Side effects of Capecitabine and Oxaliplatin (Capox)

She had six cycles one year that opened up surgery but she was also going to be having a break anyway as she had good shrinkage . Her oncologist at the time ( 2009) could keep her on the same chemo combination if she had a full six months between treatments which she achieved . She then had more surgery with no post op chemo as he was a big believer in only treating visible disease and wanted to stockpile . A recurrence a few years later was treated with just surgery again .

Moving forward to 2023 a lung recurrence has moved her back into treatments but just using a single biological agent which again is going well . She has infusions every two weeks . Her veins are a bit messed up with all the treatment and over 50 scans so now it’s more a case of finding a vein . But she gets there with lots of resilience and determination. She has only used a cannula throughout . 

Watching treatment evolve has been so encouraging .

Court 

Should also say I am not sure what the rules are now . They change a lot but Nice do have guidelines for practice if you are interested . A quick google search should find it . I need to do it soon . We are in Scotland and the treatment my mum is using you could only have a six week break and lost funding . That’s changed in England but I don’t know for Scotland .

Chemo is different but I am out of touch with the breaks now .

Court 

I found that keeping a diary of any side effects made it easier to remember what happened day to day so that I could report back when I saw the chemo team.I did have the oxy put in over a longer period after the second session which helped loads(especially with the throat spasms)

There is always lots of help available for any side effects so never be afraid of nentioning them.do read my bio to see how I got on

Kath

Thanks for all the extra info. All the best to you and your Mum.

JSM

Hi Kath. Thanks for your input. On the first day of chemo, I made out a schedule for the following 14 days listing the IV and meds I have to take each day. I tick them off as I go to make sure I don't miss any or take too many. I now use the spaces between doses to record side effects as they occur, so it doubles as a diary of sorts. You're right, it makes it a lot easier to remember.....or, in my case, it makes it possible to remember at all!!

All the best. JSM

Hi, I have just finished my 4 cycles.  I had the usual tingling hands and feet and a throat spasm on the first infusion.  Timings of infusion were tweeted after that.  Got bleeding gums and various degrees of tiredness.  Now that I have finished I have low potassium, magnesium and platelets which puts me at greater risk of infection.  I am being monitored for bloods but I have been a bit rebellious and taken a week off to come and see family.  Consultant would rather I hadn't gone but it is my mum's 88th birthday and I don't know when I would get down next so took the chance. 

Good luck on your chemo and hope all goes well.

Hi JSM I have been wrestling with myself over how honest to be about my 2nd cycle yesterday. I figured that it would be dishonest and not very helpful to sugarcoat my experience. Do remember that we are all different, and will not all get worse with each cycle! Another lady had told me that she went downhill from the second cycle onwards, so I was a little bit prepared. The infusion had been going for an hour out of the two I was having, when the numbness in my arm started, so I asked for a heat pad. That was okay. The about half an hour later I experienced the throat spasms. Quite mild, so I alerted the nurse and got a heat pad and some warm water. I thought, well this is good I’ll be going home in about 45 minutes. Unfortunately, after they did the flushing thing I tried to stand up to pack my bag, and I couldn’t feel my feet properly. I alerted the nurse and said I was happy to stay sat down for as long as necessary. About 15 minutes later I risked going to the loo which was perfectly okay. I was very slow so as not to fall over! When I felt steady enough one of the other nurses escorted me back to reception where my lift was waiting. I then felt well enough to do my little strictly dance! I did lose my voice off and on during the journey home. I stiffened up and walked from the car to the house like a rusty robot. I had quite a lot of face and hand cramps, and later in the evening my calves joined in. I slept propped up with a soft scarf around my neck just in case. Fast forward to today and I’ve not had any of the mobility issues and managed to walk my dogs for an hour! Still feel a bit groggy, so am having a day of sitting, snoozing and rubbish tv. I hope I haven’t terrified you or anyone else, especially you tufty if you read this. I’ll keep an eye on here to see how you’re all doing.

Will let you know how it goes. Glad you’re getting back to some normality 

Thank you so much. Hope all goes well with you too

Thanks for your honesty, I appreciate it. I'm aware of how bad some side effects can be so please don't worry about terrifying me! We are all different and our individual reactions reflect this. However, I prefer to be forewarned of the possibilities - so, again, thank you for your honesty.