This is a happy story about a 82-year-old colon cancer patient. To us, he is known as Penang Hill Uncle (PHU). This is because his hobby is hill climbing and he has been doing this everyday for the past 30 years! Even today he still goes hill climbing, never mind that he has cancer!
PHU came to see us in October 2012 after undergoing surgery for his colon cancer. He refused chemotherapy. He said. “Chemo is difficult. I prefer to try my chances with your herbs.” After 3 years, we sat down with PHU to recall what he had gone through. And PHU said he was very happy to share his story with us.
November 2015:
Chris: Uncle, we are going to write your story. Is it okay with you? For the video, we will mask your face so that they don’t know your identity.
PHU: It is okay. No need to mask my face! I am not ashamed. I am not a thief. Let everyone know about this!
So here goes, PHU’s story.
Initial Problem and Hospital Experience
In July 2012, 79 year-old-PHU did a colonoscopy followed by a CT scan. The result showed the presence of a 3.1 x 3.0 x 3.3 cm fungating mass at the sigmoid colon, in keeping with a primary tumour. There was no evidence of distant metastasis although the cancer had spread to the surrounding nodes.
The only option for PHU was surgery. But before surgery, PHU was told that the procedure could be risky. He might suffer a heart attack, stroke or may even die. However, PHU had no choice but to go under the knife. He survived without any problem! The surgery was done in August 2012 and it only cost him RM 3,000 (in a government hospital).
Two days after surgery, one of his leg became numb and was unable to move! One doctor asked him to take Hacks. The problem was resolved. He was discharged from the hospital after a week.
The histopathology report confirmed a rectosigmoid colon cancer – well-differentiated with visceral peritoneum involvement and lymph node metastases (7/12); pT4,pN2,pMx. PHU was told his cancer was Stage 3 (going to Stage 4).
No to Chemotherapy, Took His Chances with Herbs and Diet Change
PHU was asked to consider undergoing 8 cycles of chemotherapy. But the doctor did caution him about the risks involved.
PHU also was also told that the benefit of chemotherapy is only 10 percent. Without chemo, the chances of the cancer recurring and spreading is 50 percent. If PHU were to undergo chemotherapy, the chances of recurring and spreading is 40 percent.
Due to his old age and also him being without any symptom, PHU and family opted to “watch and see.” No chemotherapy! He said, ” I decided to take my chances with your herbs and therapy.” That was when PHU came to seek our help in early October 2012. He was started on the herbs for his colon and metastatic lymph nodes.
PHU went back to see his doctors at the general hospital for monitoring every few months. All was well. The doctors were also aware that PHU was on herbal therapy and they did object about this.
In September 2013, PHU had his heart checked. Look at what the doctor wrote below:
The AcuGraph readings over the years showed improved energy levels.
16 November 2012
14 November 2013
18 December 2015
(Note: AcuGraph 4 was donated by Dr. Adrian Larsen of Miridia Technology Inc., USA. Use of AcuGraph at CA Care is free of charge)
The following are his blood test results over the years.
Date
CEA
Remark
13 Aug 2012
10.1
Before surgery
18 March 2013
3.2
20 Nov. 2013
2.8
Started herbs & good diet, October 2013
20 Jan. 2014
4.5
Started to eat outside food
13 June 2014
2.1
4 Aug. 2014
5.4
26 Nov. 2014
5.6
18 May 2015
9.1
Sudden Rise of CEA to 9.1
After 3 years of “doing well” PHU told us that his CEA had started to increase from 2.1 to 9.1. PHU said in the first year after surgery he was very strict with his diet. So his CEA was well within normal limit, below 5.0. But as he got better and better, PHU started to eat “outside” food. It was then that his CEA started to climb out of normal range.
Such development is not surprising at all. It happened most of the time with most patients. This reflects human nature. Since he is already 80 plus, so be it! We hope that his problem will not go out of control! Each Day, I Never Think About My Cancer or that I Am Going to Die
Chris: Uncle, does this cancer bother you every day? Does it worry you? Do you ever think that it is going to die because of this cancer?
PHU: No, it does not worry me. People who does not have cancer also die. So why worry so much? Also people tell me that too much worry can kill you!
Hill Climbing – My only job!
Chris: What do you do every day? Hill climbing?
PHU: Yes, Monday to Friday I go out to climb the hills. I started off about 3 pm and come home at 5.30 pm. Every day I do that. I have been doing this for the past 30 years! It has become my job!
Do you know the right questions to ask?
This free guide could save your life.
In 2003, I was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer.
I was 26 years old, and clueless about cancer treatment.
The first oncologist I saw didn’t tell me the risks, lied to me about the success rate, and told me I was “INSANE” if I didn’t do what he recommended.
I was afraid that I had no other options, but my wife and I accidentally asked two questions that in hindsight helped save my life….
In the last 12 years, I’ve talked with hundreds of cancer patients. Many reach out to me after treatments have failed them, worse off than when they started, and wishing they had taken the time to read and research before blindly following their doctors advice.
Here’s what I’ve learned.
Most cancer patients have NO IDEA what they are geting into
They have no idea how effective the treatments will be. They have no idea what the real risks are. They have no idea how much suffering is involved. They have no idea about the long-term damage the treatments will inflict on their body…
Patients are often mislead and misinformed, and told they have no other options
Doctors aren’t telling patients everything they need to know, and patients don’t know the right questions to ask. Like I said, my wife and I accidentally asked two questions that helped save my life.
You need the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth
The truth is your compass. With it, you can make an informed decision, and chart your course of treatment with confidence.
Without the truth, you are like a ship lost at sea, hoping and praying you’re headed in the right direction… Sadly, this is the position that many cancer patients find themselves in, because they didn’t ask the right questions in the beginning.
This free guide will arm you with POWERFUL questions that cut straight to the truth
20 Questions For Your Oncologist is a compilation of essential questions submitted by doctors, survivors, patients and their loved ones. The guide includes a 1-hour audio program, a transcript to follow along and take notes, and a printable question list.
Your next steps could be critical to your survival, or the survival of someone you care about. Don’t let fear, uncertainty and helplessness influence the decision-making process. Get the guide.
Jenny (not real name) was 44 years old when she found a lump in her right breast. A mammography done in a Singapore hospital on 21 December 2009 indicated no mammographic evidence of malignancy.
An ultrasound done on 22 December 2009 in another hospital showed the following:
Right breast
1 o’clock palpable nodule, 2.15 x 1.8 x 0.9 cm
2 o’clock nodule, 0.72 x 0.56 x 0.39 cm
12 o’clock nodule, 0.36 x 0.54 x 0.29 cm
Left breast
4 o’clock nodule, 0.84 x 0.72 x 0.41 cm
10 o’clock nodule, 0.45 x 0.74 x 0.22 cm
Bilateral axillary lymph nodes
Right – 1.07 x 1.35 x 0.66 cm
Left – 1.31 x 1.44 x 0.55 cm
A lumpectomy was done and the histology report showed:
Extensive high grade ductal carcinma-in-situ with foci of stromal invasion.
Largest grade 3 invasive ductal carcinoma is 12 mm across.
Lymphovascular involvement suspected.
Multiple resection margins involved.
Tumor is positive for estrogen and progesterone receptors.
There is HER2 and p53 over-expression.
In September 2010, Jenny and her husband came to seek our advice. We told Jenny to go and have her entire right breast removed. She hesitated and we did not get to see Jenny again until 5 years later.
In November 2015, Jenny and her husband came to seek our help again and shared with us her IDR 4 billion adventure with the oncologists in Singapore.
Listen to our conversation that day.
Gist of our conversation.
Chris: You came in 2010.
Husband: Dr. Chris asked to go for mastectomy. My wife did not want to go for the operation. She had chemo.
C: Wait, first there were lumps in her breast. Why did you not want to go for operation?
H: Afraid.
Chemo and More Chemo — Bleeding Financially
C: After you consulted us, you went home and then went to see an oncologist in Singapore. You had chemo. Did you ask if the chemo was going to cure you?
H: The doctor said, yes can cure — guarantee!
C: Oh, that oncologist guaranteed that the cancer could be cured? Another breast cancer patient also went to this same oncologist — also guaranteed a cure! But unfortunately, after chemo and more chemo the cancer went to her brain. She eventually died (see story under comment). So for you, chemo after chemo — also can cure?
H: The lump was gone.
Jenny: Normal.
H: Normal but the oncologist kept wanting us to have more chemo. So we ran away from that oncologist.
C: Why did you run away from that oncologist?
H: Cannot afford to pay anyway — we were bleeding financially.
C: Oh, you ran away because you could not afford paying for the treatments. That was after how long of receiving the chemo?
H: Almost one to one and half years of chemo like in the chart below (chart prepared by husband).
Note: From 25 October 2011 to 14 June 2012, Jenny received:
12 injections of Herceptin.
16 injections of Navelbine.
20 injections of 5-FU.
In addition, she was given Eprex and Gran (self administered at home) to deal with her low blood counts. Refer to comment section to know what this blood boosting injection is all about.
Another oncologist: Don’t worry. We have a lot of medicine to treat you!
C: You ran away from the first oncologist and found another one. This oncologist once told a patient, “Don’t worry, we have a lot of medicine to treat you!” And this oncologist gave you one drug after another? When one medicine is not effective, change to another one? So you were started on oral drugs. Was it cheaper?
H: Ya, much cheaper because my wife just need to swallow the pills.
Jenny: Cheaper!
C: Did you ask the oncologist if the medicines were going to cure you?
J: Just to control.
C: How long were you taking these medicines — one type after another?
H: A long time, from January 2013 to November 2015. When the first round of oral drugs failed, the oncologist started her on Herceptin injections as well.
January 2013 to November 2013: On Cyclophosphamide + MTX. PET scan showed failure.
December 2013 to July 2014: On TS1 + Herceptin injection.
July 2014 to October 2014: On Herceptin injection + Kadcyla (Trastuzumab emtansine)
October 2014 to November 2014: Back to oral drug TS1 again + Tykerb (lapatinib).
January 2015 to June 2015: On Herceptin injection + Tykerb (lapatinib) again.
July 2015 to September 2015: On Herceptin injection + Perjeta (pertuzumab) + Taxotere + Filgratim (Gran).
November 2015: On Aromasin (exemetane).
C: What happened after taking all those oral drugs for more than a year?
H: The cancer came back again. The oncologist then started her on Herceptin injection again. She had a total of 7 injections.
C: Did you ask if this kind of injection was going to cure her?
H: The oncologist said the medicine given earlier did not work. Because of that the medicine had to be changed and changed. After one medicine failed another different medicine was tried. Then the doctor tried Kadcyla injection. This too did not work and the doctor changed to lapatinib. After lapatinib failed it was back to chemo injection again.
C: Then what eventually happened?
H: When the cancer did not go away in spite of all those treatments, Jenny had to remove her breast. After the mastectomy the doctor wanted to continue giving her chemo again — more Herceptin and pertuzumab (Perjeta).
Confused
C: I am really confused!
H: Me too. I also know that Herceptin can adversely affect the heart.
C: When you first came to see us, I asked you to remove your breast. But you did not do that. You opted for chemo. Then after chemo and more chemo and also spending a lot of money you also lost your breast. How much did you spend for all those treatments?
H: A lot of money, about IDR 4 Billion.
C: Do you think the oncologists are good?
H: They spin money!
J: More and more chemo, until we have no more money!
Comments
When injecting toxic chemo drugs into patients, the oncologists also gave their patients Eprex and Gran. These are blood boosting shots. Perhaps this was done as a precaution because chemo could make the platelets, red and white blood go down. Perhaps too this is also a way to keep patients happy and well. Of course patients pay for such injection. But what is not known to patients is that this “red juice” and “white juice” may encourage tumor growth! Dr. Otis Brawley is an oncologist. Read what he wrote below:
Different Oncologist, Different Business Model but Similar Pathetic Story
One final note. IDR 4 billion — I could not imagine how “big a sum” this is. A patient who went to China for treatment of his lung cancer also spent a similar amount. And he came home just as disappointed. According to his wife, IDR 4 billion is worth 2 bungalow houses if you live somewhere around Medan.
SY was 62-years-old when she was diagnosed with colon cancer. Her problem started with severe LIF (left iliac fossa) or left abdominal pain with difficulty in bowel movements and vomiting. There was blood in her stools. She struggled with her problem for about 3 months before going to see a doctor.
A colonoscopy done in August 2012 showed a sigmoid tumour with extensive colitis and ulceration extending from the tumour site to the ascending colon.
SY immediately had a surgery.
The histopathology report confirmed an infiltrating, ulcerating, moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma. The surgical margins were not involved but 5 out of the 12 mesenteric lymph nodes contained metastatic tumour. The omentum was free of tumour. This was a Stage C1 or Stage 3 (T3N2Mo) cancer.
SY was asked to undergo follow-up chemotherapy. Her family refused chemotherapy. SY late husband had nose cancer and underwent radiotherapy and chemotherapy. He suffered badly from the treatment. Not too long ago, a relative had cancer, underwent surgery and chemo and then died. So the children did not want SY to go through the same journey. SY’s children came to seek our help in September 2012.
The first week of taking our herbs, SY had diarrhoea 7 to 8 times a day. But this problem resolved by itself after a while. She complained of poor appetite. After taking Capsule E, this problem was resolved after a week. She gained 1 kg after this. Apart from this, SY did not have any more problems. We never get to meet with SY at all because the family did not want her to know that she had cancer.
SY’s progress was monitored through blood tests as follows:
Date
Platelets
CEA
CA 19.9
CA 125
ESR
Remark
27 August 2012
582 H
26 Sept 2012
346 H
On herbs 7 Sep 12
9 Oct 2012
n/a
4.0
n/a
n/a
n/a
13 April 2013
215
0.5
11.7
4.2
20
3 Jan 2014
276
5.0
11.2
5.5
15
23 Sept 2015
3.5
13 Nov 2015
9.5
Stress and bad food
For three years on CA Care Therapy, SY was doing fine. Her CEA was always within normal limit (below 5.0). Then in November 2015, SY’s children were alarmed as the CEA had increased to 9.5. They came to ask why for the past 3 years, SY was doing fine, and now the CEA was starting to increase? My answer to them is blunt and simple: What sin have you committed? Your mom must be eating all those bad food that we tell you not to eat!
At first, the children’s reaction was “to defend the indefensible.” No, she is on her proper diet! Really? No need to think too far behind. In September 2015 her CEA was at 3.5 and 2 months later it shot up to 9.5. What did you eat these past 2 months or what did you do wrong?
Slowly, we begun to unearth the answers of what went wrong!
SY started to eat things like tosai, huat koi, kaya pau, putu mayong, chee cheong fun, poh piah, biscut, etc. Her justification was why can’t she eat all these since she is healthy now? She did not get any cancer anyway! (Note: those of you who do not want to tell your dad or mom that he/she ever has cancer, please take note!).
From 2 October 2015, one of SY’s children opened a shop to start his business. SY was tasked with baby-sitting her grandchild. She was stressed out by this. She became bad tempered and she slept late, even as late as 1 a.m. and woke up as early as 5 a.m.
Our advice to SY’s children: Go home and have a family meeting.
Decide whether you all want your mother to live a longer life or you want to continue to make her a baby sitter and she will be dead soon after that.
Also if she wants to get well again, stop eating bad food.
Listen to our conversation that day.
Part 1: Three years on doing fine with CA Care Therapy
Part 2: Stress and bad food — recipe for disaster!
KDL is a 55-year-old Indonesian lady. For the past 10 years she had been having problems of “wind” in her abdomen. She consulted doctors for this problem and was prescribed medications. Unfortunately these did not solve her problems.
Eventually in June 2014, KDL went to a hospital in Johor. The doctor did a scope and found nothing! She was again prescribed medications but they were not effective.
In November 2014, KDL went to a private hospital in Melaka. A CT scan was done. The findings were:
Multiple liver nodules in both lobes, predominantly right lobe. The largest is 3.3 x 3.4 cm in segment 8.
Extensive intra-abdominal adenopathies involving porta, coeliac and para-aortic nodes — largest being 1.2 x 1.6 cm, in retropancreatic region.
Normal gallbladder configuration is not demonstrated. Hetergenous wall thickening seen.
Conclusion: CT features of gallbladder raises the possibility of GB malignancy with metastatic liver nodules and intra-abdominal adenopathies.
No surgery was indicated. KDL was prescribed an oral chemo-drug, Xeloda. This cost her RM 2,400 per cycle. A cycle consisted of taking 5 tablets per day for 2 weeks followed by a week of rest.
One year later, 27 July 2015, a CT scan was done and the result showed:
Several heterogenous hypodense nodules in bilateral lobes — largest is 4 x 4 x 3.5 cm in segment 8. (note: this has grown bigger).
An X-ray of the chest showed:
Several ill defined lung opacities of sizes from a few mm to 15 mm.
A 2 cm right hilar opacity also seen.
Impression: Suspicious of lung and right hilar secondaries.
Blood test showed:
CEA
135.0 (High)
CA 125
388.0 (High)
CA 19.9
179.0 (High)
KDL said that after a year of taking Xeloda her condition became worse!
She developed sleeping difficulties.
Her stomach was very uncomfortable, with “wind” moving around.
Her backbone felt numb / sore.
Comments
This is indeed a very sad story — and is this also a story of bad management?
Why bad management?
KDL has been having “wind” problems for the past 10 years. Why was her problem not correctly diagnosed in spite of her consulting the doctors even at an early stage?
One lesson we can learn from this case is, If you go to your doctor and was told that there is nothing wrong — please know that you may be in trouble later! That is, if after taking the doctor’s medication the problem still persisted. Again, don’t take “NO problem” as a good answer. Go and find 2 or 3 more doctors who may be able to do a better job.
Her stomach “wind” problems could be an early sign that something serious was coming. Could it be problems related to the pancreas? stomach or colon? or ovary? But, at the early stage, no one bothered to properly diagnose her — only prescribing drugs after drugs which did not work.
KDL’s problem was left to simmer for too long. Then 10 years later, someone decided to do a CT scan. Why wait for 10 years to do a scan? By that time it was too late, it was already a disaster.
After the CT scan the doctor could not do much, except to offer KDL Xeloda, which she faithfully took for a year. Xeloda made her worse off — physically and financially!
The question we may want to pose is: What can Xeloda do for KDL? Realistically, what do you expect to achieve from consuming Xeloda? Would Xeloda do more harm than good?
Would it not be better if the doctor just send KDL home without any medication? To most people — patients, their family members and doctors — this suggestion may sound ridiculous, “madness” and unacceptable. But hang on, read this article and see if you can learn anything from it.
For 25 years, the professor was studying the effects of chemotherapy and came to a horrifying conclusion!
The cancer industry is just an industry after all! Doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies and other stakeholders in this industry profit whenever a patient accepts the toxic treatment that is chemotherapy, radiation or surgery …. despite the claims from the medical industry that chemotherapy does not work in the fight against cancer.
Dr. Hardin B. Jones, a former professor of medical physics and physiology at the University of California, Berkeley, has studied the life expectancy of cancer patients for more than 25 years, when he concluded that chemotherapy does not work.
He testified that chemotherapy patients often die a horrible death. They also died much faster and more painful than patients who opted for a different approach. What he found was that chemotherapy actually shortened the life and killed patients, and everything is kept secret because of the millions of dollars in play!
“People who refused chemotherapy treatment live an average of 12 and a half years longer than the people who are receiving chemotherapy,” Dr. Johns said in his study published in the New York Academy of Sciences. “People who accept chemotherapy die within 3 years, and many just a few weeks after starting the treatment.” “Patients with breast cancer who reject conventional therapy live four times longer than those who follow the system. This is something you will not hear in the mass media that will continue to spread the myth that chemotherapy is the best medicine to fight cancer!”
Modern medicine hides the truth about cancer therapy. One treatment costs 300000-1000000$! That is why it continues offering chemotherapy to cancer patients. Chemotherapy does not remove cancer nor extend the life. It just burdens the body so much that the patients eventually die from it.
After putting full faith in the doctors, KDL and her family finally realised that it was a big mistake. KDL stopped taking Xeloda. KDL’s son started to surf the net and found CA Care. Then the family came to Penang in late October 2015 to seek our help.
When KDL came into our centre, I asked if she had a “stroke” before. She said, No. But since the past 2 weeks, she was not able to lift up her left arm. She walked dragging her left leg. Her walk was unstable. One question came to mind, Has her cancer gone to her brain? An X-ray on 27 July 2015, showed lung metastasis. Or, could Xeloda have caused a blood clot leading to a stroke — could this be the reason why she presented as such?
We discussed the possibility of a brain metastasis. To know for sure, a CT or MRI of the brain may be indicated. But, what is the use of spending more money just to know if there is something in the brain? Okay, after the scan, can anyone cure her? There are enough tumours in KDL’s liver and lungs to worry about anyway.
Since herbs are not poisonous like chemo-drugs, KDL was given teas for her liver, lungs and brain. We told her: Let’s see what happen after a month.
Lack of Knowledge
When KDL and her family came to see us, we understood why she was “neglected” and left in such a limbo. She and her family were not educated. They trusted their doctors and have full faith in them. They did not know how to ask questions. They were clueless about their problem. They believed KDL was given the “best” treatment.
Indeed we felt very sorry for KDL and her family.
Let us repeat what we have always said to patients. Please read and learn. If you choose to know nothing about your health and put your full belief and trust that others can help you, know that you may end up “a dead duck.” So, patients, please empower yourself. But in KDL’s case, we understood. She was not educated. She was helpless and naive. She needed help.
Another case: Xeloda did not stop recurrence of colon cancer
As we were dealing with KDL case, a friend dropped by our centre. He is 70 years old and was diagnosed with rectosigmoid cancer in October 2014. He underwent a surgery and the histopathology report indicated a Duke Stage B cancer with no spread to the nodes or other parts of the body. The patient was given Xeloda which he took faithfully.
Barely a year later, October 2015, the cancer recurred. The patient underwent another surgery. The histopathology report confirmed a moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma of the colon, recurrent in the abdominal wall.
This patient took Xeloda, but was Xeloda useful for him? It did not stop the cancer from coming back. Our friend decided not to undergo further chemotherapy and came to us for help.
What is Xeloda?
This is the “in thing” drug of today, being prescribed to patients with various cancers. Let me give you what they say about Xeloda in the net.
Xeloda is its brand name. Its generic name is Capecitabine. It is used to treat advanced metastatic breast cancer, colon cancer, and many other cancers.
Xeloda is taken as a pill and when inside the body is converted to 5-FU (5-fluorouracil). Since 1957 – 1980s researchers and doctors were experimenting and treating cancer with 5-FU. Therefore 5-FU is actually an old drug, used to treat colon and rectal cancer, breast cancer, anal, esophageal, pancreas and gastric (stomach) cancer, head and neck cancer, liver cancer, ovarian cancer, etc. This is given as injection, not taken orally like Xeloda.
So it reality, 5-FU is an old drug. But Xeloda is considered a “newer drug” although it is the same old thing. So can we say that Xeloda is like an old wine packed in a new bottle?
Another drug which is like Xeloda is UFT (tegafur plus uracil). UFT is not popularly prescribed yet but perhaps one day someone may decide to make it as popular as Xeloda and push it for cancer treatment.
Why is Xeloda popularly prescribed?
I think it is because it is easy to use. Just send patients home and ask them to swallow the pill and you get 5-FU inside the body. Before Xeloda, drug like 5-FU, had to be given as an injection. So there is a lot of hassle. Also, chemo-injection has already earned a “notorious” reputation of causing adverse side effects. So, giving patients a new “form” of the same drug perhaps would be a better strategy. Most patients may not even know that Xeloda is a chemo-drug anyway! So, the treatment would not sound as scary as the dreaded “chemotherapy.”
The one most important question to ask is, Can 5-FU or Xeloda cure cancer?
Well, if it is effective people would not die of cancer then.
We got to know 5-FU since the 1990s. Two of our patients who had colon cancer were treated with 5-FU. They died. Even today, as you can see from the above stories, patients who took Xeloda did not get any cure.
Side effects of Xeloda`
Fatigue
Diarrhea
Hand -foot syndrome -skin rash, swelling, redness, pain and/or peeling of the skin on the palms of hands and soles of feet. Usually mild, start as early as 2 weeks after start of treatment.
Xeloda killed my mother. She died on December 27th, 2007, ten weeks after starting a Xeloda regimen. She was 83, and she was in very good shape before beginning her treatment, in spite of the presence of secondary liver cancer (breast cancer metastasis). The drug destroyed the lining of her digestive system, and allowed a combination of bacterial infections to attack and kill a portion of her small intestine. She was within hours of death when emergency surgery repaired her intestine on 11/24/07. It appeared as though she would recover from her surgery, but she contracted pneumonia while hospitalized, and her system was too weak to fight back. I am heartbroken. I don’t want my mother’s death to prevent others from seeking proper treatment, but everyone should be aware of the dangers presented by bacterial infections that could cause major damage while this drug is being administered. James W. Moore jim@ed2c.com
Side effects of Xeloda
I have been taking Xeloda for over 6 months. My side effects began with very much pain in every part of my body … I have developed hand-foot syndrome. I’ve lost all the skin of the bottoms of my feet and I’m now my hands are peeling. My feet and hands are very sensitive to anything with a texture. I even have trouble opening a water bottle. Sometimes I want to stick my feet in buckets of ice! …. I just recently developed severe eye irritation which I brushed off as bad contacts or pollen in my eyes. I finally went to my eye doctor and he found severe eye irritation and swelling in my cornea. After speaking with a corneal specialist, he determined it was the result of taking Xeloda.
I have been on Xeloda for 3 years. I have the cancer cells in my left lung and spine, hip and left leg bones. Stage 4. Some new growth in the bones but no new growth in the left lung and no fluid build-up. I also have the hand and foot symptoms and sometimes I cannot walk and my hands are so smooth and sore I can’t even hold an envelope. Wear gloves most of the time and us a cane. BUT, life does not stop and neither should you. I still travel air, sea and land. And I have lots of praying friends and family. I have also changed my diet. NO SUGAR and very little meat mostly vegetables and fruit, organic if I can. Go till the Lord calls you home.
Xeloda is sort of an odd drug. For most people, it is viewed as an “easy” drug which is quite effective. For others, including me, it is more problematic. Usually, side effects start appearing in 7 – 10 days. For me, they start getting bad on about day 10 and it lasts through day 21, getting slightly better, but never going completely away, depending on the particular side effect.
The most common side effect is … hand and foot syndrome … Hand and foot syndrome with Xeloda is the redness and tenderness of the hands and feet. With me, I slough off skin, bit sheets of skin on my hands and feet. They become tender, and have a burning sensation. In addition, they swell and feel tight. It is not unusual for the heels, toes and sides of the feet to develop deep fissures or cracks. Up to 60% of the patients taking Xeloda suffer from this, and it varies in severity.
When I first started taking the correct dosage of 4,000 mg a day … two weeks on and one week off, I had massive issues. I had diarrhea, gas, nausea, and constipation (yes, even while I had the diarrhea), dehydration, dry eyes, dry mouth (cotton mouth), cramping, stomach pain, loss of appetite. It was severe enough that the oncologist backed it off to 3,000 mg. a day That took care of the most severe problems–the nausea, and diarrhea and stomach pain.
With 3,000 mg. a day, I still have: periodic constipation, hand and foot syndrome, vision changes (dry eyes which makes things sort of hard to focus on), dry mouth/cotton mouth, lack of taste, toxicity rash (the rash you see in the bottom picture which can also blister and tear easily…I call them my toxicity evening gloves), thinning hair (boy is this one annoying! I just got hair back and then I started to lose it again!), sensitivity to the sun, higher blood pressure than I usually do, discoloration of my nails and the worsening of a nail fungus, fatigue, anemia, heart burn. My feet also often get little blood blisters, which my onc says is probably because my skin is so thin…you bump it, and then you get a blister. Fortunately, I only had mouth sores (stomatitis) once.
I had breast cancer in 2000 which had spread to my spine in one of my vertebrae. I was prescribed Xeloda by my oncologist. Despite the severe side effects of hands and feet going red, blisters in my mouth and skin disorders, the oncologist insisted on this drug. I decided to terminate the use within 11 weeks. I am now experiencing numbness in both my hands, swelling and stiffness in all the joints of my hands. I believe patients should be warned about these side effects so that they understand the risks involved in taking such severe treatments. These side effects may take six months or even a year to appear.
CANCER STORY 
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