Capecitabine (Xeloda) side effects: how do you manage them?

I can't find what we lowered my dose to on my chart because I have had so many treatments that I can't find the ones where those notes are on. But I do have my notebooks I'll try to look through last year's notebooks tomorrow and see I take a lot of notes at my doctor's meetings.

Yes I was not stage four but very close and after extensive chemo and surgery they hadn't gotten all the cancer out so we did radiation to the chest wall to get anything we could there and then I went on xolada to make sure nothing got into the bloodstream.

I think I got off it in June my hands are still cracked, I realized I should still be wearing my spa gloves but I put them aside, silly me. My feet are better than my hands because it's cold now and I wear socks.

I'll post again when I get my doses from my notebooks.

Jackie - I know your post is a year old, but if you’re still active on Mayo connect I want to say thanks for the tips. Two other things I do is wrap each Xeloda pill in some marshmallow before swallowing , and wear Dr Shool’s jelly spa socks in the house. The socks help cut down on friction. All the best.

Hi...I'm just beginning Capecitabine as my 3rd line of treatment for my MBC. I'm curious to hear what your experiences with this drug have been.

@jbp, I moved your question about capecitabine (Xeloda) to this existing discussion to connect you with others taking this drug, like @pattycron @kk57 @omaegg @jackiestack @adanab @seathink and others:
- Capecitabine (Xeloda) side effects: how do you manage them? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/xeloda-oral-chemo/

How are you doing on it so far, jbp?

I used Capecitabine as my first line of treatment for Lobular Cancer, one week on and one week off. ER,PR positive, HER negative. I was careful to keep my feet cool, based on an article from Sloan Kettering about Foot and Hand syndrome. It worked for four years, six months. I am grateful for the time it kept my cancer away. Now I am on Faslodex and Verzenio. I just started those treatments, and so far, few side effects.

It took my a lot of discipline to take Capecitabine, but it was worth the work, and my quality of life was good.

Good luck with this treatment!

Just started yesterday....everything good so far🤞

Thanks for the info and the encouragement! I started with the Verzenio and Faslodex and it worked great for 1 year...like you my side effects were minimal and I pretty much lived my normal life...Good luck k to you and thanks!

This is my final oral chemo treatment available to me before IV chemo. Can anyone give me any advice. I was on afinator for 2 months and my liver and lung tumors grew while my lymph node and bones remained the same.
I’m of course worried about the side effects and I know everyone is different but any advice is better than none. Thanks everyone.

Just be sure to question it if your IV chemo is CMF. One of the drugs in CMF is a sister drug to capecitabine. If capecitabine was not effective for you, I believe they would want you to have a different drug. Ask questions and do your research.
I was given CMF as initial chemo and my oncologist was unaware, until I learned it from other medical sources, that Zeloda cannot be given following CMF. I had to have another 12 rounds of chemo instead of a pill.
Your IV drug really depends on your type of cancer.

Hi Drummergirl,
Thank you so much did the info. I have done a lot of research and nowhere was this mentioned. I am er or positive her2 negative metastatic breast cancer. Had mastectomy in 2011 years with a recurrence diagnosed in Oct 2022. I have gone thru Ibrance, afinator, and starting Xeloda this week sometime. They say there is nothing left but IV chemo after this. I feel blessed because they said I had 4 months to live when I started the Ibrance and after the first month my Mets had shrunken over half. Then it stopped working. So they put me on afinator. It was wonderful
I felt so
It was such a difference but it also didn’t work my liver and lung Mets grew back 1to 1/2 inches larger in two months. That’s why I felt good they weren’t working.
Thanks for your help I appreciate it so very much. Maria