New here--saying hello, side effects and advice

2 replies
182 subscribers
407 views

My twinnie was diagnosed with Stage 3 bowel cancer in Dec. and underwent colorectal resection early Feb. She's on her second cycle of chemo and is struggling with nausea and, latterly, persistent headaches. She had to stop chemo on her first cycle several days into her Xelox treatment as nausea stopped her being able to take tablets/eat/drink. Has anyone else had this sexperience, and if so, how have the dealt with it? Thanks for reading

Kareno62 over 1 year ago

Hi Boots1 and welcome. Unfortunately xelox has a lot of side effects and some people suffer from some worse than others. I’ve attached a link to a post that we started about Capox/xelox which might help.

community.macmillan.org.uk/.../chemo-care-top-tips--

The nausea is a common side effect but please mention it to the nurses. There are lots of different tablets to try and sometimes it’s just a case of finding the right one which can make all the difference - I’ve heard that Emend is very good but not often offered from the start. The oncologist might also suggest a reduction in the dosage which again can make a big difference.

If your twinnie is worried at any point then encourage her to ring her 24 hour chemo helpline - it’s there for advice and reassurance not just emergencies

Hope this helps and feel free to ask if there’s anything else? I was stage 3 when diagnosed in 2016 and still ‘no evidence of disease’ - chemo is tough but worth persevering if possible for the final belt and braces

Take care

Karen x

Macmillan Support Line - 0808 808 00 00, 7 days a week between 8am-8pm

Boots1 over 1 year ago in reply to Kareno62

Dear Karen, thanks so much for taking the trouble to give us this post. It's very kind of you. I'm so glad to hear how you have got on since 2016. Hope you've had plenty of help in that time My sis. has had Aprepitant given for first 3 days of this cycle so we'll hopefully be able to have that repeated . A reduction overall for the third cycle has been suggested by the centre so we will be looking at that.