Today they added oxaliplatin

Hi . Unfortunately everybody reacts differently to chemo so it’s very hard to predict what side effects your hubby might suffer from. I had oxaliplatin with capecitabine and found on the first couple of days my legs felt quite weak and I seemed to almost drag one of them but this quickly passed. My hands are ok but I’m still not sure if my feet suffer from peripheral neuropathy or palmar plantar. They started to feel a bit like I was walking on sand while taking capecitabine pre-op and then started to feel funny again during my post op chemo and even now (2years after finishing chemo) they feel like they are sunburnt - my skin feels almost too tight for my feet and they are a bit numb. Having said that it doesn’t affect my day to day life. 

My feet seemed to get worse for a couple of weeks after stopping chemo so please speak to the nurses sooner rather than later if hubby starts to get any problems and make sure he moisturises them every day.

I think you really need to have a chat about your concerns with the oncologist as they will be the best placed to advise you. I know it’s a horrible worry and it’s hard to know what to do for the best but you and your hubby need to come to a decision that you’re both happy with and then try to carry on with your lives. If the chemo will only have minimal benefit to your hubby’s health but a huge detrimental affect on his working/family life then you need to consider whether the risk is really worth it.

Hope you are able to find a good compromise and please let us know how you are getting on

Take care

Karen x

Hi ,

I think I remember reading that oxy last in your system for around 12 hours after the infusion and a lot of the immediate side effects used to subside in my mum around that time , even though the chemotherapy agent has left your body my understanding is the side effects can last for a long time and some permanent damage can occur with oxy in relation to neuropathy. They monitor it very closely and my mum had her dose reduced which helped a lot .

Does the oncologist know he works with his hands ? Not everyone gets it but it’s definitely worth another discussion.

My mum only ever had six rounds of chemo in one sitting . I can’t tell you the % benefits but I think your husband is justifiably wanting to chat this through with the oncologist to weigh up the risk verses benefits . Sounds as though the first round has not been too eventful but it’s the sort of questions they asked about before every infusion. 

You might also like to ask the helpline staff 0808 808 0000. They might be able to point you in the right direction .

take care ,

Court 

Thank you for the replies. He has talked quite extensively with his oncologist about these concerns, that was one of the main reasons they waited to get the other neuropathiy under control before starting it. She said that they would monitor it closely but she always says that " we know with your cancer both of them work better together".  So far he hasn't had any issues with it but his nurse said some oeople don't experience it on the first dose but he also only got 1/2. Maybe we will talk with her again, we will see how these next few days go. MY husband doesn't have a great attitude towards it anyways because he is pretty convinced it will come back either way becasue he always says he gets all the medical issues. Sad he thinks like that it breaks my heart.