Starting Xeloda | Oral Chemo
Today's my last chemo-less day for the next 169 days.Well, that's sort of true. With Xeloda, oral chemo, the next stop on the cancer train...it's two weeks "on" (actively taking pills), one week "off" (allowing your body to recover) x 8 cycles.
So, I'll be in treatment for the next 169 days.
It will take me to 15 March if everything goes well. I'm assuming there will be some sort of delay, so I'm mentally preparing to be in treatment until April.
Last night, we had a Last Supper, with champagne, beef wellington, cheesy cauliflower, potatoes, chocolate covered berries, and lemon tarte.
Return of Hair!
As you can see, my hair is returning. It feels pretty nice to not have a constant breeze up there. =)
End of Radiation
The wound team at work (and my Google-loving husband) helped me treat my neck wounds. They are mostly healed now. It's amazing the difference (the bottom picture isn't even the worst of it).On Radiation, I never had fatigue. Just burns. and Just on my neck. So, even though the treatment has been daily, it feels like I've been on cancer-acation. It'll be a bummer to head back to treatment tomorrow.
More on X
Xeloda details here. It can take the 5 year survival rate for TNBC from 70ish% to 80ish% (info here). It IS chemo, but it's taken through a pill. If I handle the pill, I need to wash my hands immediately and SHOULD NOT touch G. Because, chemo = poison. Even in a pill.
I will take four pills in the morning. Four at night. Both should be with food. You should not drink on oral chemo (as it is processed by your liver).
Known side effects:
- Hand/foot pain/blistering in 75-85% of patients
- Diarrhea
- Mouth sores
- Vomiting
- Reduced appetite
Important to note that it shouldn't impact my counts as much as IV chemo, which is good because my WBC still is hovering around 2, which (according to my care team), "is not surprising given the levels and length of time I had chemo."
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