Skin cancer treatment w/Fluorouracil cream

geral

Thanx to everyone for your responses to my 10/14 msg! I'm taking all your responses into consideration. I'm still 'on the fence' as to what to do because I had already started the cream before I read that the cream is apprx. 93% eff. compared to surgery's apprx. 100% eff. and before reading your responses. I agree that surgery was/is prob. the way to go, and I can still have it. But since I'm still confused as what to do, I'm continuing the cream for now. I checked with my oncology surgeon who said that using the cream would be okay. The way the cream works is that I apply it once-a-day until the area starts looking really bad & feeling painful. Then, I see the dermatologist who tells me if it's time to stop the cream. Then, the skin cancer should disappear gradually on its own. If not, definitely surgery. Anyway, I'm still open to your input & wish I knew someone else who had tried Fluorouracil cream for skin cancer. Thanx so much!-Geral

sdevilbiss

Re: fluorouracil cream BEEN THERE! DONE THAT!
geral, I used Efudex (fluorouracil)cream for 18 days. I had already had a basal cell surgically removed from my temple area and my arm about 3 months before. The first 8 days weren't too bad, I had reddened areas but nothing like the pictures on the pamphlets my dermatologist had given me. By the 10th day I had bright red areas on most of my face with sloughing of the skin. The unaffected parts of my face did not become red. It actually looked like a very bad case of sun poisoning. In fact most people thought I was in the sun too much. It was extremely painful. I used a soft towel to pat my face dry and it felt like needles sticking in it. I couldn't believe the amount of sun damage and precancerous to cancerous lesions I had on my face. There is no way I could have had surgery to remove them all. After I stopped the Efudex per my dermatologist, it took several weeks to heal. I still have red area that make up covers. The skin is now soft and no red scaling areas. What a difference. Although it was very painful, I'm glad I did it. Now i have to use a sunscreen with zinc oxide and wear a large brimmed hat. After that, believe me I do. Hang in there and just remember that it is worth while. At least it was for me. Just a little hint, I bought a baby wash called Gentle Naturals, Eczema Baby Wash, by Orajel to wash my face. Even the mildest adult soaps were just too painful. The baby wash was so much easier on my raw skin. Good luck and I hope your affected area is small. Sandi