Tom started chemotherapy last Tuesday. The center at Interstate is an attractive place as chemotherapy injection centers go. Each patient gets a semi private area with a big, adjustable recliner, a TV, books, magazines, snacks and in Tom's case, big windows with second story tree views. I tried to take a photo of Tom in his comfy chair, but this was one time that he asked me not to take a picture. He was given a half hour of anti nausea medicine before starting.
When I started reading about the numerous chemotherapy drugs, the only one I could remember was 5-FU. I think it is an appropriate and easy to remember name, being as chemotherapy drugs are poisons that are added to the bloodstream, to assure they reach all parts of the body. 5-FU has been used for decades to treat colon cancer, but now it is usually used in a cocktail (a mixture of drugs that compliment each other) with two other drugs. This cocktail is nicknamed FOLFOX.
When I started reading about the numerous chemotherapy drugs, the only one I could remember was 5-FU. I think it is an appropriate and easy to remember name, being as chemotherapy drugs are poisons that are added to the bloodstream, to assure they reach all parts of the body. 5-FU has been used for decades to treat colon cancer, but now it is usually used in a cocktail (a mixture of drugs that compliment each other) with two other drugs. This cocktail is nicknamed FOLFOX.
Chemotherapy drugs work in these four ways.
Chemo drugs target and kill rapidly dividing cells, such as cancer cells. Of course they also effect other rapidly dividing cells such as bone marrow, hair follicles, and the lining of the digestive tract. Although most normal cells can fix themselves, this harming of good cells is what causes side effects. The two weeks resting period between treatments allows the good cells time to regenerate themselves. Cancer cells can't regenerate, when they die, they are dead.
Tom received his FOLFOX for about two hours at the center. He came home with a small black bag (a pump) which kept administering the drugs until two days later when we returned to have him disconnected.
The day after starting chemotherapy, Tom got up in the morning and said "Chemo rocks!". It seems that some problem that he had been dealing with was resolved. He felt better. On the way home from the center on that first day he requested pizza with the works for dinner. The next day he wanted a junior whopper meal at Burger King. Guess those anti nausea drugs work! Except for being a little less energetic than usual, he is feeling fairly well at this point. Round two coming up next week.
The drugs Tom is taking are 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU), Leucovorin, and Oxaliplatin.
5-FU is the most common drug used to treat colorectal cancer. It is an antimetabolite. It prevents cells from making DNA and RNA by interfering with the synthesis of nucleic acids, thus disrupting the growth of cancer cells.
Leucovorin (folinic acid) is a biomodulator, a biologic agent that mimics some of the natural signals that the body uses to regulate growth. Leucovorin calcium is a vitamin used as a "booster". It helps 5-FU work better and kill cancer cells more effectively than 5-FU can alone.
Oxaliplatin is an alkylating agent, a chemical agent that works directly on DNA during all phases of the cell cycle to prevent the cancer cell from reproducing.
5-FU is the most common drug used to treat colorectal cancer. It is an antimetabolite. It prevents cells from making DNA and RNA by interfering with the synthesis of nucleic acids, thus disrupting the growth of cancer cells.
Leucovorin (folinic acid) is a biomodulator, a biologic agent that mimics some of the natural signals that the body uses to regulate growth. Leucovorin calcium is a vitamin used as a "booster". It helps 5-FU work better and kill cancer cells more effectively than 5-FU can alone.
Oxaliplatin is an alkylating agent, a chemical agent that works directly on DNA during all phases of the cell cycle to prevent the cancer cell from reproducing.
How does chemotherapy work?
Chemo drugs target and kill rapidly dividing cells, such as cancer cells. Of course they also effect other rapidly dividing cells such as bone marrow, hair follicles, and the lining of the digestive tract. Although most normal cells can fix themselves, this harming of good cells is what causes side effects. The two weeks resting period between treatments allows the good cells time to regenerate themselves. Cancer cells can't regenerate, when they die, they are dead.
Tom received his FOLFOX for about two hours at the center. He came home with a small black bag (a pump) which kept administering the drugs until two days later when we returned to have him disconnected.
The day after starting chemotherapy, Tom got up in the morning and said "Chemo rocks!". It seems that some problem that he had been dealing with was resolved. He felt better. On the way home from the center on that first day he requested pizza with the works for dinner. The next day he wanted a junior whopper meal at Burger King. Guess those anti nausea drugs work! Except for being a little less energetic than usual, he is feeling fairly well at this point. Round two coming up next week.
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| And pizza and Burger King! |
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