Hi there. My name is Ron. I am 50 years old and live in Denver, Colorado. I had surgery one year ago yesterday to remove a Stage 3 tumor from my descending colon (left side). I endured nine cycles of FOLFOX 6 chemotherapy from mid-Decemeber, 2004 through late-April, 2005. The therapy included Oxaliplatin, 5-FU, and Leucovorin. I had to postpone treatments twice for a week due to low blood counts. I terminated chemo after nine treatments due to complications with a kidney infection. My injections were administered through a Hohn catheter in my upper left chest just below my collar bone.
For the first six treatments, my neuropathy would develop immediately after the treatment started but would dissipate almost entirely by the end of the two-week treatment interval. After the sixth chemo, however, my neuropathy was continuous. My oncologist lowered the dose marginally for the remaining cycles. As I said before, I had to stop altogether after nine cycles due to other complications. I am so glad I had to stop because the neuropathy was getting worse.
For the next two-three months after stopping chemo, my neuropathey worsened. It was moderate in my hands and fingers(pain scale of 3 out of 10) but was extreme in my feet (8 out of 10). I have tried various treatments to help cope with this incredible bother. I started with Neurontin (one 100mg pill twice per day) and B6 supplements once per day. This had very minimal effect .... almost none. I doubled my Neurontin dosage to two pills, twice per day. This seemed to help a little. A few weeks ago, I tried another drug called Tramadol that is is used for diabetes-induced neuropathy. It seemed to have some similar effects as the Neurontin but it kept we awake at nights and I swithced back to Neurontin.
I, like anyone, am very depressed about having this Neuropathy. I can hardly stand to wear normal shoes and I wear garden clogs (Crocs)that are very soft and loose-fitting to help me get through the day. I take a lot of hot jacuzzi baths which seem to help my feet feel better at the end of the day. I miss walking with my wife, walking the golf course, hiking & skiing. I am going to try to snow ski again this year after taking last year off (the first year I have not skied in 35 years).
My research shows that this neuropathy can take anywhere from six months to five years to resolve itself .... with no certainty that you will have total recovery. For me, I am just now at the six month post-chemo point and have told myself to just try to be patient and positive and to hope for the best. If you have this crap, I'm sorry for you, but pray that you will be able to deal with it and make little "baby steps" of progress toward a happy and healthy lifesytle.
Aside from all of that, I am glad to be apparently cancer-free now. I have gained my weight back (15 pounds) from when I was the sickest. My energy level is pretty much back to normal and I don't think about my cancer much anymore compared to when it dominated my thoughts, discussions and dreams.
May God bless you all and those around you that care so much about you. Use those friends and family for the incredible strength that they can bring to you.
Take care friends! Live long and seize the day!