xeloda

[Kofipuppy]

I take 3000 a day and I weigh 135 lbs. My regime is 7 days on and 7 days off. However I started with 3500 and that really affected my hands and they lowered my dosage.

I am still having challenges with my hands but it’s not bad. They get extremely dry and crack, so I try to keep them moisturized and sometimes are a little sore.

My scans show the medicine is working. Two lesions in my liver are starting to shrink and everything is stable.

[Fiercefighter13]

Well done for you!! That is awesome!! I have been on Xeloda for 15 months, works like a charm, none of the newer targeted treatments worked well for me (lobular). Xeloda does build up......not so much the toxic effects of the drug itself since it has an extremely short half life, but the damage it does to tissues never completely heals between off cycles, so that is where the caveat really lays. I'm on a short break from it. I am on a much much lower dose after lowering my dose a couple of times over the 15 months and it is still kicking my cancer's booty all out. I'm on one week on one week off. I weight 158 pounds (5'5") and will be starting back at 1000 a.m. and 1000 p.m. but am honestly almost willing to go to 500 a.m. 1000 p.m. I never got any of the usual side effect from it at all!! BUT I got the 1% side effect of pain, bone pain, muscle pain, deep foot pain.....pain so bad oxy couldn't touch it.....hence the few week break and then back to it at yet again a lower does. My markers have gone from almost 600 (for 4 years) to normal now for almost 15 months on Xeloda. It's a good drug!! Just keep in mind to be very mindful of building side effects and damage to know when to lower or take a break so as not to push you into chemo hell (I just kept going pushing forward as if I was unbreakable......wrong!). Best wishes on your journey!! Take care!!

[Bettybuckets in reply to Fiercefighter13]

We are so similar… 15 m… same dose reductions to the same current dose… same ht and weight too! But I don’t have pain like you describe- except for the pain from HFS in my feet and not being able to walk far. But it isn’t pain but feels like my feet are blistering… hands are not bothered. I also had a long history with markers up around 550… now down but never to normal range. Still I feel better in the drug.

[Onie54 in reply to Bettybuckets]

Has anyone tried Voltaren gel for their hands and feet? I haven’t switched yet to xeloda but my oncologist mentioned that this anti-inflammatory gel helps with hfs.

In Canada it’s available over the counter.

[Onie54]

Has anyone tried Voltaren gel for their hands and feet? I haven’t switched yet to xeloda but my oncologist mentioned that this anti-inflammatory gel helps with hfs.

In Canada it’s available over the counter.

[Bettybuckets in reply to Onie54]

I think it is best if you start using it before you have HFS like they did in the clinical trial. I haven’t tried it as my HFS makes my feet red and sore and the voltsren gel contains alcohol which is prob fine for skin without HFS.. let us know how you go on it.