Postby weisssoccermom » Tue Jun 19, 2018 5:45 pm
When I was taking Xeloda, yes, it was EXPENSIVE but back then, there were no restrictions from the insurance companies. Nowadays, with a generic form of Xeloda, I don't think any insurance companies have an issue with this option. I have heard, however, than some insurance companies require the patient to purchase the generic form from their mail order pharmacy as opposed to your local pharmacy.
In the 11+ years that I have been on this board, what I've taken away is that the hand/foot syndrome is the only side effect that is worse for most people. That being said, some people just don't like taking pills, don't want to remember to take them, etc and for those people, infused 5FU is the best option. On the other hand, I'm also aware that most people who do like Xeloda really like the feeling of not being tethered to the pump (me....I HATED that) and not being so conspicuously sick. Somehow with Xeloda there is this mental/psychological aspect that you are taking back some control of your life as opposed to having all the control taken away from you.
Each person has his/her own opinion and no one is wrong. I couldn't make a determination regarding one over the other solely based on what I had read. In my case, I did do both and can speak, from my perspective, which option I would choose if I had to do it again.
Dx 6/22/2006 IIA rectal cancer
6 wks rad/Xeloda -finished 9/06
1st attempt transanal excision 11/06
11/17/06 XELOX 1 cycle
5 months Xeloda only Dec '06 - April '07
10+ blood clots, 1 DVT 1/07
transanal excision 4/20/07 path-NO CANCER CELLS!
NED now and forever!
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