Xeloda

Thank you Wendy for all your wonderful advice. I am pleased that it is working so well for you. I have just come off a trial at Peter Mac and I must say the side effects were fairly difficult to manage. I have lost over 20kgs since the start of June. Lucky I had plenty to spare.
Best of luck to you Lisa as you start on Xeloda. I admire you for being able to work. 
Wishing you both best wishes and love
sandra xxx

Hi ladies,
welcolme to the xeloda club,as with all kinds of drugs, they all have their own list of side effects and of course everyone reacts differently, I have beem on Xeloda for 18 months, and I know of several other ladies on this site who are also on xeloda or have been on it.Xeloda is a very good drug for reducing the size of tumours and for reducing cancer markers,I wont say its a walk in the park, as its not, the dosage you are given depends on your height and weight and also the length of time on the drug, ie 14 days on then 7 days off, personally I am on 12 days on then 9 days off, this suited me better after some trial and error, its a matter of being on the drug first to see how well you manage it, the best piece of advice I can give is to keep your hands and feet well moistureized starting at least 5 days before you start the drug, I will add, that 1% of the population do not tolerate this drug as its not broken down in the body, this results in more severe side effects, there is a blood test that you can have to see if you are in that 1%, my oncologist advised me of this. As with all new things, have an open mind, give it a go and see how your react, if you have any concerns at all,  notify your oncologist or breast care nurse, xeloda can have effects on your belly, ie diahhorea, so keep a pack of gastro stop handy, and like all chemo drugs you may experience fatigue, Im sure that when you are put on this drug you will have it all explained to you, I might add its also a drug that at least for me, my oncologist has been able to give me small breaks, especially when I have had a very special family function or when we just recently went on holidays,anyway ladies see how you go,I will just add for me my cancer markers have been sitting on 13, yes 13 for the last few months, I see my oncologist every 6 weeks and I have a blood test every 19 days to check my tumour markers and all of my other things liver kidney etc., I also have metastatic breast cancer, which is in my liver and my spine, I was previously on Affinitor and Aromisin,this breast cancer gig is hard, but with help and support we can manage on a day to day basis,please let us know how you go on the drug as there may be other tips and tricks I can offer, its all a matter of how we individually react, 
good luck, 
wendy55

Hi Scooper
I am a Peter Mac patient as well and it looks like I am about to start on Xeloda in the next week or two. I have been on Afinitor and had a great response but have developed pneumonitis (even when on a lower dose of Afinitor). I have bone mets, although the Afinitor made them disappear. My oncologist says that Xeloda is well tolerated, but if you look at the list of side effects they are long (as they are with any chemotherapeutic drug). I am planning on starting a new job four days per week and my oncologist says I should be able to manage.
Good luck and would love to hear how you go. 
Cheers Lisa X