Capox chemo quick question!

Everyone has a different experiance.I found the side effects cumulative as I went along but did get relief on the free weeks.

Eg the "everything tastes of cardboard" improved those weeks so I was able to enjoy meals out with family and friends.But the hair loss didnt(although they did say it was unusual to loose your hair)

All the best.You can get rhrough this

Kath

Thank you for your reply Kath. Can I ask at what point in your treatment did you lose your hair? I have small children and worry so much about how they will react if this happens. How did you manage? 

Try not to worry too much about hair loss.it really is unusual to loose it all on capox.most just have some thining

So using a mild shampoo is recommended.

I was given a prescription for a wig on the chemo suite.luckily I live in a city and had a choice of places to go to choose one.there were lots on offer for free but I did choose to pay a little extra for the one I wanted which looked like my hair pre treatment ( I took a photo along) of course some choose to have a complete change and go funky or a different style completely

All the best with your treatment

Kath

I'm 7 days into cycle 3.   I'm finding the effects cummulative, it is taking me a good couple of extra days to get where I was on cycle 1.   Nausea is increasing, fatigue increasing and the time for the pins and needles to go is increasing too.   Don't think the miserable cold weather helps either!

Zx

Yes now on chemotherapy session 7 of 8 but on Capecitabine (reduced from 5,000mg per day for two weeks out of 3 to 4,000mg per day)  side effects as you say are cumulative but surprisingly my main continuing side effects were exhaustion and brain fog. Did have the 6 inch nails into the heels first thing in the morning in period before reduction but you could walk it off through the day by walking on your toes at start but was gradually getting easier and to to normal from reduction. 
occasional pains in different parts of the body (but not enough to take a paracetamol and no hair loss.

By the way originally it was intended that I would have chemo before the operation but plan revised (as 6 months chemo might leave it too late to be worth the wait). Was right decision as surgeon ( my hero) got the tennis ball growth out and contrary to warnings didn’t need to remove colon or liver. Did take 2/3rds of bowel out and stapled the ends to rejoin along with a sliver of the liver for testing). No hair loss and no stoma  and apart from the surgery line from ribs to just past the belly button you wouldn’t know I’d had such a growth inside for a while. Mind you it’s given me a two pack abdomen as opposed to the previous one pack. 

Yes it was a bit frustrating with GP consultation followed by endoscopy and colonoscopy explorations and scans etc from June 22 to May 23 but I have to say that the surgery and chemo should do the trick. Mind you the scan after the chemo has dissipated from my body (around 6-8 weeks) might tell me different but it is what it is. The need to self inject for 28 days after the op (to reduce risks of clots etc) was trying for a needle coward but I got through it by scheduling it for a specific time of day ( while cooking dinner) when I had other things to have a distraction. 

Still don’t like needles but 3 weekly two phials blood letting by Dracula ( ok really a very competent male nurse at GP practice ) during chemo has minimised my concerns. But still can’t look at what he’s doing  

Always willing to add my tuppence worth for anybody on here but find that approaching the medical team  and MacMillans helps to put things in perspective and relieves any concerns. 

I know I haven’t had the nausea and “liquid poo” and know that different people have different experiences and count myself as extremely lucky with the surgery and post surgery medical attention from very caring professionals. Downside is that sometimes I have to tell the odd person to keep their distance because of my weakened immune system and usually get the “My God I wouldn’t have known you’ve had the BigC  if you hadn’t said. Mind you I usually have all my clothes on and don’t do topless very often. 

I have found that exercise and positivity and talking about my cancer has helped to make the journey tolerable. 

Hope it all works for you Tori Buttons. 

Well it turns out I didn’t have long to wait for my answer! Just had my second infusion yesterday and feel much worse. The reaction to cold has become painful and my hands have been cramping and I feel more nauseous!! I 

Thank you for your replies xx

Hello ToriButtons,  From my experience, it was usual to have a reaction to cold for just a few days after the infusion. Reaction intensity might vary from one infusion to the next but should disappear mostly after a few days. Best to keep easy slip on gloves or a kitchen cloth or folded paper handy to touch cold items from fridge e.g. Best to avoid exposing fingers/hands to very cold, including cold water, for a few days after infusion. Would also suggest avoid touching very hot items or hot water for those few days.

Look out also for 'first bite pain' for a couple of days after infusion. Best chew on a soft item - it passes after a couple of chews.

On the issue of nausea, you should have been given an anti-nausea drip on infusion day and some anti-nausea tablets to take at home if necessary. Maybe best to speak to the support nurse oer emergency help number on this. It can be helped and much reduced! All the best.

I've just discovered that taking one immodian after each loose poo really helps, plus taking Rennie's about 2 hours after taking capecitabine, taken as and when required.  Doing these 2 things, along with the anti nausea meds, seems to have made a massive difference in settling my sore tum, which contributed to nausea.   The Rennie's have been a game changer.  However, I still don't have much of an appetite, but that will appear in my 6 recovery days.
My pins and needles are still here day 14 of cycle 3 and I don't think they will go any time soon.  I only get the cramping for the first 5 days, plus joint pain. 
Electric blankets are fantastic! 

Sorry to say that it doesn’t get any easier. I went through 4 sessions and it was tough at the time. For me it was the Oxyplatin infusions that were the worst, they were grim. Difficult sleeping immediately afterwards and the terrible tingling in fingers, toes, lips, nose, ears with anything cold, particularly bad tingling swallowing.cool drinks. I also lost a lot of feeling to the ends of my fingers and toes although this has just about ended 6 months later.
I had stage 3 M0 N1 bowel cancer. Robotic sugery to remove the tumour in my sigmoid colon followed by 4 chemo cycles. I’ve bloods and CT scan next month when I meet my oncologist and fingers crossed they’ll not find anything. I also have early prostate cancer to deal with as well - it’s a bitch!

dave