Postby Soccermom2boys » Wed Jul 13, 2016 12:13 am
Big Jay--not that I wrote this thread, but had rectal cancer so I wanted to answer your question for you. You take the Xeloda pills only on the days you have radiation treatments which is typically Mon-Fri. You take them after food in the morning and then again after food in th evening. I believe this is a common procedure, but after my five full weeks (25 rounds) I then had a round that did not include any radiation, but they took images (totally same equipment and was about the same amount of time as a regular round) so that the last three rounds were honed in directly on the tumor itself, not just the general pelvic area. Since that day did not have any actual radiation I did not take the xeloda on that day either. Just a tidbit of information to keep in mind for when you meet with radiologist. Good luck at your appointment! Between chemoradiation, surgery, and chemotherapy treatments I found radiation to be the "easiest" to deal with and bounce back from. Also, the dosage for xeloda is based on your body surface area which they use your weight and height to calculate. I had 1300mg twice a day (4 pills: two 500 mg and two 150 mg) and my onc considered that a low dose. As a non pill taker, that was more pills than I have probably taken in at least the last ten years combined! LOL Good luck with your appointment tomorrow, it will help you mentally to know what the overall plan is for your treatments.
8/3/15 Went in with a hemorrhoid, came out with a tumor
8/12/15 Biopsy from colonoscopy confirms RC (45 yrs old--zero family history!)
9/21 - 10/29/15 chemorad 28 tx (with Xeloda)
12/17/15 APR with perm colostomy
Pathology report stages me as IIIA (T2N1M0)--1/15 LN detects cancer
2/3/16 chemo port inserted
2/8-6/2/16 8 rounds of Folfox