Postby jmn » Fri Apr 05, 2019 3:09 pm
Glad to report that I started the last of eight cycles of Xeloda (6,000 MG of capecitabine daily). I can hardly wait to close out this chapter of my journey. Side effects include significant skin darkening, rashes and itching, some dehydration, fatigue, and elevated creatinine levels. My hair is also thinning, but I’m not sure whether that’s because of chemo or if it’s just another sign that I’m getting older. Thankfully, I haven’t had problems with diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. All in all, with a really good moisturizer, some tolerance for discomfort, and a positive spirit, it’s manageable—I work every day and do my best to maintain a pretty normal lifestyle.
At the outset, Dr. Leonard Saltz, my oncologist at MSK, explained that I would experience these kinds of side effects. He also said that African American generally experience hyperpigmentation while taking capecitabine, noting that skin darkening and other side effects will clear up after treatment. I am banking on that—I’ve gotten so much darker that my primary doctor thought I had been vacationing in the Caribbean when he saw me after I had been on the medication for a few months.
DX: CC, 7-9-18 @ age 61, male
Severe anemia (4.5 g/dl), 5-11-18; colonoscopy, 6-29-18
Lap-assisted right hemicolectomy, 7-16-18
G2, cecal adenocarcinoma, 4.2 x 3.7 x 0.7 cm
Stage IIB, pT4aN0 (first pathology DX: pT3N0)
0/24 lymph nodes, LVI present, PNI present, surgical margins clear, MSS
CEA: 3.0 (pre-op, 7-10-18); 0.7 (post-op, 8-8-18)
TX: Xeloda (capecitabine), 10-16-18 to 4-21-19
5 years of clear scans and colonoscopies
Released from MSK surveillance, 7-20-23 - NED