Anyone on Xeloda??

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Paisleyskies
Paisleyskies Member Posts: 24
edited December 2016 in Stage III Breast Cancer

Hi Everyone. I am a 34 year old female. I was diagnosed in February of this year with Stage 3 IDC. One tumor HER2+ and the other bigger one triple negative. I did the whole 4- AC/-12 Taxol thing, Herceptin/Perjeta, double mastectomy, axillary lymph node removal, I just finished whole breast radiation, and now I am about to start a 6 month regimen of the oral chemo, Xeloda. They are really throwing the book at me.

Does anyone have any experience with this chemo or any tips/advice? I work full time and I have a 2 year old so I appreciate any advice that can help me to feel ok and keep my normal routine. Thank you in advance and Happy Holidays!

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  • sbelizabeth
    sbelizabeth Member Posts: 2,889
    edited December 2016

    Paisleyskies, I took Xeloda and Navelbine towards the end of rads, and for a time afterward. It's not commonly used for us Stage 3 people, but based on recent research, I would guess that might change soon. My onc is very forward-thinking and I pushed for it.

    The only lousy side effect I noticed was that several toes developed painless blistering and lost a lot of skin. The skin grew back without any problems.

    The drug is very expensive and my insurance covered a portion of it. BUT when I received my first bottle, I read the manufacturer's information carefully--they provided information for obtaining the medication at a very low cost, even if you are not financially strapped. I think I paid $20 out-of-pocket for each month's supply.

    There's a long thread on the Stage 4 boards where you can read more about others' experiences with Xeloda. Best of luck!

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  • Paisleyskies
    Paisleyskies Member Posts: 24
    edited December 2016

    sbelizabeth, thanks so much for your reply. It is good to know that someone else took Xeloda with a Stage 3 diagnosis. You are right, my oncologist is prescribing it based on the results of the CREATE-X study. They feel it can really increase my overall survival being that I am triple negative and did not have a PCR from the neoadjuvant chemotherapy. I am not going to argue with that. Thanks again for the reply and I will read through the Stage 4 board.

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