The Colon Club

Hey all,

my mum is much better now after some bladder problems and infection. The appointment with the onc was delayed due to this and changes with the staff in the clinic. So her appointment is this Monday. What worries me is adjuvant chemo, I have read some literature that the effects of chemo after surgery when neoadjuvant therapy was applied is controversial. Idk what do you think?. I would also like to know about the standard gap between surgery and adjuvant therapy.

She's used to xeloda with few side effects, hope the doc will suggest only that as she suffers from hypertension. I read here most of you had 5fu and platinum, but also the effects seem to be severe (neuropathy).

Help please.

I think it is supposed to start within 12 weeks, ideally within 8.

My goal was to start chemotherapy within 4 weeks of surgery. Fortunately, everything healed properly, and I was able to do so. I think the general hope is within 8 weeks, but that varies from patient to patient. As in all cases, each patient is different.

I didn't start chemo for about 4 months after surgery because my APR wound wasn't healing. They never said anything to me about that affecting my prognosis, so I never worried about it. If there are any circulating cells, zap them when you can.

As far as the effectiveness of adjuvant chemo, the benefit is on a sliding scale according to (prechemo rad) stage. Yes, there is little benefit for a IIa, but there is a LOT of benefit for a IIIc. I had the same questions and the same reservations and my Onc very patiently pulled out the graphs and charts to show how much it helped in my case. He sold me. I suggest you make an appointment at the end of the day next time and break out your questions. They are a lot less frantic when you are the last patient of the day. It really helps to believe in it to get through it. Chemo sucks.

PainInTheAss wrote:I didn't start chemo for about 4 months after surgery because my APR wound wasn't healing. They never said anything to me about that affecting my prognosis, so I never worried about it. If there are any circulating cells, zap them when you can.

As far as the effectiveness of adjuvant chemo, the benefit is on a sliding scale according to (prechemo rad) stage. Yes, there is little benefit for a IIa, but there is a LOT of benefit for a IIIc. I had the same questions and the same reservations and my Onc very patiently pulled out the graphs and charts to show how much it helped in my case. He sold me. I suggest you make an appointment at the end of the day next time and break out your questions. They are a lot less frantic when you are the last patient of the day. It really helps to believe in it to get through it. Chemo sucks.

Thanks for your answer, it gives me hope. Today she saw the onc and she said the same: up to 8 weeks to start chemo and Xelox for 4 months will be adjuvant chemo for her. I read terrible things about this, believe that it will work indeed helps so just about to start chemo soon and me reading how to cope with xelox effects to help her.

Thanks for all the replies.

mtipte wrote:

PainInTheAss wrote:I didn't start chemo for about 4 months after surgery because my APR wound wasn't healing. They never said anything to me about that affecting my prognosis, so I never worried about it. If there are any circulating cells, zap them when you can.

As far as the effectiveness of adjuvant chemo, the benefit is on a sliding scale according to (prechemo rad) stage. Yes, there is little benefit for a IIa, but there is a LOT of benefit for a IIIc. I had the same questions and the same reservations and my Onc very patiently pulled out the graphs and charts to show how much it helped in my case. He sold me. I suggest you make an appointment at the end of the day next time and break out your questions. They are a lot less frantic when you are the last patient of the day. It really helps to believe in it to get through it. Chemo sucks.

Thanks for your answer, it gives me hope. Today she saw the onc and she said the same: up to 8 weeks to start chemo and Xelox for 4 months will be adjuvant chemo for her. I read terrible things about this, believe that it will work indeed helps so just about to start chemo soon and me reading how to cope with xelox effects to help her.

Thanks for all the replies.

There are a lot of great tips on this site, but you have to dig for them. A few things that stand out for me, Ativan can help with muscle related symptoms if she has any like leg cramps, blurry vision, muscle freezing, etc. The oxi changes the way food tastes temporarily, kind of like how brushing your teeth changes how orange juice tastes. I only wanted to eat mashed potatoes for two days after my infusion. Tomato based foods and dairy tasted terrible to me. Ketchup was disgusting. Bean burritos from Taco Bell tasted amazing, and I don't normally eat Taco Bell. Because of the cold sensitivity, hot and warm drinks were the best for me. I drank a lot of coffee and warm tea. I felt okay immediately after the infusion, but I would sleep for 24 hours two days after. My teenage daughter would say she lost me to the sleep monster. I never threw up, but I was just very tired. Each infusion made me even more tired so by the last one, I could barely get out of bed. It took a long, long time to recover, too, to somewhat like my old self. Years, actually. It's only worth it because it may have saved my life.