How long is chemotherapy for bladder cancer?

Intravesical chemotherapy or immunotherapy may used for intermediate non-invasive bladder cancers. Some studies suggest that immunotherapy works best. It’s done once a week for 6 weeks, and may be repeated for another 6 weeks if needed. This is called induction therapy.

How many cycles of oxaliplatin can you have?

You have oxaliplatin and capecitabine chemotherapy as cycles of treatment. This means you have the drugs and then a rest to allow your body to recover. Each cycle lasts 3 weeks (21 days). Depending on your needs, you may have between 4 and 8 cycles.

How long does it take to administer folfox?

Your nurse gives you folinic acid and oxaliplatin as a drip (infusion) over 2 hours.

How is infection treated with chemotherapy?

In some cases, injections of drugs called CSFs (colony-stimulating factors) may be given to stimulate the bone marrow to produce more white blood cells (WBC) so the body can better fight the infection. Examples of CSFs include filgrastim (Neupogen), tbo-filgrastim (Granix), and pegfilgrastim (Neulasta).

How many rounds of FOLFOX can you have?

Each 14-day period is known as one Cycle. If the disease is not metastatic, treatment is given for a total of 12 cycles (6 months). If the disease is metastatic, each cycle may be repeated until the treatment no longer works or until unacceptable side effects occur.

When can I stop taking oxaliplatin?

Virtually never do I go beyond eight cycles of oxaliplatin, even in those patients with high risk. In my opinion, the IDEA study gives us permission to stop oxaliplatin at 3 months – in higher-risk, we should discuss whether or not we continue the 5-FU/capecitabine for a total of 6 months.

Is FOLFOX strong chemo?

Chemotherapy medications such as FOLFOX are potent drugs. Although they kill harmful cancer cells, they can also damage healthy tissue and cause a range of side effects.

Can you be on antibiotics while on chemo?

Sometimes your doctor may give you a course of antibiotics during your chemotherapy to help fight off an infection or stop you getting one.

When are chemo patients most at risk for infection?

People receiving chemotherapy may be at risk for getting infections. You are likely to be at higher risk between 7-12 days after you have received each chemotherapy does–and possibly lasting for 5-7 days, when your white blood cells are at their lowest numbers.

Can cancer still spread while on chemo?

While chemotherapy is one of the oldest and most successful ways of treating cancer, it doesn’t always work. So, yes, cancer can spread during chemotherapy. Spreading could mean the tumor keeps growing, or that the original tumor shrinks, but cancer metastasizes, forming tumors in other areas of the body.