15th November 2007
Backslide:
I am Stage III colon cancer as well. I am sorry to hear that your husband is going through these problems. I can sympathize. According to my oncologist, I am their poster-boy for bad side-effects...I've had them all.
Personally, I'm not familiar with such a reaction. I will say, however, that I've had several reactions that my oncologist had never seen...and he has a rather large and respected practice. Some of these effects, (e.g., night-sweats), however, were familiar to other Oxaliplatin patients that I had met through the Wellness Community Center. Perhaps us cancer patients don't bother mentioning EVERY side-effect we have to our doctors...just the most serious of them.
You might also consider that some side-effects are from all the ancillary drugs we get in support of the chemo. In my case, I get Nuelasta (white cell booster), Aranesp (red cell booster), Coumadin (anti-coagulant), numerous anti-nausea drugs, and an anti-diarrhea injection. Each of these has their own list of possible side-effects. You might ask if the reaction could have been from any ancillary drugs that your husband gets.
I'm going in for my 11th FOLFOX4 treatment next Monday. Starting with my 10th treatment (out of 12), they had to cut my Oxaliplatin dosage in half due to the severity of my neuropathy. According to my oncologist, your statistical odds don't change as long as you get 90% of the cumulative recommended dosage over the course of all your treatments. By dropping to half-dosage of the Oxaliplatin for my last three treatments, I'm getting 87.5% of the recommended Oxaliplatin dose. Good enough for me considering that I don't want the neuropathy to become permanent.
While these past few treatments have been pretty horrible, having the end in sight makes it bearable. I wish you and your husband the best.
Regards,
Steven
I am Stage III colon cancer as well. I am sorry to hear that your husband is going through these problems. I can sympathize. According to my oncologist, I am their poster-boy for bad side-effects...I've had them all.
Personally, I'm not familiar with such a reaction. I will say, however, that I've had several reactions that my oncologist had never seen...and he has a rather large and respected practice. Some of these effects, (e.g., night-sweats), however, were familiar to other Oxaliplatin patients that I had met through the Wellness Community Center. Perhaps us cancer patients don't bother mentioning EVERY side-effect we have to our doctors...just the most serious of them.
You might also consider that some side-effects are from all the ancillary drugs we get in support of the chemo. In my case, I get Nuelasta (white cell booster), Aranesp (red cell booster), Coumadin (anti-coagulant), numerous anti-nausea drugs, and an anti-diarrhea injection. Each of these has their own list of possible side-effects. You might ask if the reaction could have been from any ancillary drugs that your husband gets.
I'm going in for my 11th FOLFOX4 treatment next Monday. Starting with my 10th treatment (out of 12), they had to cut my Oxaliplatin dosage in half due to the severity of my neuropathy. According to my oncologist, your statistical odds don't change as long as you get 90% of the cumulative recommended dosage over the course of all your treatments. By dropping to half-dosage of the Oxaliplatin for my last three treatments, I'm getting 87.5% of the recommended Oxaliplatin dose. Good enough for me considering that I don't want the neuropathy to become permanent.
While these past few treatments have been pretty horrible, having the end in sight makes it bearable. I wish you and your husband the best.
Regards,
Steven