer - in the liver and > has been treated with 5fu leuc, camptosar and most recently xeloda > over the past almost 5 years. Now the two tumors in the liver are > growing in size and the xeloda is not working by itself, so the Dr. > wants to put him on the combination of xeloda and oxaliplatin. My > husband is getting pretty worn out from all of this ( he is 67) and is > considering discontinuing treatment and letting nature take its > course. But of course one never knows what the future holds. He > can't stand the iv's anymore he says--very painful. He absolutely > WILL NOT get a port, so part of his decision is based on this. Of > course the xeloda was pills and he got used to not having an iv. Now > he would have to go back to the iv. He has taken two weeks off to > think about what he wants to do. As we all know this chemo takes > its toll. But he will take the new drugs I think if he feels there is > some hope of shrinking the tumors and improving his quality of life > and also extending it. Has anyone had this combination of drugs and > has it shrunk the tumors? They say when it is given as the first > treatment it is more effective than a treatment given after several > others. But I have read that it is pretty effective. Would > appreciate any help with this decision while understanding that > everyone reacts differently. What about the side effects? > Thank you everyone, > Barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 9, 2004 Report Share Posted January 9, 2004 Barb- I am sorry to hear about your husband. Sounds like you both have been putting up a pretty galliant fight for a very long time. One question if there are only a few liver tumors is there any possibility of treating them with radiofrequency ablation? Several people here have had sucess with that. I am 47, diagnosed with Stage IV disease 9/02. I have been on oxaliplatin/ Xeloda, following unsucessful response to CPT11/5-FU. I have done well. As you say, however, everyone's response to chemo is a bit different. I also was on oxaliplatin 10-12/02 between 2 surgeries. The chemo reduced the volume of tumor a great deal, although after 4 mth off chemotherapy, I had recurrance in my lymph nodes and liver. I was started back on chemo 6/03 and just got my 15th dose today. After 4 wks I felt better, at 8 wks my tumors had shrunk " markedly " on a followup CT, and at 16 wks my liver nodules were no longer visible. Oxaliplatin does cause nausea in a fair number of people, mostly on days 3 and 4 post treatment if nothing is given to help it. There are a variety of antinausea drugs available, including a relatively new one available for the last 6 mths Emend which eliminates my nausea completely. Sometimes it takes some trial and error to find what works best. Most people get a weird side effect of cold induced neuropathy. This causes your hands and face to tingle like if you were in a sleet storm. If you drink or eat very cold things it feels like you are eating that Pop Rocks candy- a weird unpleasant tingling sensation. I use oven mitts to get stuff out of the freezer and for the first 5- 7 days avoid drinking/eating very cold things. I recently moved to Wisconsin to be near family. I bought some ski gloves and some hand warmers for my car. This last week was pretty cold -6 degrees at night. I spent most of my time indoors but managed better than I thought outside. Diarrhea can be a problem, but because I have an ostomy, it does not bother me as much if I do have it. Imodium controls it for me. Most people with oxaliplatin get ports, because injection into a distal arm catheter can burn. I don't know exactly what your husband's concerns are about getting a port, or if your doc has some worries about it because of other medical problems your husband may have. I have had mine since 6/02 and LOVE it. Most people do get sedation to put them in, but I had mine done under a local. I had it done at 8:30 in the morning, and was back to work at 11. My arm was sore, but I still drove around town done that evening. My doc gave me some Vicodan for pain and told me to take it or I would have a hard time sleeping, so I did, but only that night. You have to be careful that the skin is cleaned well before accessing the ports, to avoid infection. You do have to get a regular IV catheter in for CT scans because ports are not able to handle the rapid injection of contrast. Although on occasion it can be hard to get blood from a port if the tip is resting against the wall of the blood vessel, usually all the blood draws can usually be done from the port as long as the nurse is experienced in accessing them. My oncologist was picky about who put my port in because it makes a good bit of difference when someone who is experienced does it. An interventional radiologist who specialized in vascular access did mine. Hope this helps a bit. Best wishes in making decisions. I hope things go well. Kris > Hi everyone > I would appreciate any feedback about the combination of xeloda and > oxaliplatin. My husband has stage 4 colon cancer - in the liver and > has been treated with 5fu leuc, camptosar and most recently xeloda > over the past almost 5 years. Now the two tumors in the liver are > growing in size and the xeloda is not working by itself, so the Dr. > wants to put him on the combination of xeloda and oxaliplatin. My > husband is getting pretty worn out from all of this ( he is 67) and is > considering discontinuing treatment and letting nature take its > course. But of course one never knows what the future holds. He > can't stand the iv's anymore he says--very painful. He absolutely > WILL NOT get a port, so part of his decision is based on this. Of > course the xeloda was pills and he got used to not having an iv. Now > he would have to go back to the iv. He has taken two weeks off to > think about what he wants to do. As we all know this chemo takes > its toll. But he will take the new drugs I think if he feels there is > some hope of shrinking the tumors and improving his quality of life > and also extending it. Has anyone had this combination of drugs and > has it shrunk the tumors? They say when it is given as the first > treatment it is more effective than a treatment given after several > others. But I have read that it is pretty effective. Would > appreciate any help with this decision while understanding that > everyone reacts differently. What about the side effects? > Thank you everyone, > Barb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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