xeloda side effects?
 

My fingers are sore, nails are breaking or spliltting.. It is hard to pick any object up..kinda painful.. I am wondering if this a side effect of xeloda? my feet are sore as well and look dirty , even tho I know I am clean.. It has been abot a month or so since I started on this along with the tykerb which I have been taking for maybe a year or so?? Any suggestions on how to ease this.. I have been putting aloe on my fingers and it helps a little.. any suggestions? thanks for listening to me..

I couldn't find the other treads on the issue but my mom was on this and she did have the hand foot syndrome briefly. I suspect the dirty feet look(dark/red?) you have is the beginning of this. With mom, it started with the look, progressed to feeling warm, then became a problem. Basically, the Xeloda has a way of leaking into healthy tissues and goes to the extremities.
Things that seem to help:

Udder Cream (available at Wal-Mart) Note: apply liberally but GENTLY. Vigorous rubbing can aggravate things. Apply a few times throughout day. Good to goop it on at night and wear cotton socks or gloves to keep it there.

B6 supplement, 200mg/day
" The addition of pyridoxine (http://theoncologist.alphamedpress.org/math/sim.gif200 mg/day) for ameliorating the symptoms of CAP-induced HFS allows for the administration of higher doses of CAP"

Topical Henna, purchase here: www.castleart.com
discussed here: http://xelodasideeffects.blogspot.com/
Interesting anecdote: "Henna is a natural antiseptic and the chemical in henna fills the skin cell thus it can keep hands from cracking . Field workers in India would dig small recesses in the dirt fill with henna & water ans dip their hands & feet in the mix to help prevent the skin from cracking and keep other nasty bacteria away."

Mom also used generic neosporin from Walgreens for splits.

Staying off feet as much as possible until things calm down may help.

I would suggest trying all the above before approaching docs since they may only offer dose reduction.


I don't know about nails splitting although mom noticed some odd growth patterns.

I just came across this lengthy article about 5FU (active component of Xeloda) which gives a great overview of where Xeloda came from and hints at newer variations on the way (S-1)

http://theoncologist.alphamedpress.o...t/full/7/4/288

Charlotte: I'm on Xeloda and my feet look like I used a bad self tanner on them. I had grade 4 hand and foot issues and grade 4 GI issues. Red as lobsters, felt like frost bite and burning at the same time. Both hands and feet peeled in thick large sheets. I used all of the creams, udderly smooth etc. It was UGLY. My dose was reduced and things are much better. I take the B6 100mg twice a day. I found Curel Targeted Therapy Intensive Foot Cream to help. It has Urea and botanicals. It was well absorbed and seems to last.

I have always had very nice hard nails that I pridefully kept manicured and everyone always thought they were artificial. Well, now they suck. They are thin, peeling, breaking and the surface is icky. Toenails too. I have been leaving them unpolished and rubbing them with Solar Oil. Helps with the appearance. I guess I'm lucky they haven't fallen off.

The good news, Xeloda seems to be crushing my cancer. Chemo and cancer SUCK!

I hope you find relief. Everyone said to wear socks, but they hurt me feet, I found flip flop style terry slippers did best.

Wishing you well...Darlene

Joe,
Maybe some of these "dealing with side effects" threads could be consolidated somewhere on the site?

xeloda side effects
 

thanks so much for the suggestions. I am so thankful that we have a group of people who are so helpful when we are having questions about our treatment.. a special thanks to Rich and Darlene..I will start as soon as possible..
Charlotte

Charlotte
I was on Xeloda for a year or so...alot of the side effects seem to be dose related, and I believe they found that a dose of 2500mg a day was as good as 400mg a day with less side effects. I had horrible dry cracking hands and feet when on it...I used Ahava cream which I bought on the internet....I had truly tried everything, and it was the one thing that helped...i still use it, only not as frequently....Xeloda kept me stable for over a year...