Hello, I have been thinking about you and wanted to wait until I had a few doses before explaining how I am feeling since I started yesterday 12/26/22 with the Xeloda. I am sorry you have been on a roller coaster and hope that your symptoms will subside and that your experience for the rest of the journey will be a positive one. It has not been quite a week for you, so it may just take a little longer for your system to settle in. I too am taking 3 of the 500mg tablets 2/day, and so far have not had any side effects. While I am tolerating it well so far, it has only been 3 doses as of this writing. I will take my 4th dose tonight and then continue tomorrow through this week and next before having a week off. I am not getting too excited at this point because it has only been two days, and not sure if things will change once I get further into the routine and the medicine has really kicked in. I will post another update by this coming weekend once I see how things go. I meet with my oncologist on January 6th for my first follow up since I last saw her after my surgery and before taking the treatment. Not sure if my routine will help, but what I do is take the Ondansetron (anti nausea medicine) under the tongue so it will dissolve while I have an empty stomach. I do this about 30 minutes prior to eating breakfast (same with dinner). Then I have my meal prepared to eat at least half of it after that 30 minutes are up, and start taking one pill at a time, slowly, with water, and then taking another bite of food. I drink hot ginger tea with my breakfast, and keep ginger chews (from the health food store) on my kitchen counter in case I need them, along with ginger ale, and even ginger snaps (haven't needed any of that yet, but it's there just in case). After the first pill, I take the second one a few minutes later, again with some food and water and sips of ginger tea. The same with the third tablet. I do this process slowly so that the 3 tablets are taken in about 8-10 minutes. I repeat this at dinner time. So far so good, but as I mentioned, I am just starting, so not sure if I will continue experiencing the same outcome over the course of the next few months. Once I finish in 6 months, I will get another CT scan, so of course there is always going to be anxiety when we are re-tested in the hopes that all goes well and nothing else shows up. Do you still have to take steroids and infusions, or was that just for the beginning? Please keep me posted on your progress, and I too will do the same by the end of the week or during the weekend. Meanwhile, I wish you the very best and pray that we both get through this ordeal as best as possible without any mishaps. Happy New Year to you and your family, and continue to stay safe and warm. Sending you positive thoughts my friend. We will get through this!

Hello again, I am about to start my morning ritual on day 3. I did have a little constipation this morning upon wakening, and realized that I also need to do something about eating more well balanced foods to include more vegetables and fruit--especially grapes. I have gotten into a bad habit prior to the holidays with eating foods that I normally don't. Not only have I gained weight, but am also eating foods that are not good for the treatment and with just having the colon surgery. Starting today, I am going to eat more of the good things and go back to eating the fun stuff in moderation. I have heard that prune juice is also good to have around in case one has this problem. Definitely need to keep a gentle laxative on hand. I will let you know how it goes, and I do hope that you will have better success. Is next week your one week off? All the Best in the New Year!