In my view, this is a very complicated topic and decision. I would certainly ask your oncologists (both medical and radiation) why they are using infusional 5FU instead of Xeloda/Capecitabine. I do not think it’s simply because you have a port—I did 4 rounds of neoadjuvant FOLFOX thru a port, then CRT with Xeloda/Capecitabine, then 4 more rounds of FOLFOX. In any case, this decision should not in my view be made on that basis—it should be a medical decision, not one of convenience. There are potential medical/outcome differences between the approaches. Here’s a useful comparison:
https://journals.lww.com/md-journal/Ful ... nt.23.aspxI wonder instead if your oncologists are using infusional chemo because you are Stage 4, or because of the nature and/or location of your metastasis. I’d also be interested in why you only did three rounds of neoadjuvant FOLFOX—perhaps that is relevant?
Additionally, I saw at least one study that suggested that *switching* from infusional 5-FU to Xeloda/Capecitabine carries increased risk of significant side effects, so that should also be discussed with your doctors. I’ll link in a separate post.
I will add that for me Capecitabine felt like a vacation in comparison to infusional 5-FU (with or without Oxaliplatin). Super easy to tolerate if taken correctly with basically zero side effects at the CRT dosage (I took extra weeks of it before and after CRT as well). I ended up with a “near complete clinical response.” And I found that cancer focuses the mind pretty well on remembering to take it. But see above re: “switching.”
So my bottom line is: Get informed and ask your team what their rationale is. Once you’ve got that info, you will be in a position to decide what to do.