Hello everyone
My friend starts post op Flot this week. Stage 3 3N1M0 - I think thats how it looks
2 LN found with cancer out of 38
No other spread
The pre surgery chemo did not shrink the cancer (4cm)
Will the FLOT work and be worthwhile when it did not reduce the cancer?
Will the FLOT be worse? more difficult to manage and if so, how?
I would like to be prepared
Thank you for everyone who has or will message me back.
Hi sunflowers98,
In regards to the cancer not shrinking, did your friend have a TRG stage?
Personally, if I had any lymphnodes involved and had some response from chemo I would try my best to get through as many post op chemo as possible which your friend’s oncologist and body will be able to tell if you either need adjustments to your strength/drugs administered or the bad outweighs the good of the treatment. Bare in mind with all fingers crossed the chemo post op will be fighting a smaller amount of microscopic cancer cells if there is no tumour there.
I myself am 29, I managed 3 post op chemo and my response to chemo was staged TRG4. The first 1 was 100% which had put me in hospital for 3 days and then the last two was much easier at 70%, but I had called it quits to coming into the new year. The post op chemo seemed much harder than the pre op chemo to myself but I’m putting that down too recovery from operation and previous chemo.
All the best to yourself and friend, RichH.
Hi Sunflowers98,
With 2 lymph nodes infected, I would definitely do the post-op chemo. Unfortunately the answer to your other question is yes, the post-op FLOT is harder (I’ve never heard anyone say otherwise). Part of this is probably due to the severe battering that the patient’s body has just taken. I managed 4 cycles of pre-op FLOT at 100% (definitely not easy, but I managed it). For my post-op the dosage was reduced to 70% and I stopped after 3 cycles. My body had just had enough. I was 59 when I had my surgery so a good bit older than this other young whippersnapper lol. FLOT is tough. There’s no denying it. But it does come to and end and I always felt that that was when my recovery really began. Hope this helps. Best wishes CB
The post-op FLOT plays a different role to the pre-operative chemotherapy. It's used to "mop-up" any cancer cells that may have broken away from the original tumour. A sort of "belt and braces" approach to hopefully ensure that every cancer cell has been eradicated.
In my personal experience the post operative FLOT has been harder so far (I've had two of them, one at 100% and another at 75%) I've lost more weight than I did on the pre-op FLOT but this has been compounded by the operation itself making my eating very difficult. I'm intending to finish the last two sessions if possible but will only be having the 5FU infusion due to these problems.
59 eh CB, in my book YOU'RE the young whippersnapper!! Lol
Thank you guys you have been so helpful. My friend is 67. He was “ok” with pre op flot. The consultant has not prepared him that this will be any worse than the first time which I think is really poor show. They have said same dosage as before. What are the symptoms that were most difficult to manage if you don’t mind me asking? Thank you again. Have a good day everyone
For me, the worst side effects from the FLOT were trying to find a balance between diarrhoea and constipation (quite a juggling act if you’ve never had to try it) and chronic fatigue. I just wanted to lie down and sleep ALL the time. Even the slightest exertion (getting dressed/undressed, showering, going to the bathroom) left me utterly exhausted. I had previously been somebody who was on the go all the time. Now I couldn’t prepare or cook food, wash or dry dishes, unpack the dishwasher or even lift my laundry upstairs. Feeling so useless, more so than even the pain and discomfort, is what brought me closest to tears. I can manage a lot more now (11 months post surgery) but there are still things that are just beyond me (cutting the grass, trimming the hedges etc) and others that I struggle with (putting a duvet into its cover, any jobs that involve bending down or stretching up or take longer than about half an hour). I know I might never get back to where I was before but I’m hoping that I’ll continue to get closer…. CB
Hi CB are we talking pre or post or both ?
Tricia
Hi Tricia,
The last two pre-op and all of the post op I found the most difficult. Other people may have had different experiences but I think the general consensus would be that the post-op FLOT is most challenging because your body is already weakened from the effects of the surgery. CB
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