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I started gemzar in Feb 2004, and didn't really notice anything until May, when fatigue/low energy got to be a problem. I had not had difficulty with any chemo drug since my original dx in Oct, 2000, not even adriamycin, so it caught me by surprise. My mets is to bones and skin, but I discovered 2 brain lesions that I had treated with gamma in June. By July, I literally was sitting in a chair all day doing nothing, which continued for a couple of wks. I lost 15 lbs that I didn't need to lose, and looked and felt awful. I had scans run to make sure no additional disease issues (there weren't. I skipped 2 chemo sessions and went onto an every other wk chemo schedule as opposed to wkly. I feel lots better now, am back at work and doing light exercise. However, I now have to change chemo drugs again and am going on Xeloda this Thurs, herceptin/zometa every 3 wks. Despite feeling better, I have had a pesky fever which didn't respond to an antibiotic, and frequent headaches that are probably from the gamma procedure. Also I experience intermittent swollen ankles, which I attribute to the herceptin, and both constipation and diarrhea. My onc basically said that the fatigue, while unacceptable, was experienced by most people on chemo and I had just been lucky to date. What side effects have you experienced? I'm not sure what to attribute to the gemzar, and what are caused by other things!
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