Hope you all had a nice xmas. My wife starts Cape oral chemo next week. She decided to take it even though the oncologist and surgeon were undecided about it as she only had 1.5mm residual. She is lucky enough to have private healthcare so luckily things have moved quickly throughout treatments and options available.
We know common side effects are hand & feet sores etc on Cape. We are just wondering if any of you have used Cape and how you got on with it? My wife will be having 6-8 cycles.
Hi jampot, thanks for update on your wife Hopefully someone on the threads or a breast cancer now nurse will be along to help with your question Wishing you both well and safe New Year Shi.
I started capecitebine in December. I was dreading taking in as I’d read all about the side effects.
I was kind of expecting an immediate reaction upon swallowing the pills. But it wasn’t like that at all.
I have personally found that the most common side effect is related to my bowel movements. It would make me poo much more often. In a three week cycle I’d have loose stools about 2 or 3 times. But they give you tablets to take to stop that. There is guidance given on how much watery stools to endure before you contact your team. I never got to that point.
I also found that it could cause me to be constipated, usually after taking the pills to stop the loose stools! I did get a bit of cramping just before and during bouts of loose stools but if it gets bad you can contact your team.
I had slight sores in my mouth. My hands felt like I had had my hands in sand all day. They did not peel, but were redder. I used loads of moisturizer though!
I am having a break because of exhaustion and breathlessness. The dose is based on your size, and being a tall lady, I’m on the maximum dose. Your experience may be much different to mine.
Given the choice of intravenous chemo and oral chemo, I found that I had much less reactions to oral chemo. There are side effects but they are more manageable. Make sure you follow the advice of how to take it and what side effects your team need to know about.
