anthony1 wrote:my 27yr old wife was 13 weeks pregnant with our foruth child when they found a tumor the size of a plum in her lower intestine. it was classfied mildly differentiated, and since 1 out of 26 lymph nodes tested positive, its classified as stage 3. however it successfully removed it with no issues for her or the baby. follow up CT scans and bloodwork indicate no signs of cancer are present. chemo was postponed until after chemo due to the lack of research on the ffects of 5FU and oxilioplatin on developing fetus. baby Emily was induced 5 weeks early weighing in at 7 lbs!
we are having a difficult time having faith, being encouraged and knowing what the right thing to do is. my wife had an allergic reaction to the first chemo infusion(oxilioplatin). so the next option was for her to take the chemo pills. well kel (my wife) just so happened to bring emily and our other daughter claire with her to her last dr appt and that reminded the doctor to inform her that he was reading up in the chemo pill and that one issue with it is that the chemo would seep theough the pores of her skin, primarily on the hands and feet. she would have to avoid all skin contact, wear gloves with the kids and prepping meals etc. its like howare we supposed to do this?
this chemo is supposed to be preventative. her 5 year survival rate without chemo is 80%, 90-92% with chemo. and recent scans and blood work have come back clean, no indications of cancer. so we are left playing russian roullette trying todecide if its worth putting our family through this torment. kel is the primary caregiver. the kids need her healthy and so do i. shes torn up about it. flip flopping back and forth. the other options are no better, sit once a week for 6 months for 5hrs at a time? we can barely get baby sitters to get put alone for a few hours, let alone during the work day. its just insane. like we have to choose, do we have faith to do chemo or faith to not do chemo? and paradoxically, chemo can increase your risk of cancer! i keep thinking shouldnt we want to keep her immune system strong? what if she gets the flu or pneumonia while getting chemo? she could die from that just as well. i hate this and i just want it to go away. im not able to know what to do.
anthony1 wrote: that reminded the doctor to inform her that he was reading up in the chemo pill and that one issue with it is that the chemo would seep theough the pores of her skin, primarily on the hands and feet. she would have to avoid all skin contact, wear gloves with the kids and prepping meals etc. its like howare we supposed to do this?
weisssoccermom wrote:I've never heard anything about the Xeloda causing issues with it 'seeping' out of the pores. Yes, there are some risks involved with ANY chemo.....personally, with children, I would much rather be doing the pills as opposed to the pump. I'm not going to say that there aren't very miniscule risks but I would wonder if the doctor is trying to advice you to do the pump instead of the pills and, perhaps (???) using some scare tactics to accomplish that??? I'm not trying to be cynical but it is not uncommon for the oncs to try to dissuade patients away from Xeloda and instead switch them to the infused 5FU. Certainly the pump and the tubing has WAY more issues for children than the pills and yes, you would have to make certain, just like with other drugs, that you keep the Xeloda away from the little ones.
I took Xeloda for the 6 weeks during chemoradiation and for another 5.5 months afterwards. There was never any issue about me making meals, folding the laundry, feeding my furbabies or in any way touching or being around my family members. Personally, I think it is ridiculous to tell a patient that you would have to glove up, etc. and not touch your children or make meals, etc. Of course there are precautions to take but I've NEVER heard of anyone being told that they couldn't touch their children or make meals, etc.
Do the Xeloda - please don't avoid the chemo over some 'theory'. If you are really worried, press the doctor for the article and read it yourself.
Let's suppose that there truly is a risk of the Xeloda affecting people around you. Is that risk smaller than the risk of a recurrence? Just saying.
Jaynee
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