Reaction to chemo treatment

[backslide05]

My husband has been struggling through treatment for stage 3 CC and is getting through his Folfox regimen with more and more problems.

Yesterday he was in for his #10 infusion and had a severe reaction to the oxaliplatin? He developed whelts and a rash and his hands turned beet red and felt like they were cracking he said. The nurse gave him a shot of Benedril and it subsided, and they reduced his dosage but continued with the infusion?? then he was sent home and is now on the pump.
He will meet with the oncologist before his next treatment to decide whether to continue with the Oxiliplatin part of the treatment.

I think his body is saying enough already, and want it to be stopped, but I don't want there to be a chance of stopping too soon either!! He also has terrible swelling in his legs and feet. poor thing is just a mess

Has anyone been through anything similar or have anything they might add that I can ask the doctor/nurse about. thanks for listening, and wishing everyone well.

[Nassau one]

I cannot really advise but I have heard of others who have not been able to get the full treatment of oxaliplatin. Maybe they will decide to stop it now as your husband has completed nearly all the cycles....is he supposed to get 12? 10 out of 12 is pretty good! I am so sorry he is having to go through this. I hope others will be more helpful.

Love,

[Heidi'sMom]

I can comment a little bit. I had to skip my last of 12 treatments of the oxaliplatin part of FOLFOX6 due to low platelets. The longer you go with treatments, the more problems pop up. I had 2 or 3 delays due to low platelets and 1 delay due to low white cells.

I did not have the ratch and itching problem, but one of my "chemo mates" did. They also gave her Benadryl but continued with the treatment. I think she developed this side effect at about treatment 9.

I can't comment on the swelling either, as I get swelling due to my bad leg anyway.

They might just stop giving him the oxaliplatin part of the regimen.

Hope this helps.

[Steven94598]

Backslide:

I am Stage III colon cancer as well. I am sorry to hear that your husband is going through these problems. I can sympathize. According to my oncologist, I am their poster-boy for bad side-effects...I've had them all.

Personally, I'm not familiar with such a reaction. I will say, however, that I've had several reactions that my oncologist had never seen...and he has a rather large and respected practice. Some of these effects, (e.g., night-sweats), however, were familiar to other Oxaliplatin patients that I had met through the Wellness Community Center. Perhaps us cancer patients don't bother mentioning EVERY side-effect we have to our doctors...just the most serious of them.

You might also consider that some side-effects are from all the ancillary drugs we get in support of the chemo. In my case, I get Nuelasta (white cell booster), Aranesp (red cell booster), Coumadin (anti-coagulant), numerous anti-nausea drugs, and an anti-diarrhea injection. Each of these has their own list of possible side-effects. You might ask if the reaction could have been from any ancillary drugs that your husband gets.

I'm going in for my 11th FOLFOX4 treatment next Monday. Starting with my 10th treatment (out of 12), they had to cut my Oxaliplatin dosage in half due to the severity of my neuropathy. According to my oncologist, your statistical odds don't change as long as you get 90% of the cumulative recommended dosage over the course of all your treatments. By dropping to half-dosage of the Oxaliplatin for my last three treatments, I'm getting 87.5% of the recommended Oxaliplatin dose. Good enough for me considering that I don't want the neuropathy to become permanent.

While these past few treatments have been pretty horrible, having the end in sight makes it bearable. I wish you and your husband the best.

Regards,

Steven

[Heidi'sMom]

Wow, Steven, you're almost done! Isn't it a great feeling? Unfortunately for me, when I was done I wasn't really done. I have been taking Xeloda for 5 months and they are adding Avastin again next Friday. Eleven months on chemo is a long time, but I'm tolerating it well. I hope the Avastin finishes the job this time. I need to feel like me again.

Congratulations on being almost done!

Pam