heiders33 wrote:Interesting! Has anyone tried to do this with Xeloda, where you have to eat something with the pills?
Glad you asked this question my friend !!!
The short answer should be = " NO ! Do NOT try this at home

"
The reason :
Xeloda ( capecitabine ) is a pro-drug oral pill which is ingested, absorbed and metabolized into a number of ACTIVE chemotherapeutic forms by the liver AND at the site of the tumors. Eating at the prescribed time is ESSENTIAL to enhance absorption of Xeloda so this chain of events will occur properly. IF you don't eat as required, the absorption is not optimal and you are effectively defeating the purpose of using an oral medication and limiting the effectiveness of your chemo.
zephyr is on an I.V. infusion chemo regime ( Folfiri + Ramucirumab ) where the active drugs are delivered directly into the blood and effective immediately. Oral absorption is not relevant in this setting.
Fasting may help to control the nausea related side effects of some chemo protocols but it is debatable whether or not it actually enhances effectiveness of chemo.
For my reasons in stating this, please refer to my other 9,346 post on this forum where I have discussed at length my views on alternative / holistic / naturopathic options for cancer patients for the past 10 years, and why I chose strictly Western Medicine for my own situation.
YMMV
Best wishes
CRguy