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

@penelope74, I moved your question about Xeloda side effects and fatigue to this existing discussion in the Breast Cancer group.
- Capecitabine (Xeloda) side effects: how do you manage them? https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/xeloda-oral-chemo/

I did this so you can read previous posts and connect with others.

You might also be interested in this related discussion:
- Coping with fatigue: What are your coping tips?https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/coping-with-fatigue/

How are you doing? Have you found coping mechanisms to help you manage your daily activities with the fatigue?

Xeloda was the first drug I took. It affected my hands and feet. Made them very sore and tender and my skin peeled. Sometimes it was hard to even open a door. Asked to be taken off then went on Anastrozole.

TNBC dx 4/2024 on xeloda since January 2025, 2000mg 2xday, 2 wks on 1 week off. The plan is to continue through June 2025. My labs have been good but feeling more fatigue and difficulty concentrating for any length of time. I definitely know fatigue from IV and severe anemia etc.
Is this expected?
I want to get through this.
I am planning travel in October and tough to get anything done. Such as cooking, driving,,little things around the house. My spouse has picked up most of it.
Interested in hearing your experiences. Thank you

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

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.

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.

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!

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

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!

@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?