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I will find out next week if I will be put on Xeloda, I am currently on Arimidex and they don't think it is working. I found out that Xeloda is covered under my Medicare Part B and not under the Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, but I dont know if the pharmacies will accept the insurance or If I have to lay out the money and get reimbursed. Does anyone have an experience with Xeloda that they can share? Thanks for your help!
Walgreens will accept your medicare card as payment.
I have been on Xeloda since August 08. They started me out out 3500 mg a day with 2 weeks on and 2 week off. By the end of the first week, my feet were starting to burn so they lowered the dosage...twice for me. I have been at 2500 mg a day since mid-Sept. and have had very tolerable side effects. The only thing that starts to get to me as I start to get into my 2nd week is tender hands and feet. Otherwise I have a very good quality of life. No nausea, diarrhea, etc. It's been great for me & very convenient. Unfortunately it has stopped working for me and I am having to go onto an IV chemo. I hope it works well for you!
Hi new friends!
I'm a newbie here but not new to BC with mets to the lungs since 2002. I have been taking Xeloda since last Oct. and I too have the hand/foot syndrome. My schedule is 500mg. 5 per day, for two weeks and then one week off. I am in my 7th cycle right now and will have yet an eighth cycle before my next ct. scan the middle of April. I think that the manufacturer of Xeloda has a site "Rouche" and they will also help financially. The drugist also gave me two places to apply for financial aid and so did my oncology nurse. There is help out there, but you must pursue it. Is anyone going to attend the conference for Mets BC in May at Dana-Farber in Boston?
Ladies, thanks for sharing. I did stop at CVS and the pharmacist said they would take my medicare. When I got home, my DR called and decided to do 2 rounds of Taxol/Avastin instead of the xeloda because after consultation with other BC doctors it was agreed it would be my best option for success.
Hi fannyv!
Taxol/Avastin is a good treatment and I was on it over a year! I had to go off of it because I ended up on the hospital with diverticulities, not fun. :o(
But, if you ever need to go Xeloda there's a lot of support out there, even a kit, and you'll get assigned a nurse, who'll call you every week if you want her to. She will have helpful suggestions with side effects. Neat!
One thing I didn't know during my first cycle was not to handle the pills with your hands, (afterall it is chemo) and now I pick them up with my tongue from a plate! Talk about talent! lol
So I wish you well, let me know how you're doing, I care! God bless!
your friend, hazelmarie
Thanks hazelmarie. This is the best place for support. I also wish the best for you, too. Prayers are always important in my life. Take care!
I was on Tykerb and Xeloda for over a year. The Xeloda caused all kinds of skin problems, particularly hands and feet. My dosage was cut back because by the end of the third week on Xeloda, I could barely walk. The combination worked for about 14 months. My tumor markersw went down to 58 (from 580), but when the dose was cut back, the markers started going back up. Are you HER2+?
Wish I'd known about that support.And, I never thought about the handling aspect. Oh, well. I'm off it now and going back on Herceptin and taxotere.
Hi dear Dramamama!~
Wow, we were both diagnosed in 1999, and also are both her2+, also same age! Amazing how your numbers went down with the Tykerb and Xeloda, those two drugs together really pack a wallop!!! I'm actually being cut from 14 days on to 7 days on and 7 days off. It kinda scares me but at the same time I've done 10 cycles since last October and yes, the hand/foot Syndrome is no fun. I'm worried about walking around Dana-Farber and Boston for that matter! I don't do well on my feet for very long, I know you understand that! Will I get to meet you in Boston on the 16Th? I sure hope so!!! I know that Herceptin and Taxotere are also very good Ca fighters, and I wish you the very best. I was on Taxol and Avastin already and stayed on that for about a year! Have you done the red devil yet? (doxorubicin) I had miserable side effects with that one, didn't feel too bad about going off of it after 3 months! It nothing short of a miracle that all of these treatments are available to us. All we need is time to try them all!
Please know that you are in my prayers and we are tough ol gals, afterall 10 years of "fighting alligatiors" is no small feat!!!
God bless, >j<
hazelmarie
Oh, and I also married my high school sweet heart 43 years ago, (yes, I was a teenager!) and we have two sons! Our oldest lives in Boston and he's 39 and the youngest is 34, I hung an anchor around him and he's in WI! We have 4 grand-kids and they are so much fun! What ideal relationships!!! The oldest is 13 and he lives in Boston, my only grand-daughter is 9 this month, and she has two brothers, 6 and 4, and those 3 are in WI, an hour and a half away, thank goodness!
I love to garden and so does my husband, I'm glad that he is retired and can do the majority of the work now, I sure can't anymore! The warmth makes me "pick" all over, even wearing long sleeves and a hat, and of course, my hands & feet aren't worth a darn! But I love the birds and our first "hummer" came today! The cardinals and the wrens wake me up every morning! :o)
Happy Mother's Day on Sunday! God bless, have a beautiful day!
hazelmarie
Dramamama, Glad to read your post. I'm getting ready to start the Tykerb/Xeloda combination and have been quite anxious about the possible problems w/side effects (oh what we go through!). Since you've been on for over a year it gives me encouragement that the side effects can be manageable. I know from experience the different drugs effect us all in different ways. I'm hoping to buy some more time with this combo. Thanks again for your informative and encouraging post. Carol D. in Winston-Salem, NC
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