Hi JayD.....I have had exactly the same diagnosis as you, my operation was end of October. I started the Capecitbine Chemotherapy mid December. Tomorrow is day 14 of my second cycle. Like you I will have 8 cycles, thankfully so far I have had no real side effects my feet have got a little warm but I took the pharmacist advise and have been putting lots of cream on my hands and feet. I hope that your journey along these six months are good, I am due to complete towards end of May if all goes according to plan.  

Take care

Hi there I've recently had my cancer removed Dec2 but I had my chemotherapy first to shrink it had 8 sessions of capox a day on drip and two weeks on tablets 8 cycles got through it not to bad it affects people in different ways try and take each day as it comes good luck.

Hi

I was going through this 2 years ago.

Second time with bowel cancer, first time just surgery to remove right side and then 3 years later came back so removed more and as one of many removed lymph nodes was positive I was offered chemo which I thought I should have.

Had 4 months of Capecitabine and oxaliplatin. Hot/ tingly feet and hands with the Capecitabine and more side effects with Oxaliplatin.

Soon got back to normal when it was finished.

Good luck, it will soon pass x

Thank you so much for your kind reply,I'm happy to hear you're doing well. Thank you for the tip about the cream,any cream in particular? It's lonely getting diagnosed during a pandemic so it's nice to have this chat group.Best of luck for the rest of your treatment and thanks again for finding the time to reply to me,I really appreciate it :) 

Thank you for finding the time to reply to me,I'm so glad you got through all your treatment ok.I will take your advice and take one day at a time.All the best and thanks again :) 

Hello,

Thank you for replying to me,I really appreciate it especially during these lonely times.I'm sorry you've had to battle this cancer twice but I'm so happy you've won.You give people like me hope.It's nice to know that normal life will resume.

Thank you so much :) X

Hi JayS.

I was diagnosed stage 3 in October 2019. I have a lovely colostomy and named my stoma Storm (for obvious reasons). It helps me get through embarrassing moments when I say "oops, blowing up a storm today"  

Anyway, in had 8 cycles. 4 cycles before op and 4 cycles after. The capecitabine was the easier of the chemo. I also had the drip of the other cocktail, Oxaliplatin. The tablets were less harsh than the drip as far as I can tell. Still, messed.with my feet a bit.

Keep your feet warm and moisturize every day, keep your hands covered when touching door handles especially metal ones, give in to fatigue and know that you will feel fine for the first 3-4 cycles. I would say brush your teeth a little more with a soft brush and try to stay as hydrated as much as possible and have those nausea tablets close by. I'm assuming your on chemo clean up x that's really good news because it means when your treatment is over you'll be sitting in the Sun watching the world go by in no time.

Don't be afraid to contact someone if you feel rough. They are wonderful people and are dedicated to help get you through it all. I'm assuming your having tablet form at home during the pandemic so keep yourself safe and away from everyone. Even the common cold can hit you like a tonne of bricks. Try to eat well too.

After about the 4th cycle, mentally, you might start to get fed up. Really depends on your cycle regime. Mine was drip one day, tablets twice a day (8 tablets) for the next 2weeks then 7 days off. Don't let it get you down. Always look forward to the last one and celebrate with something nice. Mine was sugar coated jam doughnut about 3 days later when I could taste something again or bacon hap. They were the only things I could taste . 

However, if you don't get ANY side effects do not presume you don't need them. I know so many who felt fine and thought they didn't need them after all. You do. That is all x

Good luck and I know you probably hate this cause Lord i do but stay positive. Trying to see the best of the situation does help. Your allowed to say it to yourself but you can still tell everyone else to shove positivity up their bum if you feel like it cause its you going through it. It's not an empty response when you say it to yourself xx

Hi JayD.....I have been using E45 cream, was told to use unsecented cream. My sister bought me a large tub of this in Tesco. I just put it in frequently throughout the day...was told to do this before you got symptoms. No time is good to be going through this, but definitely being in this midst of a pandemic doesn't help. You take care and look after yourself.

Hello Kitty,

I'm Jane, Thank you so much  for your informative reply and all your tips which I will be following. I need to adopt your sense of humour,positivity and strength. I'm happy to hear you've finished all your treatment, I hope you're fully better now.This is all so sudden and new for me so I am a bit overwhelmed,I'm sure everyone feels the same when cancer enters their lives.

Your treatment is what they were going to give me but they changed it To just the oral tablets 10 a day for 2 wks then 1 wk off for a total of 6 months. I've never heard of chemo clean up but thank you for telling me the positive position I'll be in after treatment. The NHS staff have been so busy during this pandemic that I hate to disturb them with questions.I live in Central London and the hospitals are so busy with COVID Patients and my follow up has been changed to a telephone consultation. 
 

Thanks again, and I will be positive and I'll definitely be rewarding myself with the jam doughnuts 

Stay safe and well XXX 
 

Thank you for your kind reply Bicho 

I will purchase some E45 cream

yes I agree no time is nice to be going through this 

I hope your journey continues to be ok and best of luck with the rest of your treatment X