All about Xeloda

New side effect, very painful labia when I urinate. Just tried olive oil but no immediate effect. Any tips? Very sick last 36 hrs, skipping last 3 doses.

chatter - Not aware of this being common SE. I think you should check it out with your medical team as may be a UTI. I had one a few weeks ago.

I ended up talking to doctor in middle of night. He figured a UTI. I'm too sick to go do a urine test. Drank more water and less painful today. Feel like I want to die. Can't eat, diarrhea, empty vomiting, hands/feet hurt, mouth hurts, vagina hurts. Two days off XelOda. Hoping things ease soon. Not sure I can get through another round of this.

I stopped Xeloda and Tykerb 10 days ago, due to severe side effects, and slight progression.

However, I feel somewhat better, I am not feeling like I thought I would.

I have at least 10 splits on each foot, I used udder cream every day, appetite is still almost nonexistent, I lost 27 lbs, constipated, heart burn, abdominal pain which is worse at night. Shortness of breath, and horribly dry skin, the rash has cleared up, dry mouth, fatigue and I take at least a 2 hour nap every day.



I meet with the onc next week, to figure what to try next, I had great results with TCH and the side effects were more tolerable.

Any suggestions or advice will be appreciated on how to handle the SE's from Xeloda and Tykerb, especially any idea of how long it takes to leave your system, I am drinking a ton of liquids.



Thanks,

Marsha

Congrats chick!!!

Hi Claudine,



Thanks for asking the question. I have been toying with the idea of hot yoga too.



How are you feeling? How are your energy levels?

Hi all,



I am not Stage IV and am just popping in as I AM a clinical trial coordinator who gives advice to hospitals on what their patients on drugs that cause PPE (hand/foot) should be doing to minimise or prevent the condition. I thought these might be helpful for you guys...



1. Before starting treatment we recommend a pedicure to get rid of dry skin and cuticles. This is because PPE has been shown to be worse in areas of dry and calloused skin. GET RID of as much of these areas as you can!



2. Moisturise, moisturise, moisturise - it helps to soften hardened areas - enough said?



3. Wear soft cotton gloves when doing anything manual. Do this BEFORE thecondition sets in.



4. Avoid anything that means soaking your hands in water. Dishwashing, clothes washing should be avoided.



5. Avoid extremes of temperature (cold/hot). This can be difficult for those living in extreme temp areas I know :-/



Hope this helps. Thoughts with you all having to deal with these SEs...



Jenn

Claudine - I don't think there's anything wrong with doing yoga at all. Just maybe wear those lovely soft yoga footlets/shoes? You might also want to be mindful of maintaining cleanliness at whatever centre you use. Maybe wait and have a shower at home rather than use the shared showers...



I don't think that hot yoga would be very advisable since that would be going to a temperature extreme and would encourage more sweating, and therefore potentially more chemo leakage in the hands and feet.



Popping back out now :-)



Jenn

chatter - Hope you're feeling better and have ABs to sort out the infection.

Marsha - I had to have an extra 2 weeks off Xeloda after round 6 and felt much better by the time I started cycle 7.

Chickadee - great news on the scans. I find moisturisers tend to just sit on the skin for a few minutes (getting lots of smudges on anything I touch) and then disappear as if I hadn't used anything at all.

Claudine - I'm sure yoga would be fine and your onc would probably encourage you to be active.

Jenn - thanks for the tips. Just need to find someone to do my dishes for me now.

Liz - the fatigue can be a real drag but rest when you feel you need to.

I think I'll probably be changing treatment plans soon as noticed a bit of progression in my skin mets. Onc on holiday until Monday but SBCN going to speak to her about bringing forward my next appt, since not due to see her until 21 January.

Well, saw my onc today.  She said she could feel my lump more than in the past and while she didn't say she wanted to see me in three weeks rather my standard six, she did say she "wanted to keep an eye" on the lump.  She didn't move my scans forward - I'm due in February anyway - but "keeping an eye" freaked me out.  I love being an X diva!!!

Hang in there Dormouse. My onc scared me in Oct when the blood test showed lots of bad numbers. She started discussing the next step if Novembers number continued.



Thank heavens they didn't.



I hope the same for you. An anomaly that goes away.

Hang in there dormouse.....it's such a freakin' ride.  ::Shaking head::

My bloodwork jumped 400 points yesterday....Onc isn't panic stricken, but said if number in 3 weeks aren't lower, he wants to scan right away.  So, back to 3 weeks with the "pit in the stomach"  Chick your post made me feel some better....

Hugs to all

Robin

Dormouse - hope the lump is not getting bigger. I'm sure your onc would see you a bit sooner if she was really worried or would change your treatment.

Robin - hope your TMs go back down. They can be unreliable but sounds like your onc is on the ball with the scans if not.

Saskie - good luck with TMs. Hope the extra week off helps you.

I've managed to bring my next onc appt forward to Friday, so will see if treatment plan is changing then.

Mandy - my eyes are OK on Xeloda but had problems on FEC-T and my chemo unit gave my eyedrops. I think they were called hypermellose.

Thank you Gail and Frapp, the local breast nurse is coming around today to introduce herself, so I might check with her. Frapp, I hope you are right with se going away after the third round. I have had 2 different lots of se and wondering what se I will get this time. Xeloda is starting to work after being on AI since May last year and my tumor markers kept going up every month. Then in November last year, I was hospitalised with Pleural effustion and tests revealed that the mets had spread not only to my bones (since May 2012) but also lungs, liver and brain. I was so relieved to see the onc last Tuesday and being told tumor markers have started to finally drop!!!! I will put up with any se, but if they happen to go away next time - wahoo!!! Meanwhile, water is just streaming from my face whilst typing this... lol...

Cheers

Mandy