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Skin cancer: Has anybody had fluorouracil treatment?
My parent has hit the point where she gets four or five pre-cancerouas growths on her face every year. The doctor has been freezing them off with good results.
The Dr. recently suggested she apply a fluorouracil lotion to her face two times a day for two weeks. Apparently, this kills off the defective skin cells and holds down the development of the pre-cancerous growths for about two years. But, my mom is worrying about the redness and unpleasnt effects of the treatment during the 2 to 3 weeks she is dealing with it.
Can anybody who has used this treatment pass on their experience. She wants to hear from people who have done the treatment.
Thanks.
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@cmorcat I will be interested to hear how your experience goes! When I first used it, areas I had not applied it to, reacted, and they didn't show as a problem spot [yet]. Oh, heavens, I thought I was having a bad reaction. Nope, just the medication finding the "bad guys".
Ginger
Thank you for your help. I was wondering if it was ok to wear makeup in the beginning to hide some of the redness while at work.
Thank You
Julie
I had a squamous carcinoma in situ on my nose and had it removed, but the margins were not completely cleared. The doctor decided to treat with fluorouracil for 6 weeks. There has been considerable redness and tenderness, and I am 5 weeks into the treatment. From readers experience with 6 week therapy, how long is it before the skin looks normal again?
@jultan Personally, I would be careful about using makeup that might block the medication from absorbing into the affected areas. I am not a makeup expert, could you think about using a powder for a time, rather than a liquid as makeup?
Ginger
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1 Reaction@dlw950 Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect! Dang, that's too bad the margins were not clear. Perhaps it is because of the location?
Everyone seems to have a similar experience when it comes to "getting back to normal" after using a fluorouracil treatment. In my experience, it was gradual after the treatments stopped, maybe a couple of weeks of lessening redness, then gone. At about the 4 week mark or so, I started using a light moisturizer on my face to help lessen the discomfort, making sure it was sparingly applied.
Have you returned to the doctor for post-procedure follow-up, yet? Have you posted this question to them, and what was their response?
Ginger
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1 ReactionThe original excision was supposed to be followed by a Mohs surgery, but due to the prominent location, the doctor decided to do the fluorouracil treatment.
I have a follow up, but not for a couple of months. The treatment is on my nose, so I am hoping that I don’t look like
Rudolph the red nosed Reindeer for Christmas.