xeloda

My doc is switching from taxol/carboplatin/ herceptin to xeloda/ herceptin as my treatment for breast cancer. I previously have been treated with 5-fu but it was not effective and we moved on to other chemo.
In researching xeloda , I have found that it is a chemo (taken orally) that the body converts to 5-fu. Won't this prove to be ineffective again? Or, is their some benefit to xeloda that makes it different than 5-fu?

[CCF-RN,MSN-JS]

Dear roffie, Xeloda (capecitabine) is an oral medication that is changed in the body to 5-flurouracil (5-fu).  Xeloda alone has been approved for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer that has not responded to, or has stopped responding to treatment with Taxol and anthracycline containing regimens such as Adriamycin.  Because you have had 5-fu in the past does not necessarily mean that Xeloda will be ineffective.  Different factors play into the decision to use a similar drug, for instance - when 5-fu was given (was it given as part of an adjuvant protocol?), the dose used, was it used in combination with herceptin?  There is more taken into account than just the similarity in the medication.