If chemo leads you to heart attack(platelets down),aspirin can save your life

[heblaj01]

In this MD Anderson news release treatment with aspirin (contrary to current medical belief) is shown to save the lives of cancer patients whose chemo side effects (such as low platelet count) result in heart attack.
http://www.mdanderson.org/departments/newsroom/display.cfm?id=60ed8c11-aa54-416d-83e0f0a380da9d40&method=displayfull&pn=00c8a30f-c468-11d4-80fb00508b603a14
Aspirin Saves Lives of Cancer Patients Suffering Heart Attacks, Despite Fears of Bleeding
M. D. Anderson News Release 01/19/07

[Sheila]

That is a very interesting article...but what about patients on Xeloda etc who are told not to mix taking aspirin with the drug? I always took an aspirin a day before Xeloda....if the aspirin interferes with the drug , it seems like a which is worse scenario. Very interesting.

[heblaj01]

Sheila,
The abstract of the research paper in the journal Cancer (dated 1 Feb 2007)does not answer to your concern about Xeloda & aspirin.
There is no mention of the treatment history of the patients who were part of the study(the full text available online for $25 may be more informative).
Your onc (or perhaps yourself) might get more info by contacting one of the authors of the paper:
email: Dr Jean-Bernard Durand (jdurand@mdanderson.org (jdurand@mdanderson.org))

If the speculation by Dr Jean-Bernard Durand that cancer changes the clotting process in which the platelets are involved is proven correct then which chemo treatment is used may not matter.