Tips on minimizing XELOX (CAPEOX) Side Effects
Posted: Wed Dec 27, 2017 2:05 pm
- Common side effects of XELOX (CAPEOX) are:
' Each of these effects happens in more than 1 in 10 people (10%). You might have one or more of them.
* Numbness or tingling in fingers and toes
* Increased risk of getting an infection
* Breathlessness and looking pale
* Bruising, bleeding gums or nosebleeds
* Tiredness and weakness (fatigue) during and after treatment
* Feeling or being sick
* Diarrhoea
* Mouth sores and ulcers
* Loss of appetite
* Soreness, redness and peeling on palms and soles of feet
* Constipation.
. - Occasional side effects
Each of these effects happens in more than 1 in 100 people (1%). You might have one or more of them.
* Hair loss
* Headaches and dizziness
* Watery or sore eyes
* Tummy (abdominal) pain
* High levels of bilirubin in your blood
* Kidney changes
* Difficulty swallowing or breathing
* Periods stopping
. - Rare side effects
Each of these effects happens in fewer than 1 in 100 people (1%). You might have one or more of them.
* Ringing in your ears (tinnitus)
* Heart problems
* An allergic reaction to oxaliplatin
- ⫸⫸⫸⫸⫸Tips for dealing with these and other XELOX (CAPEOX) side effects are given in the reference below. Scroll down to the section of interest to see the side effect of interest on the web page.
http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cancer-in-general/treatment/cancer-drugs/drugs/oxaliplatin-capecitabine/side-effects
Weekly side effects log (Use this for monitoring changes in side effects from one week to the next
_MON____TUE_____WED____THU____FRI_____SAT____SUN__
.AM PM..AM PM..AM PM..AM PM..AM PM..AM PM..AM PM.
|...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| * Numbness or tingling in fingers and toes
|...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| * Increased risk of getting an infection
|...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| * Breathlessness and looking pale
|...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| * Bruising, bleeding gums or nosebleeds
|...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| * Tiredness and weakness (fatigue) during and after treatment
|...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| * Feeling or being sick
|...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| * Diarrhoea
|...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| * Mouth sores and ulcers
|...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| * Loss of appetite
|...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| * Soreness, redness and peeling on palms and soles of feet
|...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| * Constipation
|...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| * Hair loss
|...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| * Headaches and dizziness
|...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| * Watery or sore eyes
|...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| * Tummy (abdominal) pain
|...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| * High levels of bilirubin in your blood
|...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| * Kidney changes
|...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| * Difficulty swallowing or breathing
|...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| * Periods stopping
|...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| * Ringing in your ears (tinnitus)
|...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| * Heart problems
|...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| |...|...| * An allergic reaction to oxaliplatin
.
Medications for each side effect - For each of the major expected side effects, you should have a plan for treating the side effect at three possible levels of intensity, for example:
1. Mild level - Home remedies or over-the-counter preparations
2. Moderate level - Mild prescription medications or over-the-counter preparations
3. Severe level - Strong prescription medications
It would help to have the options identified in advance at these three levels for each major type of side effect (and approved by your doctor), although it may not be necessary to purchase everthing in advance. Some products may be hard to find, so it may be wise to do some research in advance to determine where you are going to obtain the products in case you ever need them.
It is important to be pro-active and start treating the problems early, as soon as they start to appear. There is a reason for this: Under chemo/radiation therapy the immune system becomes somewhat compromised and a bit dysfunctional. It takes a bit longer for medications and treatments to take effect, so you need to start the treatments early, at the first sign of a problem. If you decide to wait until the problem becomes almost unbearable, then this might be a bit too late for your immune system to step in, catch up, and quickly solve the problem. In a way, there is no point in taking a 'macho' approach by trying to be a hero by toughing it out. Now is the time when your body needs tender loving care by giving it some form of treatment whenever something starts going wrong.
.
- Oxaliplatin - Treating peripheral neuropathy by naturopathy -
Re: Oxyplatin advice (post)
http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=50311&p=385241#p385241
Prevention and Management of Chemotherapy-Induced-Peripheral Neuropathy in Survivors of Adult Cancers: ASCO Clinical Practice Guideline
http://jco.ascopubs.org/content/32/18/1941.full.pdf+html
Complementary Therapies for Chemo-Neuropathy: An Integrative Oncologist's Bag of Tricks
http://www.integrativeoncology-essentials.com/2013/06/complementary-therapies-for-chemo-neuropathy/
° - Note: Oxaliplatin toxicity and oxaliplatin desensitization protocols -
Oxaliplatin desensitization questions
http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=35164#p246839
Allergic reaction to Oxi
http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=43093#p304849
Desensitization protocol for oxaliplatin
http://coloncancersupport.colonclub.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=57906&p=456018#p456018
Hypersensitivity Reactions to Oxaliplatin and the Application of a Desensitization Protocol
http://theoncologist.alphamedpress.org/content/9/5/546.full.pdf+html
° - Oxaliplatin - Slower infusion rate. Normally, the Cycle 1 infusion is run at a slower rate (like 3 hours instead of the normal 2 hour infusion). This is so that they can better monitor the patient for reactions during the first infusion. From Cycle 2 onward, however, they will probably try to set up the infusion at the normal rate (like 2 hours to deliver the same amount of chemo that was delivered over a 3-hour span in the Cycle 1 infusion). This might be too fast for you. It would be less stressful on your system if they continued with the slower infusion rate from Cycle 2 onward. The down-side to this is that your infusion sessions would be an hour or more longer than standard if you choose to go with the slower setting. This is something that you could discuss with your oncologist.
. - Oxaliplatin -Lower overall dose of oxaliplatin - I think the standard dose for oxaliplatin is 85mg/m2, but the fall-back dose for patients who cannot tolerate this level is 75mg/m2. It might be better for you over the long haul if you were given the lower dose instead of the standard dose. With the lower dose you would have almost all of the benefits of oxaliplatin, but would have the added possible benefit that you may be able to tolerate oxaliplatin for the treatment period as opposed to having to drop it completely halfway through. This is also something you could discuss with your oncologist.