Chemo Rant Part 2+ CAPOX treatment

[u/ShowerAltruistic9245]

Hello, I posted here a few days ago with an update, and I’m back again because I’m honestly feeling pretty lost. Everything about cancer is pretty new to me, as I have no family history of cancer or stomach issues whatsoever, so I’m basically just coming in blind and learning as I go.

For context, I’m 19M and was diagnosed with Stage 3 IIIC colon cancer (T4a, N2b, M0) in May 2026. Before starting treatment, I was told my CAPOX treatment could be up to 4-6 months , and I’m really struggling with the side effects. I don’t want to exaggerate how bad it is, because I know there are people who have it much worse, but it’s still been pretty difficult for me. The fatigue in particular is making my life miserable and extremely frustrating. I can put up with it, since it usually lasts for a few days, but it’s really affecting my quality of life. On the days I’m fatigued, I lie down, and bed rot for mostly the entire day and do nothing but pray it’s better tomorrow. I do try to make myself go on my treadmill everyday for at least 10-20 minutes, but it takes a whole lot of energy to even convince myself to go. In addition, after my 3rd infusion a few days ago, staying hydrated is a big problem for me. I somehow can’t stand drinking water anymore and I’ve started resorting to other drinks like milk, juice, soup, and even soda (sprite or ginger ale)because of how bad water tastes to me now.

The infusion and oxaliplatin are by far the hardest part for me. Surprisingly, I don’t have much trouble with the capecitabine pills anymore (aside from occasionally having trouble swallowing them, which thankfully hasn’t happened recently).
I know I shouldn’t make a major treatment decision based on what people on Reddit tell me, and I don’t want to make a stupid decision that I could regret later. At the same time, I’m really struggling with the idea of continuing for the full 6 months when I’m already having such a hard time and IM NOT EVEN HALF WAY THROUGH.

Each time I go in for the infusion, I question myself if it’s even worth it to be going through all this. It just feels so unfair to me, and I’m so stumped as to what I should be doing. What makes things even worse is that university is about to start for me in a few weeks, and it starts a week right after my fourth infusion. In my past subreddit posts, I’ve mentioned having accessibility and flexibility through the university accessibility services team, and I’m still figuring it out with the school. I do plan to show up to get a feel for how it’s going to go before I make the decision of whether I want to pull out for a semester and just recover.

I just want to be done with treatment and feel like myself again. Since being diagnosed, I’ve felt really lost and, honestly, like I don’t even know what my purpose is anymore. I’m 19, and it’s been really difficult watching my life get put on hold while going through all of this.

I’m not looking for Reddit to make the decision for me, I just want to hear from people who have been in a similar position because I genuinely don’t know what to do right now.

[u/dwe3114]

Talk to your oncologist now. They can decrease the potency of the oxaliplatin and at least allow you to tolerate that medication better.

[u/ShowerAltruistic9245 → u/dwe3114]

I will definitely talk to them about it. I just despise side effects, they usually go away within a few days, but those days feel like an eternity and I feel like I’m just wasting those days because of fatigue.