tripleblessed
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Compazine (I think I spelled that correct) is anti nausea meds. I take it with each dose. I don’t really know if I need it. The Prilosec is for acid reflux. This type of radiation can cause reflux so they had me taking it from the beginning to help prevent it. I take xeloda twice a day only on treatment days so 5 days a week.
Mandy – I am 18 days into chemoradiation. I am on xeloda ( pill) and thus far the only complaint I have is feeling tired on treatment days. I usually take a nap and then I am refreshed. I do take compazine with the xeloda just in case and Prilosec as preventative. I am waiting for things to get bad but my oncologist said some people handle it better then others. Frankly, I struggled with the gem/CIs. I had to skip a dose, lower the dose, and then eventually take shots because my white blood cells were too low. It wiped me out and I only did 4 cycles. AND yes you are triple blessed as well.
Tina – thank you for sharing your story. We certainly have a great team. We were so lucky to have Dr. Tanabe. It is great to connect with someone local. I know there are more MGHers out there!!!!!
Thank you everyone for responding. I recovered well from the surgery but still have lingering pain. I will admit I was in pretty good shape before this happened despite just having a baby so I was strong going in. I was able to get back on my bike and back running about 6 weeks after surgery but once I hit cycle 3 of chemo it wiped me out. My energy is back but the Boston weather is now my excuse
My Doctors decided on chemo radiation because of a close margin. They have mapped out a conservative treatment plan and are going after a very specific area. So far so good but I know the effects are cumulative so it will only get more difficult. My radiation oncologist feels only a small population of people with my cancer/situation would benefit from chemorads but lucky me….I am one of them.
I made it clear from the beginning I was looking to be aggressive in my treatment. My doctors have also made it clear to me this is a very aggressive disease but they have reiterated numerous times they have patients who have beat this!!!
My team of doctors are known to be top in the field. Dr. Zhu and Dr. Tanabe have written numerous articles and clinical trials in this area. He is the “go to guy” in Boston and people travel long and far to see him. I did go to Dana Farber for my second opinion. They were more conservative in their approach. I am very fortunate to have two top cancer hospitals in the same city.
I also wanted to mention that I have followed “Wallsm” as I guessed our situations were rather similar. Our treatment plan sounds very similar.
Thank you everyone for reaching out! I hoped I answered some of your questions. My oncologist already has plans for me to run the Boston Marathon to raise money for bile duct research!!!!
