8 cycles of Xeloda- your experience

[Lydia666]

I am in the middle of my 3 rd cycle of Xeloda and my main symptom is the hand - foot syndrome but i feel like it's affecting my skin overall. It's darker and has some spots. When i did it short term with the radiation, my hands/ feet became normal after one month, but now i am doing it long term so i was wondering what was your experience? Did your skin come back to normal eventually?

[BrownBagger]

It comes and goes for me, like every other chemo symptom. It's worse in the winter because of the dry air.

I keep my feet happy by applying Bag Balm daily on my feet (before I put my socks on in the morning). Hands are a bit trickier, since I make my living with a keyboard and Bag Balm is pretty greasy. At night and on long drives, I put the Balm on under examination gloves that I swipe from my doctors or buy at the grocery store. Swiping them is cheaper. Other stuff might work, but the Bag Balm is cheap and it really works for me.

I'm glad I don't make a living playing guitar, or I wouldn't be able to make a living.

[Bob_Weiss]

My adjuvant chemo was Xeloda only, as described below. I had hand-foot syndrome which was not too bothersome, although it briefly became more severe during my final two rounds. A week after my chemo was completed the symptoms had disappeared, except that my left foot now has darker and drier skin than prior to treatment. Fortunately, no lingering pain or reduced function in the foot.

[teachpdx]

I had HFS that lasted for three years, but I'm the exception to the rule. My fingers and toes DO get colder much easier than before and when I run and my face gets red - all of it does except the tip of my nose and around my lips - which is white. Quite a look. I try not to have to be anywhere after I've run. Everyone is different so there is no one size fits all which the doctors seem to not quite get sometimes. Best of luck. Kristi

[CRguy]

I had Xeloda twice :
neoadjuvant chemoradiation (lower dose)
adjuvant chemo (higher dose)

Had 1 dose reduction with adjuvant and had a temp ileo, so the "bag" took the hit for any GIT stuff

Have had NO lingering problems from HFS except the "fingerprint" thing ... where the actual topography of my findgertips are less prominent and robust and I am embracing my new career as a safecracker
BUTT it makes it harder to "snap" open the clear plastic veggie bags at the grocery store .... seriously !

My only lingering neuropathy / hot-cold / tingling issues are a gift from FOLFOX

Bag Balm and soft socks / "sleeping" gloves were the order of the day when I was on Xeloda and I was back to normal in a few weeks after quitting !

HTH

Cheers and best wishes
CRguy

[cathy123]

I only did 5 rounds (plus the 25 radiation days), but my hands and feet bounced back quickly once I quit. I didn't have that much discoloration, but my feet were very sore if I walked much while on the pills.

[elise]

I finished xeloda with some neuropathy that never left. Otherwise my skin did go back to normal.

My biggest skin saviour was drinking TONS of water every day (3-4L/day).

Good luck, xeloda was nasty for hands and feet but overall I had good QOL on it.

Elise

[Lydia666]

I finished xeloda with some neuropathy that never left. Otherwise my skin did go back to normal.

My biggest skin saviour was drinking TONS of water every day (3-4L/day).

Good luck, xeloda was nasty for hands and feet but overall I had good QOL on it.

Elise

Elise, thank you for your reply. Interesting that you had a recurrence after 8 rounds of xeloda- did you have vascular invasion? I am glad you are doing well now.

[Lydia666]

Thank you everyone for your answer. I hope things will go back to normal when i stop. Now my feet hurt

[elise]

I finished xeloda with some neuropathy that never left. Otherwise my skin did go back to normal.

My biggest skin saviour was drinking TONS of water every day (3-4L/day).

Good luck, xeloda was nasty for hands and feet but overall I had good QOL on it.

Elise

Elise, thank you for your reply. Interesting that you had a recurrence after 8 rounds of xeloda- did you have vascular invasion? I am glad you are doing well now.

Who knows why I reoccured (especially to metastatic). There is a small possibility it was there all along. My surgeon was shocked. I was lucky to be resectable But we all know that the reoccurrence rate of mCRC is really high. So I'm enjoying day by day, knowing there are no promises.

[juliej]

Have had NO lingering problems from HFS except the "fingerprint" thing ... where the actual topography of my findgertips are less prominent and robust and I am embracing my new career as a safecracker
BUTT it makes it harder to "snap" open the clear plastic veggie bags at the grocery store .... seriously !

You have that too?! My fingerprints actually disappeared for a few years. Now they are very faint, which means I'm missing the "grippies" when I try to hold slippery things. (Don't go there, CRguy!)

You're right: we could be safecrackers though!

[CRguy]

....... which means I'm missing the "grippies" when I try to hold slippery things. (Don't go there, CRguy!)

...MOI ?????
heaven forbid I should EVER do double entendres and stuff ...
on a COMPLETELY designed for CRguy rebuttle post here ....

OK homies ... BUTT just 'cos it's YOU....juliej !!!!!

seriously ... I gots a million really great lines
comebacks 'R Us and stuff ...
PLEASE just ONE oneliner ?????


Your secret is SAFE with me.

Cheers and Harmony
CR

[Vol]

I'm start my 8th and last cycle of Xeloda on Monday (2000mg - twice a day). All in all, I've tolerated it well. I have some hand and foot syndrome, but it is manageable.

Sorry that I stopped coming here, but I felt guilty that I was 2A - like I didn't deserve to be here with so many warriors fighting more serious battles. I have worked hard at staying busy with my job and family, determined not to let cancer take any more of my life than absolutely required. My surgeon ran a CEA Monday, which was 1.3. I'm hopeful to join the NED crowd in March. ...but as a friend of mine with rectal cancer pointed out, "This is club you never leave". Scan anxiety is starting and my scan isn't for two months.

Back to the point, Xeloda hasn't been too bad for me. I did 4 cycles of Oxaliplaten too - which put me in the hospital once and I hated (I'm sure there are many here that dealt with worse). Good Luck!

[BrownBagger]

Now they are very faint,

So much for the fancy iPhone log-in.

[juliej]

So much for the fancy iPhone log-in.

You're right. I have to use the standard passcode method.

I sat next to a CSI-type forensic guy on a flight to NYC and he said there's a product that will enhance fingerprints in dead bodies so they can identify someone who's been dead awhile. I have no idea what's in it, but I thought about using it to enhance my prints and then creating a latex model to use for iPhones, access to security doors, etc. Might make me feel like a super-spy!