to Lisa

[Jackie]

Thank you very much for the information on doxil. Please be very very careful about that tightening in the chest. I experienced that on xeloda and went into cardiac arrest after a stress test, which my onc thankfully sent me for after I told her about the pain/tightening. And that was after my dosage was cut in half. That's why I'v very nervous about doxil, but I think most chemo drugs affect your heart in some manner or another. Per the xeloda manufacturer, only 1% experience "sudden death" (ominous words!). Doxil manufac says 10% of patients experience cardiac problems, and 1% are severe. So please treat your chest tightening very seriously and tell your onc of my experience (just in case). I just don't know if doxil works in the same way as xeloda, but I certainly plan to find out. Hair retention has been pretty important to me (I've had thinning only since mets occurred and back on chemo), so I'm glad to hear that you've still got yours! However, I will have to place more importance on my heart than my darned hair. Do you do anything special to ward off the hand/foot syndrome? I know there has been a discussion recently about using ice therapy but I didn't understand exactly when you were supposed to apply it. Thanks again, Lisa. It's so helpful to hear someone else's experience. Good luck to you!