If you could stop chemo for 2 months would you

[Austin131]

I have been living with stage 4 colon cancer for a little over two years now the last time i ended my chemotherapy they could not see any growths on my lymph nodes. but about three months later they found yet another mass it's was a small mass. So i have been doing a cycle of xeloda avastian and oxyplatin every three weeks and xeloda oral for two weeks on one week off. I Just did my 6th injection. And the ct scans show the mass has gotten smaller. My doctor would like to stop treatments for 2 months and do ct scans i would just like to know what you would do. Do i take this break for two months and see what happens. or do i keep fighting with chemo and then take a break. Not to brag but i have more energy than most despite my chemotherapy. So to be honest i feel fine when doing chemo i have just done some many injections and I'm used to it and fight through the side effects. So colon club what should I do.

[missjv]

hi,
well if you do fine with the chemo and it shows shrinkage i personally would stay on chemo if you feel good and your body can handle it. why stop when the tumor is still there? why not have more chemo and see if tumor disappears. from everything i have read as soon as chemo stops and there is cancer in your body it is going to grow again. so why take the chance? thats my opinion on your question. hope whatever you decide works out well for you.

missjv

[Joy]

Did you ask your oncologist why he wants to stop the Chemo? When I was doing the continuous radiation with 5FU my radiologist insisted that I take 2 weeks off at week number 25 of my 28 week regime. I was really angry and tried to argue with him that I was feeling fine and just get the darned thing over with. He said "father knows best"...I finally had to give in because "he owned the machine and the technicians"... turned out that I really did need a rest and I continued on and completed the 28 rounds.

I realize that your case is much more critical at stage IV but perhaps your oncologist does have a good reason for wanting to give you a chemo rest. If he can't give you a good reason then bug the heck out of him to stay on chemo!!!

My thoughts and prayers are with you

Hang in there.

Joyce
stage III 2 nodes involved NED October 2006

[Austin131]

My oncologist would like to stop chemo because he fears the side effects of the oxyplatin (not sure how to spell it) injections the side effects are sensitivity to cold as long as numbness in the hands and feet my oncologist believes that using oxplatin for to long will cause the side effects to last weeks or months if the levels of the drug get to high in my system. We could always use another form of chemo with the avastain that does not have the same side effects. it just seems to me that if i stop chemo so long as im strong enough to continue i will be doing myself more harm than good. because if we don't see shrinkage they are going to use a harder dose of chemo or maybe more radiation therapy

[Joy]

I've been suffering the side effects of oxiliplatin. I finished my chemo in October 2006 and at first I thought that I only had a little tingling in my hands and feet. By December I was almost unable to walk, my feet just didn't feel like they belonged to my body they were really numb. I took some really bad falls (felt like the village drunk ) and my hands ached so much I couldn't hold a pen or do up buttons.

June 2007 and I still have a sensation of pins and needles in my feet and my hands ache. Fortunately I found that wearing "Crocs" helped my walking...my hands still feel like a had case of arthritis.

I'm an oldie 61 so my age could have had something to do with the severity and continuation of the neuropathy.

Having said this I have no regrets at doing the most aggressive treatment available to me.

Joyce

[klryder02]

Austin-

Is the doctor giving you the option of taking a break...or is he saying that he "suggests" you take a break?

I think I would keep going. A month ago I would have answered differently, but I just had a CAT scan come back with really good results...and I am convinced it is due to the Oxali.

Good luck with your decision, and let us know what you decide.

[seussfan]

I can only speak for myself - I would fight on. I was so upset when I had to take a week off because my white count was too low. To me, any missed treatment scares me. I don't want to wake up one day and be told that something has gone worng and then wonder if it was that treatment I missed. This all has to do with my own psychological needs....certainly not based on anything medical - just my fears.

Talk to your doctors - get a second opinion. Go into it knowing you won't have any regrets.

[jennb]

I would keep on with the chemo and see if they can switch from Oxaliplatin to another drug.

I've been having reactions during my last 2 cycles to the Oxy and my onc said we will try extra Decadron and Benadryl. If that doesn't work, we have options with other drugs to replace the Oxy.

I agree with Seussfan and the psychological need to keep on with the cycles. I had emergency surgery and missed about a month of chemo treatments and it just ate at me.

Good luck! Jenn

[guest]

My husband is on round 3 of this colon cancer battle (3 pelvic masses), and started chemo (CPT11, 5fu, Avastin then CPT11, Xeloda, Avastin) in November. In April he had a PET/CT and had a good response - no hypermetobolic activity and 2 of the 3 masses could not be seen on CT.

His onc. put him on a 3 month break. The plan is 3 months on and 3 months off chemo regimen. The 3 month break will include CEA checks every 4 weeks (it's a good indicator for him) and CT scan at the 3 month mark. He even said if growth is not too much, he would give him another 3 month break (total 6 months). He then said no matter what that at 6 months, he would have to do another round of chemo.

His CEA is steadily rising (as expected) but the break has been very good for him. I was afraid he was getting to the point of saying "no more."

[Frank G]

One of the reasons they give you a break on the oxiliplatin is you build a tolerance to it. He may want to keep it as as a viable treatment for longer not to mention the build up of side effects.

I had six treatments ending in Feb. I took 3 treatments of just Avastin and Xeloda. My Petscan at the end of the 10 weeks showed no new tumors and no growth but a slight uptic in cell activity. I went back on a reduced dose of oxiliplatin 3 weeks ago and the side effects were greatly reduced.

All of these drugs reach a point they have killed everything they will. The great news is they can switch regimes as needed.I just had a adjunct treatment for my liver that "if succesfull" has the "potential" to give me several years of progression free growth in my liver.

[Austin131]

My onc suggest i take a break i believe this is because the side effects are to much when getting the oxyplatin it causes a lot of GI pain for me. The pain when going to the bathroom after a injection was almost unbearable feels something like i hot ember being put where the sun don't shine to put it gently. I got a proctoxzone cream that helps with those symptoms. But the pain was sever enough that the last injection we only used avastain. which seems to help those side effects. In closing I would like to thank everyone for your post and support I'm starting to think i will switch chemo drugs and just keep going (at least that's how I feel today) it's just such a hard decsion