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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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Thanks for your answer. I am stopping treatment today and hope to see some improvement soon.
I have been told to do a 2 week course of Fluorouracil 5% cream all over my face for two weeks. My doctor did not really explain how much to put on, but said that it would get really red and sore. I went home to wait to start it till after the holidays and I have been reading a lot about it and seeing different blogs and now I am terrified to use it. I have to work in retail and I’m scared of how bad it’s gonna look doing my whole face. Any advice. Thank you.
@steverobin Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect! As you may have read here with the responses from others, there can be a wide range of responses when using this cream. My suggestion is to not use very much at all. Yes, you will most likely get red and sore spots on your face where the cream is working on precancerous spots. You might or might not be able to even see these spots yourself.
This cream is a tool to use against the development of future/additional precancerous spots. A suggestion I have for you, is to start this on your day off. Get used to the feelings. Get used to the way your face will look in the mirror. Use a gentle facial wash in between the once daily application of the cream. Prepare yourself for people commenting, perhaps, "Are you okay?" "What happened to your face?" Let this be a teaching moment, and explain you are treating your face for a precancerous condition, and from here on out you will be very diligent about sunscreen. I bet that would make you feel a bit better about yourself, helping others.
Ginger
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1 ReactionI have had 5 MOHS surgeries on my face and want to avoid more scarring. When I get a precancerous looking spot I use the Fluorouracil 5% liquid. It has worked well for me but it was never all over my face as you mention. Just one spot at a time. The spots get very red and nearly look like bleeding at the end of the course of treatment. I had no pain and was pleased to avoid more surgery. I don't think it would be pleasant to use it all over my face. A male friend of mine did this for some condition on his face and he looked pretty bad for a few weeks but it cured his problem.