Switching CellCept (mycophenolate mofetil) for Sirolimus (rapamycin)?

Posted by hello1234 @hello1234, Oct 14 7:05pm

Hi Transplant Family!
I am celebrating my FIVE year kidney transplant anniversary. Everything is going great except all of the sudden I am now dealing with lots of MOHS surgeries on my scalp and face for squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell. My doctors are discussing swapping my Cellcept for Sirolimus (Rapamycin). I wanted to see if anyone in our community is successfully dealing with these types of skin cancers and also if anyone switched to Sirolimus (or Rapamycin) and what was your experience with the switch. It makes me nervous to switch immune suppression meds since my kidney transplant is nice and stable. Please let me know your thoughts and any experience you may have with these skin cancers and possibly switching to Sirolimus or Rapamycin. Thank you so much everyone!

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Transplants Support Group.

In reply to @rachel5239 "No results yet" + (show)
Profile picture for rachel5239 @rachel5239

No results yet

Jump to this post

Hi @rachel5239 Thank you for keeping me updated. One of my neighbors told me that her breast biopsy results took 8 to 10 days. Is that what they told you too?

REPLY
Profile picture for hello1234 @hello1234

Hi @rachel5239 Thank you for keeping me updated. One of my neighbors told me that her breast biopsy results took 8 to 10 days. Is that what they told you too?

Jump to this post

@hello1234 they said 2 to 3 days. Expecting to hear something on Monday.

REPLY
Profile picture for hello1234 @hello1234

Hi @rachel5239 Thank you for keeping me updated. One of my neighbors told me that her breast biopsy results took 8 to 10 days. Is that what they told you too?

Jump to this post

@hello1234 I do have breast cancer. Metastatic carcinoma. I have my first appointment next Tuesday so I will learn what my options are. A transplant patient does have a higher risk of getting cancer because of the drugs. Took 38 years to happen so not too bad. I am optimistic that they will figure something out.

REPLY
Profile picture for rachel5239 @rachel5239

@hello1234 I do have breast cancer. Metastatic carcinoma. I have my first appointment next Tuesday so I will learn what my options are. A transplant patient does have a higher risk of getting cancer because of the drugs. Took 38 years to happen so not too bad. I am optimistic that they will figure something out.

Jump to this post

@rachel5239 I am so sorry to hear this news Rachel. Please let me know what's going on after your Tuesday consultation appointment. Will your oncology team coordinate with your transplant team and possibly lower immune suppression a tad? (I assume all of this will be discussed on Tuesday along with all of your options).
Are you a member of the breast cancer support group on Mayo Connect too? After you find out the type of cancer, options, etc you may want to post there to get some good real-life feedback from the gals that have been through the different treatment options. It's a wonderful group of women.
Please keep me posted after Tuesday and do something nice this weekend to treat yourself. Love ❤️

REPLY
Profile picture for hello1234 @hello1234

@rachel5239 I am so sorry to hear this news Rachel. Please let me know what's going on after your Tuesday consultation appointment. Will your oncology team coordinate with your transplant team and possibly lower immune suppression a tad? (I assume all of this will be discussed on Tuesday along with all of your options).
Are you a member of the breast cancer support group on Mayo Connect too? After you find out the type of cancer, options, etc you may want to post there to get some good real-life feedback from the gals that have been through the different treatment options. It's a wonderful group of women.
Please keep me posted after Tuesday and do something nice this weekend to treat yourself. Love ❤️

Jump to this post

@hello1234 I have appointments on Dec 8 to see. An oncologist and a couple of other appointments. I hope I get some direction on Tuesday. Thanks for your support.

REPLY

Your experience is my experience. Lots of mohs surgeries. Years ago my dermatologist (with my transplant docs consent) switched out cellcept for rapamune. It didn't make a difference whatsoever. All immunosuppressants, no matter which one, deprives the recipient any defense from the uv rays. My recommendation is to avoid the uv rays by staying out of the sun, wear spf clothing, apply sunscreen, etc.
Best advice

REPLY
Profile picture for charliesilberman @charliesilberman

Your experience is my experience. Lots of mohs surgeries. Years ago my dermatologist (with my transplant docs consent) switched out cellcept for rapamune. It didn't make a difference whatsoever. All immunosuppressants, no matter which one, deprives the recipient any defense from the uv rays. My recommendation is to avoid the uv rays by staying out of the sun, wear spf clothing, apply sunscreen, etc.
Best advice

Jump to this post

@charliesilberman Thank you so much for sharing your experience with changing out Cellcept. That's very helpful. My dermatologist offered me blue light therapy or efudex to do regularly in an attempt to keep all the pre-cancers on my scalp quiet.
Did your dermatologist offer any of those treatment ideas, did you try any of them, and what are your thoughts?
Were your MOHS squamous cell on your scalp? That's what I keep getting.
Your idea about staying out of the sun and put on lots of sunscreen is excellent. Unfortunately, I live in Florida so even the inside of my sunny house and sunny car with lots of windows is a daily hazard. Please let me know your experience on any of the maintenance treatments that the dermatologist offers.
Thank you for sharing!

REPLY
Profile picture for hello1234 @hello1234

@charliesilberman Thank you so much for sharing your experience with changing out Cellcept. That's very helpful. My dermatologist offered me blue light therapy or efudex to do regularly in an attempt to keep all the pre-cancers on my scalp quiet.
Did your dermatologist offer any of those treatment ideas, did you try any of them, and what are your thoughts?
Were your MOHS squamous cell on your scalp? That's what I keep getting.
Your idea about staying out of the sun and put on lots of sunscreen is excellent. Unfortunately, I live in Florida so even the inside of my sunny house and sunny car with lots of windows is a daily hazard. Please let me know your experience on any of the maintenance treatments that the dermatologist offers.
Thank you for sharing!

Jump to this post

@hello1234 I've done it all. I have 4 tubes of efudex on hand I've had many blue light treatments. I've had approximately 23 mohs surgeries. My situation is exasperated by the fact I'm on immunosuppressants which deprive me of any natural defense to the uv rays. Btw I also live in Florida. Precisely Miami Beach.

REPLY
Profile picture for charliesilberman @charliesilberman

@hello1234 I've done it all. I have 4 tubes of efudex on hand I've had many blue light treatments. I've had approximately 23 mohs surgeries. My situation is exasperated by the fact I'm on immunosuppressants which deprive me of any natural defense to the uv rays. Btw I also live in Florida. Precisely Miami Beach.

Jump to this post

@charliesilberman
Wow, you have really done it all! I received my kidney transplant five years ago and in the last year the skin cancer problem has really fired up. How long have you had your transplant? I am on Cellcept and Envarsus XR.
Did you find that one type of treatment was more effective than another in keeping things under control? I was thinking of trying the blue light?
How often do you go the dermatologist for check ups?
I have discovered that my dermatologist can not find the squamous. I find them by the way the feel.
Is your dermatologist able to find the squamous or do you find the problem areas yourself by the way they feel?
Thank you for sharing your experiences. It's very helpful to meet someone going through a similar issue with immune suppression meds.

REPLY
Please sign in or register to post a reply.