Adjuvant chemo

Hi Davj ,

I had it and it wasn’t as bad as I thought, my worst side affect was fatigue.  Mine was t2n0, none the less it came back even after the chemo even though they got it all in the op.  For me it felt the right thing to do to give the best chance of a good life.  I’m still glad I did it even though it came back.  best wishes  cerysm

Hi, thanks for the advice, I’ll pass it on to my mum. Hope you’re ok now x

Hi Davj Sometimes the reputation of chemo is worse than the actual experience and it may not be as bad as she thinks especially if it’s only the capecitabine in tablet form? 
Things sound pretty good at the minute from the scans but if she was to have a reoccurrence would she be regretting not having chemo? My friend advised me to have everything I was offered thence I would know that I’d done everything possible and there would be no ‘if only’. At the end of the day she could give the chemo a try and if she really struggles with it then they can reduce the dosage or stop it all together?

Just my opinion but hope it helps?

Take care

Karen x

Hi I am currently half way through Capecitabine tablets at maximum dose as a mop up of 8 cycles. I was petrified of Chemo and the effect it has. The open surgery I could handle having had many operations on my stomach.  I am managing it very well yes I have fatigue but just pace myself. No nausea which was my biggest concern and only minor other side effects. My Oncologist said it was my decision to have the mop up treatment and they could reduce to dose if I struggled and I could stop the treatment at any time. If I stay like this I will see it through. Chemo does get a bad press but I am encouraged that it’s not that bad for me. Every body’s journey is different. I haven’t lost my hair. Got a bit of brain fog but laugh at this. Fatigue is my biggest side effect but I just go with the flow and do what I can when my energy levels are good I love my 7 day break every two weeks and plan activities and wine!!! I am retired which is a bonus. Hope this helps 

Hi Davj, I had a similar decision to make, you can see from mg profile, I had LCCRT, 4 cycles of CAPOX followed by surgery, pathology identified EMVI+, hence the oncology recommendation of a further 4 cycles of CAPOX to mop up; consultant suggested little evidence of the benefits. I’ve gone with the treatment, having already experienced the effects of CAPOX, as I don’t want regrets that I could have done more should it come back or spread. Hope my experience helps the decision making, we are all different with our own priorities so best of luck whichever route is chosen. 

Thanks for that, I hope your treatment is still going well. As I mentioned before, they have offered my mum IV treatment, as I should have mentioning in my post, she’s 82 and I just worry she will be strong enough to cope with it after the stress of the surgery

Thanks, it’s good to hear that, I think what they were offering her was IV so I don’t know if that’s less pleasant. I hope you continue to do well

Thanks, it does help, they talked about a possibility of EMVI prior to surgery but nothing was mentioned after they got the pathology. Chemo has been presented as a “totally your choice” option, not a recommendation, so it’s hard to know what to think. I hope you continue to get better

Similarly consultant did give me the choice, due to lack of evidence to support the benefits, he also suggested for the same reason the threshold to stop or reduce treatment was very low. Further, during my last infusion a 77 year old lady was sat next to me starting her first treatment of CAPOX which she appeared to handle well; hence don’t let age be a barrier. If the decision is to go ahead I would recommend the use of a heat pack, it appears to work for me; there is loads of information and advice on here with regard to CAPOX if required. All the best.