Chemotherapy decision

Hi  and congratulations on being cancer free - you sound to have recovered well from the op. Was the term that was used vascular invasion which means that there has cancer cells detected in the blood vessels? 

Firstly I think you need to discuss the chemo with the oncologist and confirm what percentage difference it would make to the possibility of a reoccurrence. Also what chemo they are suggesting - capecitabine in tablet form has a lot less side effects than when it’s used with oxaliplatin which is given intravenously. 

Everyone reacts differently to chemo so there’s no guarantee as to how it will affect you personally.

Will you feel sick? Possibly - it’s a well known side effect but you will be given antisickness tablets and if they dont work then there are lots of different ones to try.

Will you lose your hair? No, not on capecitabine and/or oxaliplatin

Feelings in hands and feet/balance. During oxaliplatin you will probably experience a reaction when touching cold things although this wears off a bit over the days following each iv. Remember to wear gloves when getting things out of the fridge and have drinks at room temperature and above. It can cause peripheral neuropathy which is pins and needles in the hands and feet which can continue after stopping - it’s important to mention things like this to the nurses as they may lower the doseage or stop the treatment altogether. A lesser form of this is Palmar Plantar or hand and foot syndrome and it’s important to moisturise the hands and feet throughout treatment. I soldiered on without telling the nurses and my feet are still quite numb (feels like they are sunburnt) and that’s 2 years after my chemo finished. Having said that it does not affect my balance and is just annoying really.

How long does it go on for? Most of the side effects will diminish once your treatment finishes but the peripheral neuropathy can be long lasting.

Its a tricky decision but one that you personally have to be happy with. My friend advised me to throw everything I was offered at it which I did and I carried on working part-time in an office throughout. The cancer is gone and this is the belt and braces. If you decide to have the chemo then you can stop at any time if you’re struggling with the side effects. If you don’t have the chemo and do have a reoccurrence then would you still be happy with the decision that you made and have no regrets?

Have a chat to the oncologist and see what chemo they are suggesting and how long for and you can always come back on here and ask for more specific experiences then.

Let us know how your meeting goes

Take care

Karen x

Thank you so much Karen that all sounds quite positive.  I  think that do far I have gone through all this not really thinking that its happening to me!  It has been really helpful and although I accept we are all different and may react in different ways you have certainly helped to take some of the panic and fear away. It means a lot that you have taken the time to answer my concerns so clearly. Thank you again x will let you know what I decide after the meeting on Wednesday pm. X

Hi

I would second everything that Karen has said. I had three months of the chemo that Karen talks about, it is not nice, you get very tired and at the time it drags on forever but once it is over you have the rest of your life to live. My five year survival improvement went from 65% to 70% with the addition of chemo. Yours may be very different. I went for it because I felt that I owed it to myself and my family to try everything in my power to prevent it from coming back. I knew I could not live with "if only" if it did come back, I would always be left wondering if it would have made a difference. I have no regrets with my choice.

Having said that I don't have a job so I could take 3 months off, even if you don't take it they routinely monitor you every three months so hopefully if it does come back they get it early and there is probably a good chance that it won't come back. Good luck with your choice, it has to be something that you are happy with.

Nicky

Thank you Nicky I will certainly be weighing up all the options but it has been good to know that you are in agreement with Karen as well . I  am very grateful for the open sound responses. 

Just to let you know that I have decided to go for 3 rounds of Chemo thanks for all your help x

Good on you . It’s such an individual decision but it can always be stopped at any time .

Thanks for letting us know and I hope it all goes well for you with the chemo .

Take care ,

Court 

I have only just found this thread and hoped you were not going to finish by saying you decided against chemo! I am almost a year past it, in remission, and feeling great.

It was not fun and I had a bad reaction but I would do it all again.

Do come back on asking the community for feedback for the inevitable 'is this normal' questions after you get into chemo.  I am sure your onco will give you lots of good advice though.

It can knock the stuffing out of you and I got so fed up with well-wishers telling me to fight. Like a boxer who has done 14 rounds and the crowd are shouting for him to get up, when he has no fight in him!! To continue the analogy, roll with the punches is my advice!

For what it's worth, when I didn't fancy eating but needed to maintain strength, I made my own simple chicken broth. About all I looked forward to but I know others had better diet experiences.  

Keep telling yourself it will be worth it in the end. It's a journey, not a destination, right?

Best wishes,

Steve

Hi Steve

I came very close to saying no! The extra 5% hardly seemed worth putting myself through chemo when I feel so well and the op has barely affected me at all. But then I thought that I would kick myself if I didnt take the chance to increase the odds of cancer not returning by even the smallest of margins.  As a yoga teacher I am used to listening to my body and letting it dictate what I need to do to feel at my best and I am pretty sure there will be times that it will tell me to give in and roll with the punches so I shall!  Perfectly understand where you are coming from with the "battling " speeches nothing more annoying! 

Thank you for your support I will certainly update on how I get on and I am sure that there will be more questions. 

Sounds like I've been in a similar journey to you. Was in total denial till my Op. in May this year. I had a left Hemicolectomy, many Lymph Glands removed - none cancerous, but some evidence of EMVI (Extra Mural veinous invasion.) Stage 2 apparently. I saw my Oncologist a month after my Op....& she was adamant that I did not need Chemo. She gave me the stats. 85% for 5 yrs. Chemo, plus 2% She also told me some of the awful repercussions from having Chemo; ie, Strokes, heart attacks, Sepsis.for an older person. I decided to go along with her professionalism. For me, 2% is not a relevant Stat. to undergo Chemo. Obviously throughout the country - there are so many differentials.

Thanks Marianne

We are certainly alike in that mine was a right hemicolectomy etc.  I have been through the side effects with my oncologist and been advised that due to my levels of fitness that I should not experience any of the nastier ones and it will increase my odds of the cancer not returning up to 80 -85% so I have decided that I should take every chance to increase those odds to that.  I also have the option to stop the treatment at any time if I decide it is too invasive to my life but hopefully I will get through the three cycles and still be able to continue enjoying my life at the same time.  We shall see but thank you for your input it has been interesting reading everyone's thoughts on this.