Xelox/Capox chemotherapy and Lansoprazole

Hi Davisio,

I’m on omaperazole & the doc confirmed I could still take it with the same chemo treatment you’ll be having.

always best to check with the doctor, I just checked with my own GP

i had my surgery before starting the chemo (am halfway through the chemo now)

They give us enough time to recover from one thing before moving onto the next thing, have faith & trust in that you will be ready & resolve in your mind to hand it over to the medical team

Everything will happen in the right timing

Suzy

Hi Davisio, I was diagnosed with bowel cancer in Jan 2019. Like you I was told I would need surgery. This was then changed to chemo then radiotherapy and finally surgery. I had 4 rounds of chemo and 28 sessions of radiotherapy and had a good response. I was referred to Southampton because they thought the tumour was attached to the pelvic wall. I finally had surgery on 2/1/20 and they discovered that the tumour wasn't attached it was in fact a sterilisation clip that had gone adrift. I am now cancer free and my last scans were clear. I'm awaiting a reversal of my temporary stoma and will still be monitored but it was all worthwhile. I had some side effects with the chemo, mainly fatigue and some neuropathy, which I still have in my toes, but I sailed through the radiotherapy.

It's a long haul but so worthwhile. I hope you have a good response and that soon this will just be another chapter in your life. It's very doable stay strong and stay safe. Best wishes

Thankyou Suzy.....I will check with my GP about Lansoprazole ....sounds like it will be ok...and Thankyou so much for your kind words and advice.....it does help so much to chat to others on here...as I'm not able to get much help from my oncologist and the nurses...as they are so busy, and just don't have the time to answer my questions ....

its all the waiting between appointments...and then another long wait till I can start treatment....do you know if it's ok to have the oxaliplatin chemo drip in 2 hours ? Only I keep noticing comments saying that it is better to have it over a longer time...like 4 hours....I'm wondering if I can ask for this so to be less painful?although I dread asking the oncology nurses anything more.....Thankyou for replying...such a help for a struggler like me...wishing you all the best with your treatment

irene

Oh...bless you Reetpetite...I can't Thankyou enough for your reply...to know someone else has been through the same....and come out well the other side is such a great help...not that you wish anyone else to have to go through this....I'm having a terrible time trying to cope....just constantly crying....I haven't been able to get much help from the oncologist and the nurses.....I realise it's hard for them... I just have such a job trying to get information about my treatment ....the first thing the oncologist said to me ..was that she is very busy and has a lot of people to see...so I didn't get much time to ask questions...and when I phone the nurses to try and find out more...they just keep telling me I'm getting gold star treatment ..and get irritable with me ...but I eventually managed to get my treatment plan out of one of them.....they told me about the 3 moths chemo...but wouldn't tell me about the radiotherapy bit.......I think they are all stressed with everything going on...and what with covid too....I couldn't have become ill at a worse time....and I was keeping myself so fit and well....which made it more of a shock...and then they found thickening on the womb....which turned out to be a fibroid ...which a surgeon tried to remove without pain killers...but it was too painful and difficult ...so had to go back and have it removed later with general anaesthetic ....so I have to wait for the results of that...although the surgeon said he didn't think it looked bad...so I'm hoping that he's right...it's the constant waiting between each appointment.....that's so hard to bear....but once again Thankyou for replying...it does help such a lot to know that there is light at the end of the tunnel ...

thankyou...and you stay safe and well too x Irene

Hi Irene,

on both cycle one & two I had the Oxiplatin drip over a 2 hour period, but am going to speak to my oncologist about this for round three to see if anything can be done as I did suffer side effects (more so with round two)

id say just explain your worries, don’t hold anything in. The more they know the more they can help you.

Reading on this board has really helped me with my fear of asking questions when I do get to see the oncologist & explaining exactly how I feel & have realised it’s best to let them know.

I have Bullet pointed my symptoms now (on the notes in my phone) so I can get through them quickly the next time I speak with mine,

A friend of mine always joked with us “shy girls don’t get sweets” & as much as we laughed it has a ring of truth. If you don’t ask you won’t get.

Suzy

Morning Irene. I have just fnished my rounds of Oxaliplatin and Capecitabine chemo. I had severe reactions to the Oxaliplatin in my first two rounds. The amount of drug was reduced by 25% and the time to deliver it was increased to 4 hours. The reactions ceased for rounds 3 and 4.  I still had side effects but these appear to be very common. You can but ask the team in the chemotherapy unit!

Hi dcyorkroad,

Your reply here has given me good hope for rounds 3 + 4!

Thank you!

Suzy

Hi .I have had the treatment that you’re having albeit in a different order ie. xelox after surgery and chemoradiotherapy before. Please remember that all the side effects are things that you COULD get not that you WILL get. Yes you may get a degree of neuropathy but be aware of it and let the nurses know if it starts and how long it lasts. It’s actually a good idea to keep a diary through your chemo so you can not only keep track of any side effects but also which are your good days (yes there are some!) then you can plan to do something nice on those days. Keep your hands and feet well moisturised - my nurses recommended Aveeno with Shea butter which you can get in the supermarkets, Superdrug etc. - and use gloves for getting things out of the fridge and on chilly days.

The chemo that you have with the radiotherapy is the capecitabine (so in tablet form) but in a much lower doseage than when used as part of Capox and it just enhances the effect of the radiotherapy. The radiotherapy continues working for several weeks after the actual treatment finishes so you’ll probably find you’ll have a 8-10 week break before scans and further treatment. This will give you chance to start to feel a bit more like yourself and build your strength up for the operation. 

The iv side of the treatment isn’t great but get the first one under your belt and see how it goes from there? My nurses weren’t keen to extend the time it took to put through as they said it would just prolong the discomfort - I think it was more to do with how many patients they had to fit in - so I had a picc line inserted after the first 2 sessions which was a lot better so maybe keep that in your back pocket just in case? 

Its easy to go into this fearing the worse but everyone reacts differently to their treatment and there are pills and potions for all the various side effects and, if one doesn’t work, then there is usually an alternative.

It will be a tough few months ahead but it’s worth doing to get the best result from your eventual surgery. I was diagnosed as stage 3 with 2/17 lymph nodes affected and had surgery in November 2016 with follow up chemo in 2017. I’m currently cancer free.

Sending you a big virtual hug

Take care

Karen x

Hi Davisio, Sorry to hear of your problems and the natural concerns. i would just like to echo Karen062, I had the chemo radiotherapy for 25 sessions with very little side effects but a very positive result in reducing the size of the tumour. Then surgery then Capox for four months. I had a PICC line from the start which I think helped but wasn't a happy person after round two so, as this was a mop-up procedure they reduced both the i/v and the Cape by 25% and rounds three and four were tolerable. The infusion stayed at 2 hours. That finished a year ago, now I have had the stoma reversed and waiting, with some trepidation, for the results of a recent one year scan. I believe that the procedure has worked for me and I hope that is does for you. I wish you all the best as you go through the next few months. John

I forgot to mention that I was prescribed Lansopazole by my oncologist and used it during my last two rounds of Capox. Cheers, John