Back is breaking out?

JReed
JReed Member Posts: 428
Has anyone experienced their back breaking out after chemo and/or radiation treatment? Last night Don wanted me to scratch his back and as I did - I noticed lots of bumps. At first I thought it might be an allergic reaction to something - I gave him a benadryl, but now it looks almost like acne - but it isn't. I wonder if it could be the chemo or radiation working out of his system. Don completed chemo 2/8 and radiation 2/14 - seems like that would be too long ago to cause this. Just wondering.
Thank you,
Judy

Comments

  • Cora11
    Cora11 Member Posts: 173
    Judy, it very well might be
    Judy, it very well might be a radiation burn or rash. We were given some special cream to put on Keith but his rash was right on the front of his chest and it came out towards the end of radiation treatment. It's very common to get skin rashes with the radiation, so one thing to look at is if it is in a place where he was radiated. If he has bumps breaking out over the rest of his body, then it's more likely to be allergic. But we were alerted that you can get very itchy with chemo/rads but of course, run it by the dr. Our radiation nursers were very strict about what they allowed us to put on any skin eruptions. I'm sorry I don't recall the name of the lotion but they gave it to us at the clinic, anticipating that he might get a burn / rash from radiation.
    Cora
  • Cora11
    Cora11 Member Posts: 173
    Judy, it very well might be
    Judy, it very well might be a radiation burn or rash. We were given some special cream to put on Keith but his rash was right on the front of his chest and it came out towards the end of radiation treatment. It's very common to get skin rashes with the radiation, so one thing to look at is if it is in a place where he was radiated. If he has bumps breaking out over the rest of his body, then it's more likely to be allergic. But we were alerted that you can get very itchy with chemo/rads but of course, run it by the dr. Our radiation nursers were very strict about what they allowed us to put on any skin eruptions. I'm sorry I don't recall the name of the lotion but they gave it to us at the clinic, anticipating that he might get a burn / rash from radiation.
    Cora
  • JReed
    JReed Member Posts: 428
    Cora11 said:

    Judy, it very well might be
    Judy, it very well might be a radiation burn or rash. We were given some special cream to put on Keith but his rash was right on the front of his chest and it came out towards the end of radiation treatment. It's very common to get skin rashes with the radiation, so one thing to look at is if it is in a place where he was radiated. If he has bumps breaking out over the rest of his body, then it's more likely to be allergic. But we were alerted that you can get very itchy with chemo/rads but of course, run it by the dr. Our radiation nursers were very strict about what they allowed us to put on any skin eruptions. I'm sorry I don't recall the name of the lotion but they gave it to us at the clinic, anticipating that he might get a burn / rash from radiation.
    Cora

    Thanks
    It doesn't look like a rash or burn and it doesn't seem to be hives like in an allergic reaction to something. It almost looks like acne - but it is not acne. Weird. We haven't put any lotion on it - he had me scratch his back last night and tonight. Probably some chemical change in his system and hopefully, it will clear up quickly.

    Thanks and we'll keep an eye on it.

    xoxox
    Judy
  • monica_sss
    monica_sss Member Posts: 54
    JReed said:

    Thanks
    It doesn't look like a rash or burn and it doesn't seem to be hives like in an allergic reaction to something. It almost looks like acne - but it is not acne. Weird. We haven't put any lotion on it - he had me scratch his back last night and tonight. Probably some chemical change in his system and hopefully, it will clear up quickly.

    Thanks and we'll keep an eye on it.

    xoxox
    Judy

    Skin
    Judy, my Mom is getting bruised easily, but there hasn't been any rash or acne type bumps. She finished chemo and radiation on 2/21.

    I want to ask how is he getting along otherwise? Is he extremely fatigued and weak? Can he eat better than he did before the treatment? I feel like we're so "in the woods" here, I just want to hear that it gets better. You're about a week ahead of us.
  • Ginny_B
    Ginny_B Member Posts: 532
    Cora11 said:

    Judy, it very well might be
    Judy, it very well might be a radiation burn or rash. We were given some special cream to put on Keith but his rash was right on the front of his chest and it came out towards the end of radiation treatment. It's very common to get skin rashes with the radiation, so one thing to look at is if it is in a place where he was radiated. If he has bumps breaking out over the rest of his body, then it's more likely to be allergic. But we were alerted that you can get very itchy with chemo/rads but of course, run it by the dr. Our radiation nursers were very strict about what they allowed us to put on any skin eruptions. I'm sorry I don't recall the name of the lotion but they gave it to us at the clinic, anticipating that he might get a burn / rash from radiation.
    Cora

    Mom got horrible burns just
    Mom got horrible burns just below her neck. So bad, in fact, that rads were postponed for a few days.
  • Guigna
    Guigna Member Posts: 63
    radiation burns
    they gave us an aloe vera lotion to put onto my husband when he was getting radiated for his esophagus. He got the exact same red bumps, itchiness. Don't just use any lotion because some will interfere with the radiation.
  • hdwchisholm
    hdwchisholm Member Posts: 20
    JReed said:

    Thanks
    It doesn't look like a rash or burn and it doesn't seem to be hives like in an allergic reaction to something. It almost looks like acne - but it is not acne. Weird. We haven't put any lotion on it - he had me scratch his back last night and tonight. Probably some chemical change in his system and hopefully, it will clear up quickly.

    Thanks and we'll keep an eye on it.

    xoxox
    Judy

    Aquafor healing ointment
    Judy, You may want to ask one of the nurses about aquafor healing lotion. This helped my neck recover from radiation burns. Much better than the radiagel. Have you changed soaps recently? or has the humidity decreased recently? My last rad was July 18. My massotherapist noticed small red spots on my back about 2-3 weeks ago. Only change was my shower soap. Also the climate had gotten dryer recently. I have changed soaps and increased humidity in my home. This seems to have helped. Homer
  • Wife of patient 50378
    Wife of patient 50378 Member Posts: 124
    Cortisone
    Dan had a similar experience. Cortizone cream worked wonderfully.
    Sal
  • dwhite0002
    dwhite0002 Member Posts: 126 Member
    Chemo Reaction?
    I had a back rash from Urbitux. It was very much like acne. I also had a burn from radiation. They gave me silvadine ointment. It helped.

    Best,

    David
  • JReed
    JReed Member Posts: 428
    Hives may be caused by blood pressure med
    The mystery rash has been determined to be some type of an allergic reaction to something. Not sure yet what it is caused by - one of our members wrote to me on facebook and said that her husband experienced the same thing and the cause turned out to be his blood pressure medication which is lisinopril and that is what Don takes.

    Toward the end of treatment Don had to discontinue taking lisinopril because his blood pressure dropped too low. He began taking it again on Saturday and by Saturday night - he had hives. We went to chemo doc on Tuesday and he is baffled - said it would be highly unlikely to be caused by the treatment - but it could be possible. Of course, I got the message from Angie about the blood pressure after we got home from that appointment! I did call the doc back and mention the bp med to him and again, he said it could be possible. In any event, he prescribed medrol for Don and this is day 3 of taking that and there has been very little improvement - his back doesn't look as bad but his belly and sides and legs don't appear to have changed much. By Monday, if it isn't better - we'll be going back to see what plan b migh be.

    Also - Don began to eat better after treatment and he ate some foods he has not had since November - wondering if he has acquired an allergy to something he ate.

    Continues to be a mystery and we're hoping this is resolved before surgery which is scheduled for March 22.

    Judy
  • mark krabbe
    mark krabbe Member Posts: 8
    I had acne
    I had stage 3 esophagus cancer and did a clinical trial with my chemo. One of my side effects was acne. I had it real bad durning treatment. It started on my face but did progress to my back, arms, and chest some. I was given acne meds (a pill and some cream) and it cleared most of it up.
  • JReed
    JReed Member Posts: 428

    I had acne
    I had stage 3 esophagus cancer and did a clinical trial with my chemo. One of my side effects was acne. I had it real bad durning treatment. It started on my face but did progress to my back, arms, and chest some. I was given acne meds (a pill and some cream) and it cleared most of it up.

    Welcome Mark!
    Hi Mark:

    Welcome to the 'club'. Thank you for your reply. I thought at first these 'bumps' on Don's back were like acne also - but we are 99.9% sure it is an allergic reaction. He has been on Medrol since Wednesday and there has been little change. If it isn't clear by Monday - he'll have to see the doc again and go to plan B. Got 12 days to get it cleared up - surgery is scheduled for March 22 and hopefully this is gone and will not be an issue.

    If you wouldn't mind - could you tell us your story - when and how did you find out you had EC, what stage is your diagnosis, what treatments you have done or will do. I don't want to be too nosey - but we like to know as much as anyone wants to tell us. If you had surgery or will have and which one will you have/had?

    The old EC saying applies - sorry you had to find us, but so very glad you did. This is the best supportive and informational site about esophageal cancer that I could locate on the internet and the pioneers are amazing. You probably already know how much everyone contributes to this site and to each other - we are very glad to have you here.

    Judy
  • AngieD
    AngieD Member Posts: 493
    JReed said:

    Welcome Mark!
    Hi Mark:

    Welcome to the 'club'. Thank you for your reply. I thought at first these 'bumps' on Don's back were like acne also - but we are 99.9% sure it is an allergic reaction. He has been on Medrol since Wednesday and there has been little change. If it isn't clear by Monday - he'll have to see the doc again and go to plan B. Got 12 days to get it cleared up - surgery is scheduled for March 22 and hopefully this is gone and will not be an issue.

    If you wouldn't mind - could you tell us your story - when and how did you find out you had EC, what stage is your diagnosis, what treatments you have done or will do. I don't want to be too nosey - but we like to know as much as anyone wants to tell us. If you had surgery or will have and which one will you have/had?

    The old EC saying applies - sorry you had to find us, but so very glad you did. This is the best supportive and informational site about esophageal cancer that I could locate on the internet and the pioneers are amazing. You probably already know how much everyone contributes to this site and to each other - we are very glad to have you here.

    Judy

    Have you stopped the
    Have you stopped the Lisinopril? Within one day of Larry's stopping it, the symptoms disappeared. Worth a try for a possible quick solution.
    Angie
  • mark krabbe
    mark krabbe Member Posts: 8
    JReed said:

    Welcome Mark!
    Hi Mark:

    Welcome to the 'club'. Thank you for your reply. I thought at first these 'bumps' on Don's back were like acne also - but we are 99.9% sure it is an allergic reaction. He has been on Medrol since Wednesday and there has been little change. If it isn't clear by Monday - he'll have to see the doc again and go to plan B. Got 12 days to get it cleared up - surgery is scheduled for March 22 and hopefully this is gone and will not be an issue.

    If you wouldn't mind - could you tell us your story - when and how did you find out you had EC, what stage is your diagnosis, what treatments you have done or will do. I don't want to be too nosey - but we like to know as much as anyone wants to tell us. If you had surgery or will have and which one will you have/had?

    The old EC saying applies - sorry you had to find us, but so very glad you did. This is the best supportive and informational site about esophageal cancer that I could locate on the internet and the pioneers are amazing. You probably already know how much everyone contributes to this site and to each other - we are very glad to have you here.

    Judy

    Glad to be here
    Glad you got it figured out and hope and pray they get it cleared up for you.

    I was having a little trouble swolling and they found it when I went in for an endoscopy. I wasn't having much trouble when I went to the doctor and started not to go - thank God my wife talked me into it.

    I was checked locally but after looking into my options I decided to go to MUSC in Charleston SC. I had chemo including a clinical trial every other week for 12 weeks, and radiation every day for 5 weeks, then surgery about 3 weeks after my last treatments. They removed my esophagus and part of my stomic then used what was left to build me a new esophagus. They didn't find any signs of cancer after surgery so - so far so good! I'm heading back to Charleston tomorrow for a cat scan and 6 month check up. It was a long hard road but I'm doing great now. I'm back at work, energy is getting better, and eating is getting more normal. I've learned to eat less more often and it works great. In the past year I've learned more about life from other cancer paitents than I did in the 54 years I've been hear so for me some good came from a bad situation. It also solved my middle age spread issue, I went from around 180lbs to around 140 and it looks like I'm going to stay around this size:)
    I hope and pray yours goes as well as mine did, Ya'll will be in my prayers.
    Mark
  • BobHaze
    BobHaze Member Posts: 165 Member

    Glad to be here
    Glad you got it figured out and hope and pray they get it cleared up for you.

    I was having a little trouble swolling and they found it when I went in for an endoscopy. I wasn't having much trouble when I went to the doctor and started not to go - thank God my wife talked me into it.

    I was checked locally but after looking into my options I decided to go to MUSC in Charleston SC. I had chemo including a clinical trial every other week for 12 weeks, and radiation every day for 5 weeks, then surgery about 3 weeks after my last treatments. They removed my esophagus and part of my stomic then used what was left to build me a new esophagus. They didn't find any signs of cancer after surgery so - so far so good! I'm heading back to Charleston tomorrow for a cat scan and 6 month check up. It was a long hard road but I'm doing great now. I'm back at work, energy is getting better, and eating is getting more normal. I've learned to eat less more often and it works great. In the past year I've learned more about life from other cancer paitents than I did in the 54 years I've been hear so for me some good came from a bad situation. It also solved my middle age spread issue, I went from around 180lbs to around 140 and it looks like I'm going to stay around this size:)
    I hope and pray yours goes as well as mine did, Ya'll will be in my prayers.
    Mark

    Definitely Glad to be here
    Mark:

    Just out of curiosity, what Stage are you? And which surgery did you have? I'm going in for my 6 month scan and follow-up with the surgeon in 4 weeks, and I have to consciously put the scanxiety out of my mind. That’s the 1 thing about this board that sometimes gets to me: stories of recurrences do scare me.

    As an early Stage 1 I didn’t need any chemo or rads, but I went from 198 to 175 and am hovering there – my surgeon, who has done a couple of hundred Esophagectomies, said I won’t be gaining it back which, as you say, ain’t altogether a bad thing! It took a while to get into the habit of eating small meals “between meals,” but I’m better about that now and I try to always have trail mix and/or sports bars with me so I can pretty much always have something to eat if I need it. I started working with a trainer at a gym about a month ago, and I’m improving but the stamina just isn’t there yet. I’m lifting a little, but I’m not so much worried about that. I can do an easy 30-45 minutes on the treadmill (fast walking, not running), but I’m tuckered out when I get home. Everyone says that’ll get better, too, but like you said, it’s a long hard road. This beast certainly does change us and our outlook on life…

    Bob
    T1aN0M0
    Dx 8/3/11
    MIE 9/23/11

    PS: Nice scoot!
  • mark krabbe
    mark krabbe Member Posts: 8
    BobHaze said:

    Definitely Glad to be here
    Mark:

    Just out of curiosity, what Stage are you? And which surgery did you have? I'm going in for my 6 month scan and follow-up with the surgeon in 4 weeks, and I have to consciously put the scanxiety out of my mind. That’s the 1 thing about this board that sometimes gets to me: stories of recurrences do scare me.

    As an early Stage 1 I didn’t need any chemo or rads, but I went from 198 to 175 and am hovering there – my surgeon, who has done a couple of hundred Esophagectomies, said I won’t be gaining it back which, as you say, ain’t altogether a bad thing! It took a while to get into the habit of eating small meals “between meals,” but I’m better about that now and I try to always have trail mix and/or sports bars with me so I can pretty much always have something to eat if I need it. I started working with a trainer at a gym about a month ago, and I’m improving but the stamina just isn’t there yet. I’m lifting a little, but I’m not so much worried about that. I can do an easy 30-45 minutes on the treadmill (fast walking, not running), but I’m tuckered out when I get home. Everyone says that’ll get better, too, but like you said, it’s a long hard road. This beast certainly does change us and our outlook on life…

    Bob
    T1aN0M0
    Dx 8/3/11
    MIE 9/23/11

    PS: Nice scoot!

    Esophagectome

    Bob,
    Good to hear form you and glad you're doing good. I was stage 3 and did the chemo, radiation, then esophagectome. I'm headed back tomorrow for my 6 month check up and like you I am also a little anxious about the results. It sounds like we're doing all the same things in eating, working out, and I'm guessing riding as well. Sometimes day to day I don't notice how much better I'm getting but week to week its easy to see. I do still run down a lot faster than I did but it keeps getting better. It doesn't take much to keep me happy anymore - now I'm just happy to be here!
    Mark
  • JReed
    JReed Member Posts: 428

    Glad to be here
    Glad you got it figured out and hope and pray they get it cleared up for you.

    I was having a little trouble swolling and they found it when I went in for an endoscopy. I wasn't having much trouble when I went to the doctor and started not to go - thank God my wife talked me into it.

    I was checked locally but after looking into my options I decided to go to MUSC in Charleston SC. I had chemo including a clinical trial every other week for 12 weeks, and radiation every day for 5 weeks, then surgery about 3 weeks after my last treatments. They removed my esophagus and part of my stomic then used what was left to build me a new esophagus. They didn't find any signs of cancer after surgery so - so far so good! I'm heading back to Charleston tomorrow for a cat scan and 6 month check up. It was a long hard road but I'm doing great now. I'm back at work, energy is getting better, and eating is getting more normal. I've learned to eat less more often and it works great. In the past year I've learned more about life from other cancer paitents than I did in the 54 years I've been hear so for me some good came from a bad situation. It also solved my middle age spread issue, I went from around 180lbs to around 140 and it looks like I'm going to stay around this size:)
    I hope and pray yours goes as well as mine did, Ya'll will be in my prayers.
    Mark

    Thank God for pushy wives!
    Hi Mark:

    Your story sounds very familiar - I 'gently/firmly' pushed Don to go see the doctor also - never ever dreaming that getting food stuck would be linked to cancer. Don will go through the same deal as you did - has had chemo/rads - waiting for surgery on the 22nd of March. Currently dealing with some type of an allergic reaction to something and has been on a medrol pack since Wednesday and tonight the hives are full blown again. Angie (also on this site) suggested it might be his blood pressure med causing it - so tomorrow when he calls the docs again - he'll mention that and see what they want to do next. Don started at about 171 lbs and has lost about 20 lbs and sounds like another 20 lbs could be lost after surgery - but he is pretty strong and healthy other than this stupid cancer - so he'll probably do pretty good. His big focus is to get thru surgery - heal up and buy a new harley while he's healing and hopefully a trip out to the rally in Sturgis this year. An aggressive goal, but it is his goal and I'm cheering him on for it! Looks like we have a few bikers on here - we'll have to get some sort of patch made for us!

    talk with you soon - keep on living strong and we'll be talking with you soon!

    Judy & Don