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Brother diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer
Colorectal Cancer | Last Active: Jul 25 2:14pm | Replies (47)Comment receiving replies
Steele, (me) is feeling heavy hearted today although my brother is still doing ok. The side effects are really intensifying. He seemed so down when I talked to him last night - plagued with nausea and diarrhea. He has just finished his 6th round of chemo - scheduled for his first CT scan on the 12th, which is a Friday, with results scheduled for Monday the 15th. I did not know until talking to him last night that his tongue has been numb going on 3 weeks and he has not been able to taste any food. In addition, the cramping is more severe as is the constipation. Every week, the symptoms show up at different times. His 6th round was so good and he was happy until the symptoms hit around the 4th day off, first time they have come so late in the process. I think I read on here from a kindred soul that very few people make the whole recommended protocol without needing a break. I think he is getting there. I will post his results when we get them on Monday. In the meantime, keep those prayers from all you Warriors coming!
Replies to "Steele, (me) is feeling heavy hearted today although my brother is still doing ok. The side..."
First, sorry he's going through this.
As a colon cancer survivor (FOLFOX6) the continuing cycles do wear you down and cause one of weaken. Seems one goes downhill the first week, then rebounds to 90-95% of where one started for each cycle - seems to be a cumulative effect.
Second, they can adjust the protocol. I had several times where they halted for a week or two, but mine was only Stage 3C with no lung spread. They also dropped the oxaliplatin early in my treatment because of the severity of side effects. The question I can't answer is whether they will do this for a stage 4 case.
Mayo Clinic did indeed tell me that nobody completes the 12 cycle - a cycle every 2 weeks protocol as scheduled.
The loss of taste and numbness is common. Nervous system issues such as neuropathy/numbness are common. I had severe balance issues (note: collapsing at the infusion center will get you LOTS of attention and a wheelchair ride to the ER), difficulty hearing, difficulty swallowing and weird visual issues which they attributed to the oxaliplatin.
I think what he's going through is typical and normal, but the oncology team should (and will) consider adjustments. The last thing they want is for him to drop out of his therapy, so they likely will make adjustments.
Hope this helps.
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Everyone reacts to chemotherapy differently. There is no one-size-fits-all when I was diagnosed with stage four I did eight rounds of chemo since then I have done another 10 rounds. I am fortunate that the side effects are small. I mostly had side effects from the drugs that they included with the chemo when I was having infusions every two weeks. Now that I am taking oral xeloda I have virtually no side effects. Will put salt and pepper on them. Sometimes a break for a month is beneficial. Everything works but nothing works all the time.