Xeloda dosing

[Siti]

Hi Rob,

I am really sorry to hear about your bad scan. I think you’re possibly one of the most well informed patient here so I’m not sure if my input would be any good but just sharing based on experience.

The doctors in Netherlands do not recommend high dose of any supplements. They believe that sometimes it can interfere with chemo / could put too much burden on your liver. My husband decided to follow their advice however takes D3, Coriolus versicolor & Curcuma based on the labels’ dose.

My husband switched from Capecitabine to TS-1 due to bad HFS. His HSF was bad even after dose reduction so his oncologist switched to Teysuno (TS-1).

For his feet — he uses Flexitol cream for skin repair (it’s the best, I saw the improvement myself!) and haemorrhoids cream when it’s painful. For neuropathy, acupuncture helps but lasts only a few days so it needs to be done frequently. At the moment he goes once every 2-3 weeks.

So far everything seems to be working well and we hope it will stay that way.

Siti

[zephyr]

I'm late to this party but wanted to add some comments that may be useful. I was on Xeloda/Avastin and stable for almost 18 months with no breaks outside of those prescribed. I had a few hand/foot flares but they were short-lived and I possibly could have largely avoided them by being more careful about not walking barefoot so much and not taking hot, hot showers. Like you and others, I avoided foods supplemented with folic acid, which was challenging because the practice is so prevalent in North America. I personally didn't worry about naturally occurring folates. I did IV-C every week. All those things helped but I think the most helpful difference was my dosing schedule: 5 days on and 2 days off, 52 weeks a year, with no other breaks outside of the weekends. There was a post here a few years ago about how Xeloda becomes more toxic at about day 8 but without any added efficacy so I was happy for the 5/2 schedule that didn't take me out to Day 8. The bolus was also removed from my protocol. I'm not a doctor or anything medical so I can't give offer that expertise or more technical information, just offering my experience as something you may want to consider asking your oncologist to consider if you're having regular side effects and having to take breaks.

[Rock_Robster]

Thanks Zephyr, that’s really helpful. I just had another temporary dose reduction (down to 3000mg/d for one cycle) and an extra 2 days’ break, so I’ll ask my onc whether a 5/2 schedule might be more sustainable.9

[DCook54]

I have been on Xeloda for about 17 months with no evidence of disease following my last VATS. I take 1500 mg twice a day for 7 days on and then 7 days off. I have had no issues with hfs. The main side effect I deal with is being so tired, especially with the chemo week tiredness continues into the off week. I have my next scans in February, and will continue on Xeloda as long as it is keeping me clear. My onc did give me the option of taking a break from it since there is NED but I am afraid to try bc I’ve already had wedge resections on my right lung once and my left lung twice, and I just believe I will have more Mets if I stop. I asked him about adding avastin, but he felt that it wasn’t needed because I am NED.

I agree about Flexitol for feet! I have extremely dry skin,and it really does work.