The Colon Club

I’m new to this forum. I am also newly Dx with Stage III Colon Cancer. I had the tumor removed from my sigmoid colon April 16th. I will be going in on 5-11 to have my port placed. I will start Folflox on 5-16-18. I am very nervous about the chemo and side effects. Can anyone relate on how to ease my mind and let me know how y’all did with your first treatments?

Hi....and welcome. I am glad that you had a successful surgery and are able to begin chemo so soon afterward. As you can see below, I was on the 12 rounds of FOLFOX. To this point, four years later, it has been a success. Everyone who takes FOLFOX will usually have some differing side effects. But generally, you should prepare yourself for cold sensitivity, maybe some nausea, a decrease in appetite, some neuropathy and feeling more and more tired as you have more rounds of treatment. For the most part, I was able to continue my two-mile walks each day (even with the pump), especially during the first 6-7 rounds. Then maybe 4-5 times a week the last 5-6 rounds. I recommend you staying active as best you can. Food will begin to taste like crap. I described it as mud-covered styrofoam. But you can get through it ! Stay positive, and don't get too ahead of yourself. Just take each treatment as it comes, and you will do fine. There any many others here who also had FOLFOX. If you have any questions, just let us know, and someone is almost always here with an answer or explanation that will help. Andre

Hello Melissa,

My son had a colon resection for Stage IIIA sigmoid colon cancer in January, got a port placed and began FOLFOX Feb. 26. He has not had neuropathy but cold intolerance to food/drink, nausea, a few episodes of vomiting, fatigue. He also had some minor oral sores and an odd feeling in his throat. All side effects the oncologist has said are normal and to be expected. She also told him the effects are cumulative. All pretty crappy but he has a good attitude. His week off chemo is a lot better than the week on. He goes to work every day, and does a 4-mile walk most days.

I hope this helps, and I wish you the very best!

I can’t speak to the Folfox just to oxalaplatin. The side effects start really quickly. The first round I think I was stoned from the steroids, subsequent treatments not so much. The cold intolerance can’t be minimized, its bad, even the wind set me off. I have oven mitts for kitchen and got garden gloves to use for cooking. It does get better between infusions and one week out I can handle metal utensils.
Take care, share if comfortable and ask questions.

You've had the port installed and it can be sore for a few days and sometimes a nuisance. There are some activities that I'm reluctant to do because of it.

The side-effects can be difficult though this may not be a bad time to start as you will miss the coldest temperatures of winter if you're in the United States. You should have had (or will have) a teaching session where they will go over a lot of things related to chemo including the side-effects though they may not seem real to you during the training session as they cover a lot of material. It can help to have someone drive you for the first round, and to bring some warm clothes with a lot of coverage, even if the temperatures are moderate.

I generally worked from home after my first couple of infusions because I was quite tired after them so fatigue may be a factor if you plan to work through the chemo (some go on short-term disability).