Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Steroids may be the culprit
I had an appointment with the dermatologist (one of the dermatologists who is interested in how cancer treatments can affect the skin) on Tuesday, and she was puzzled because my symptoms are not typical of the cancer drugs she has looked at. Some of the chemotherapy drugs can cause acne, but I am not on one that tends to have that effect. Avastin can cause a skin rash, but it tends to present on the hands and does not resemble acne.
When I commented that I have been on Avastin consistently and the rash did not start until after resuming Abraxane, she wanted to know if they were giving me any other medications with it. "Yes," I told her. "They give me decadron."
Decadron is a steroid designed to combat the chemo side effects. In addition to making me not puke, it also makes me consume Lucky Charms like there is no tomorrow.
She suggested that she could do a biopsy of my skin to see if it looks like other cases she has seen of the skin being affected by chemo drugs, but in light of what I told her, she instructed me to ask if I had been getting Decadron while on Avastin alone (I don't think so, but I can't recall for sure) and gave me some prescriptions for a couple of goops to try. One is a topical antibiotic to be used daily and the other is a cousin of Retin-A to be used every other day. They may cause drying of the skin, but anything is better than the incessant redness, pain, itching, and daily crop of new whiteheads.
It just occurs to me that both the bottle and the tube may be larger than four ounces, so I wonder if the airline will let me take them on board an airplane when I travel. I am going to a conference in May.
When I commented that I have been on Avastin consistently and the rash did not start until after resuming Abraxane, she wanted to know if they were giving me any other medications with it. "Yes," I told her. "They give me decadron."
Decadron is a steroid designed to combat the chemo side effects. In addition to making me not puke, it also makes me consume Lucky Charms like there is no tomorrow.
She suggested that she could do a biopsy of my skin to see if it looks like other cases she has seen of the skin being affected by chemo drugs, but in light of what I told her, she instructed me to ask if I had been getting Decadron while on Avastin alone (I don't think so, but I can't recall for sure) and gave me some prescriptions for a couple of goops to try. One is a topical antibiotic to be used daily and the other is a cousin of Retin-A to be used every other day. They may cause drying of the skin, but anything is better than the incessant redness, pain, itching, and daily crop of new whiteheads.
It just occurs to me that both the bottle and the tube may be larger than four ounces, so I wonder if the airline will let me take them on board an airplane when I travel. I am going to a conference in May.
Labels: Abraxane, acne, Avastin, Decadron, dermatologist
Comments:
Hey there,
I had terrible zits after my taxotere treatment but strangely only after the first one...
Steroids made me red otherwise but no more - I do hope the creams clear it though,
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I had terrible zits after my taxotere treatment but strangely only after the first one...
Steroids made me red otherwise but no more - I do hope the creams clear it though,
