Xeloda, help please

Hi,
I just joined this site today. I'm so upset about my mothers chemo.
She has brest cancer since 8 years, is 74 years old and has a 4 centimeter tumor on her sternum (breats are clear), some on her axilery and maybe it has mestastasized in her lungs (we won't know until her next cat scan in 3 weeks.
She was for 2 years on that red liquid chemo (forgot the name) but now the doctors switched her to Xeloda since 2 weeks.
The side effects are terrible. Her feet are swollen, hurt terribly, nausea etc.
She has been prescribed 3 pills a 500mg twice a day, however she will go down to 2 twice a day.
Does anybody know if the side effects will subside or get worse.
I haven't seen my parents in years, since they live in Germany and I'm in Seattle and I just want to do anything I can from far away to help.
Thanks so much.

[Fernando Roque, MD]

Hi. From your description, your mother seems to be suffering from hand-foot syndrome, which is a common adverse effect of Xeloda.  Hand-foot syndrome is a condition where the palms of the hands and soles of the feet become reddish, swollen and develop pain and tingling sensations.  Sometimes, rash or peeling of the skin in the palms and soles also occur. Reducing the dose of Xeloda can help decrease this side effect.  Applying ice packs and skin lotion can also help relieve the burning sensation and dryness.  Another option which your grandmother can take is to discontinue Xeloda altogether.  If her cancer is hormone responsive (you can ask her doctor to verify this), she may benefit from taking hormonal treatment like anastrozole, letrozole, or fulvestrant, instead of receiving chemotherapy.

[NotPamela]

Thank you for the response. Spoke with my mother again this morning and she finally called a MD at Roche and then her Professor.
The MD at Roche told my mom that the side effects concerning the feet should never be that severe (good news she said was, that the severe sideeffects are a sign of the chemo (working), however to stop taking the pills until her blood tests on Friday and until the side effects regarding the feet are gone, and she is already taking a prescribed cream.
My mother took Doxil for 2 years, but never had such severe hand and foot syndrome had to stop though since her body became resistant again the drug.
I just have a couple of more questions:

If your body becomes resistant to the prior chemo, will that be a lasting resistance, or could you start again after a break?

The hormonl treatment sounds interessting and I will definately mention it to my mother tomorrow. She probably developed breast cancer due to hormones.
The thing I'm most worrid about is that ot might have been spread to the lungs and not just the sternum and the under arm lymp glands.
Next CT is next month, maybe it's just bronchitis.
My mother is in great shape, looks like she's 40 and has a zest for life, just so frustrating that I'm in the USA and my parents in Germany or I could help more.
Anyway, thank you so much.

[NotPamela]

Just spoke with my Mother and asked told her about your suggestion.Unfortunately she took all 3 of these medications years ago, and then became resistant.
Is there is "brand new" chemo out which might work in case she would have to stop Xeloda?

[Fernando Roque, MD]

Hi.  If the tumor has become resistant to a chemotherapy regimen and has grown or spread further, it is advisable to switch to a new one instead of just taking a break and restarting the old regimen. The resistance to the chemotherapy is a persistent characteristic.  However, there are certain new drugs, like bevacizumab or trastuzumab (these are antibodies which target specific molecules in the cancer cells responsible for growth) which, when added to the usual chemotherapy, enable them to overcome the tumor's resistance to the drugs.  Adding Bevacizumab to Doxil can, in theory, allow your mother to use Doxil again.