Mouth Sores while taking Doxil and Herceptin

jen_in_dc
jen_in_dc Member Posts: 1
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Hi,

My mom was recently diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. She is currently taking doxil and herceptin. One of the side effects she is dealing with are painful mouth sores or ulcers. The doctor gave her a prescription for magic mouthwash but it only helps temporarily and makes her entire mouth numb. Does anyone have any suggestions of any natural home remedies that she can try? Thanks!

Comments

  • Cindy Bear
    Cindy Bear Member Posts: 569
    #2
    HI JEN
    HI Jen. Sorry to be hear about your mom's mouth sores. I don't have any experience with this but I am frequently on the ovarian and uterine cancer boards (my mom passed away from stage IV uterine cancer last June) Anyhow, I know on the ovarian boards a lot of ladies have complained about mouth sores. You might want to visit there and search.. quite a few of them seem to be on doxil. I have heard them mention a mix of baking soda and salt and I believe someone else may have mentioned Biotene and even Alum (avail in spice sections usually and I know it's used for canker sores and I think one of the ladies suggested it for mouth sores related to chemo) Good Luck to you and your mom!
  • dash4
    dash4 Member Posts: 303 Member
    #3
    mouth help..
    This is not natural, but it works. My husband was Stage IV colon cancer and had weekly chemos for 5 years and NO mouth sores.....started him from day one(I am a dental hygienist) on all the Biotene products for dry mouth-saliva substitute, mouthwash and gum...and for toothpaste-used Prevident 5000 Booster...a prescription fluoride toothpaste from Colgate. Both products prevented mouth sores and also prevent cavities and help with a dry mouth -I am a believer. I was just diagnosed on 2/1 and using the same products for me now. Good luck..
    Mary Kay
  • hamish1
    hamish1 Member Posts: 34
    #4
    sore mouth
    Jen, I am not taking the same Chemo as your Mom. I've been taking Taxotere and Cytoxan. But after my second treatment, I developed a very sore mouth, tongue and white spots. My Onc. tried me on that Magic Mouth wash,didn't work, then I tried the salt and soda remedy. It didn't work, so my Onc. put me on Nystatin swish and swallow. That has helped greatly. At least I can taste food again, and no more white spots in my mouth. Apparently I had picked up a Yeast Infection. I just finished my 4th and final Chemo treatment today, so hopefully I won't have to be bothered with this much longer. Hope your Mom's mouth gets better soon. That is so uncomfortable.............
  • JanInMN
    JanInMN Member Posts: 149
    #5
    I had really bad mouth
    I had really bad mouth sores, and the oncologist prescribed an "Oral Lidocaine Solution", which numbed the sores up for quite a while. I also used the salt and baking soda water solution about every 2-3 hours. Hope this helps!
    Jan
  • Sher43009
    Sher43009 Member Posts: 602 Member
    #6
    JanInMN said:

    I had really bad mouth
    I had really bad mouth sores, and the oncologist prescribed an "Oral Lidocaine Solution", which numbed the sores up for quite a while. I also used the salt and baking soda water solution about every 2-3 hours. Hope this helps!
    Jan

    Mouth Wash
    This mouth wash was on an older post about mouth sores:

    4 cups water
    1 tsp baking soda
    3/4 tsp salt

    I also used biotene that helped.
  • Balentine
    Balentine Member Posts: 393
    #7
    hamish1 said:

    sore mouth
    Jen, I am not taking the same Chemo as your Mom. I've been taking Taxotere and Cytoxan. But after my second treatment, I developed a very sore mouth, tongue and white spots. My Onc. tried me on that Magic Mouth wash,didn't work, then I tried the salt and soda remedy. It didn't work, so my Onc. put me on Nystatin swish and swallow. That has helped greatly. At least I can taste food again, and no more white spots in my mouth. Apparently I had picked up a Yeast Infection. I just finished my 4th and final Chemo treatment today, so hopefully I won't have to be bothered with this much longer. Hope your Mom's mouth gets better soon. That is so uncomfortable.............

    taxotere and cytoxan
    Hi Hamish1,
    I am starting the same chemo mixture on Monday and wonder if you have any advice for me?? I have already started using the biotene toothpaste and mouthwash and was given some anti-nausea meds to start taking this weekend. Just wondering how you felt during your treatment...did your hair fall out, were you able to work, how tired and sick you felt during those months and which treatments or days seemed to be the worst for you.

    Lorrie Balentine
  • quiltnut1950
    quiltnut1950 Member Posts: 4
    #8
    mouth sores
    hi
    I just finished my treatments. I was told not to use over the counter mouthwash that it would cause sores. i used 4 cups water
    1tsp baking soda
    3/4 tsp salt i didn't use the salt because i am on low salt
    i started using Arm and Hammer tooth paste. the only time i got mouth sores was when i when away and forgot the arm & hammer tooth paste and used regular tooth paste. when i started using the arm & hammer again the sores cleared up right a way. gently brush a lot and rinse often.

    wish your mom well and i hope this helps.

    sincerely
    Mary
  • jnl
    jnl Member Posts: 3,869 Member
    #9
    dash4 said:

    mouth help..
    This is not natural, but it works. My husband was Stage IV colon cancer and had weekly chemos for 5 years and NO mouth sores.....started him from day one(I am a dental hygienist) on all the Biotene products for dry mouth-saliva substitute, mouthwash and gum...and for toothpaste-used Prevident 5000 Booster...a prescription fluoride toothpaste from Colgate. Both products prevented mouth sores and also prevent cavities and help with a dry mouth -I am a believer. I was just diagnosed on 2/1 and using the same products for me now. Good luck..
    Mary Kay

    Sorry about your Mother's
    Sorry about your Mother's mouth sores. Hopefully, someone here can help you. Have you asked her oncologist for something else? Surely, he or a colleague would know of some other remedy for her. Good luck!

    Leeza
  • GayleMc
    GayleMc Member Posts: 311 Member
    #10
    quiltnut1950 said:

    mouth sores
    hi
    I just finished my treatments. I was told not to use over the counter mouthwash that it would cause sores. i used 4 cups water
    1tsp baking soda
    3/4 tsp salt i didn't use the salt because i am on low salt
    i started using Arm and Hammer tooth paste. the only time i got mouth sores was when i when away and forgot the arm & hammer tooth paste and used regular tooth paste. when i started using the arm & hammer again the sores cleared up right a way. gently brush a lot and rinse often.

    wish your mom well and i hope this helps.

    sincerely
    Mary

    Hi Balentine, I hope your
    Hi Balentine, I hope your first treatment went ok for you. I have #3 of 4 tomorrow, of your same cocktail. I did ok once the Fear of Unknown was gone. As you have probably found on the posts, everyone is different but it's not as bad as I thoight. The only real side effect that has bothered me each time was diarrhea at about the 5th day. I got an RX from my onc and for treatment 2 the duration was much shorter than #1. I have had no sores in my mouth but lose my taste. The 1st time for about 10 days and have not totally regained it as of yet. It's not painful, but annoying. I thought it would be a good time to lose weight but my appetite comes back rather quickly, so I just eat reasonably since I can't taste much anyway. I tried the baking soda/salt recipe and think that is why I don't get sores. Take care and take clues from your own body.
  • Balentine
    Balentine Member Posts: 393
    #11
    GayleMc said:

    Hi Balentine, I hope your
    Hi Balentine, I hope your first treatment went ok for you. I have #3 of 4 tomorrow, of your same cocktail. I did ok once the Fear of Unknown was gone. As you have probably found on the posts, everyone is different but it's not as bad as I thoight. The only real side effect that has bothered me each time was diarrhea at about the 5th day. I got an RX from my onc and for treatment 2 the duration was much shorter than #1. I have had no sores in my mouth but lose my taste. The 1st time for about 10 days and have not totally regained it as of yet. It's not painful, but annoying. I thought it would be a good time to lose weight but my appetite comes back rather quickly, so I just eat reasonably since I can't taste much anyway. I tried the baking soda/salt recipe and think that is why I don't get sores. Take care and take clues from your own body.

    mouth sores
    Hi Galye,
    I am starting to get a few mouth sores behind my lower lip on the inside. I have been brushing my teeth about 4 times a day with the biotene toothpast and mouthwash. I still can taste everything and don't have any metal taste. I do have a little diarhea but not bad. I guess I need to try the baking soda. I don't know what I want to eat. Nothing really sounds good to me so I went to the store today and bought some easy stuff like applesauce and yoplait whips and also a few cupcakes. I am going to cook some chicken today and hope I will like that. I feel pretty fatigued and am just hoping to get my energy back by Sunday so I can go back to work on Monday and make it through the whole day.
    I hope your treatments went well the other day. How are you feeling?
    Lorrie

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