Efudex

Anyone here ever used it for skin cancer prevention? I’m one week in on a three week application schedule, twice daily. Right now I look like I took a load of #2’s at close range. Miserable schnit it is.

When skin is sun damaged and is showing signs of pre-cancerous activity, this stuff will kill off the fastest growing cells which are generally, as I have been told, are pre-cancer cells or even cancer cells where the cancer hasn’t fully taken off and gotten into the hide deeply. The cream doesn’t smell or feel greasy after its rubbed in so that part isn’t bad. But since day 4 the small spots that have appeared are sore if touched but tend to want to itch. Double edge sword….itch, scratch = pain. Miserable crap. And that says nothing about the appearance one gets, hence the reference to the load of #2’s. Literally I look like I have the worse case of chicken pox ever or the gun blast. According to the doc I’m right on schedule for the sores to start oozing stuff before the begin to heal when I stop the cream applications. The dermatologist said I can expect to look tough for 6 weeks.

This is all a part of the war on skin cancer I am waging. As miserable as this crap is right now its still better than knife work and I’ve had plenty of that. My left cheek and temple look like Twin Cities road maps with scars from the surgeries I’ve had. I was just curious if others here have done this cream stuff and what kind of results you came away with. Does it really put off the cutting?

I can’t help you within the cream but your stories really hit home for me. I’m a freckled redhead so I’ve always been afraid of the sun. You’re one of several people I know battling this stuff. I’m grateful you guys share your stories so I take those extra steps for prevention.

Sunscreen bud. And long sleeves and broad brimmed hats. I always thought those long-sleeved shirts with fishing logos all over them were tacky, but when the uv ratings went into the shirts’ make-up I changed my mind. And my wardrobe.

I’m not liking this efudex treatment at all but like I said…its better than the knife.

biggill wrote:

I’m grateful you guys share your stories so I take those extra steps for prevention.

Same here. Prior to ice fishing yesterday I was listening to the podcast of Saturday’s FAN Outdoors on KFAN and someone on there mentioned applying sunscreen because of the ever-increasing sun angle in March as well as the reflection off the snow and ice. So I put a little SPF on before I went out yesterday. Can’t really have too many reminders about that stuff.

I have had so much sun my gal friend says my ears will fall off, screwed I am , Oh well!

I used Fluorourcil cream which is the same thing, daily for a month. It really interacted with the pre- cancerous spots on my arms. I didn’t know I had so many until I used it for two weeks. Worked about 90%.

This medication is used on the skin to treat pre-cancerous and cancerous skin growths. Fluorouracil belongs to a class of medications known as anti-metabolites. It works by blocking the growth of abnormal cells that cause the skin condition.

I chickened out on the cream and went back to have the spots burned with the liquid gas. It felt like I stuck my face in a beehive for the first hour but good after that. I’m very glad that I went that route.

Good luck with the stuff. I’ve never heard of it but I did get a growth cut off my lip in 2018.

Doc froze it twice first, it kept growing back so finally cut out and biopsy showed it to be benign. Doc advised me to cover up from the sun and wear Protective lip balm. I wore the UV shirts with the face mask and hood since then.

Buzz wrote:

I used Fluorourcil cream which is the same thing, daily for a month. It really interacted with the pre- cancerous spots on my arms. I didn’t know I had so many until I used it for two weeks. Worked about 90%.

Tom I know you will get through this but it is not the most fun. I used this last fall on my face. It can get painful during the second week and beyond. I made about 14 days and had to stop but the Dr. said he would be happy with 2 weeks overjoyed with 3 weeks. Things looked much better by week 5.

Just found out today I get to do it all over again this fall. One side benefit Tom your face will be as smooth as a baby’s butt when your are done. It did clean mine up for a few months but with the meds I am on since a double lung transplant almost 4 years ago this is a way of life now. Traded being on oxygen and facing death for wearing sunscreen, hats, face masks, sun shirts etc.. Feel like I got a pretty good deal.

I used Efudex with Calcipotriene .005% in January for 5 days. The Calcipotriene is added to reduce usage to 5 days instead of 2 weeks plus w/o it. I used it twice a day and by the first application on day 3 I could tell where the sun spots were located by the burning it created. By day 4 the worst of the sunspots started oozing and bleeding and that continued for an additional 5 or 6 days. Scabs began forming on those spots which for me was my temples and cheeks and took about 2 weeks to heal to the point where I started to look healthy/normal again. I wasn’t able to use my cpap starting day 5 because it just burned on my temples, I went a week w/o the cpap, I ruined 2 pillow cases from bleeding/oozing. I do believe it helped as I had a spot on my temple that was crusty and now is smooth, the other obvious spots appear much better. I see the dermatologist in a couple of months and will see what she has to say. The dermatologist had me apply a light coat of petroleum jelly about an hour after applying Efudex to help keep my skin moist and I do think it helped.I did take a couple of pictures of my face to show her if she wants me to use it again and I will ask about other options. It was a miserable couple of weeks. Remember the skin damage we see now was caused by the sun when we were kids, I’m 67. Its about 2 months since I completed the treatment and my skin is still pink where it was applied but smooth and was told it will take 2-3 months to completely heal.

The beauty of going the freeze route is it is like ripping off the band aid. Scabbing starts by the second or third day and by the end of the first week most is peeling off.

Correct on the freeze route, however I had over 20 spots she froze the year before which is why she had me use Efudex.
wmd

Tom any update on how the Efudex treatment is going. I know it sucks from experience.

I’m pretty much a mess. The splotchy redness covers my face and forehead. Much of this area is now breaking out in runny lesions that dry into balls of amber colored crust. I never apply the cream anywhere near my mouth, yet both lips are swollen and peeling all the time and SORE. The doctor told me to discontinue the cream now and to take a shower twice a day to keep the seeping to a minimum. She’s concerned with the virus on the open lesions…great timing on this eh? lol Damn, I have to laugh as it would be too easy to feel worse than I do.

I had a woman stare like crazy at me in a store checkout line yesterday. I mean stare for minutes. Finally I just leaned back and said “the doc tells me its smallpox but he doesn’t think I’m able to spread it yet.” That got her to another lane in a blink.

Skin Dr had me on it couple years ago. When folks asked I told them it was skin eating bacteria. Never waited in line much.

sji wrote:

Skin Dr had me on it couple years ago. When folks asked I told them it was skin eating bacteria. Never waited in line much.

Now that’s a thought. I like it.

I’m pretty much over the peeling and scabbing. I shaved the beard off today and found where the treatment migrated under it. Man, it might kill potential cancers but it makes a mess out of a face. Happy its done and hope I’m not a future candidate for another round. I didn’t know a person could loose that much hide and not be dead.

I was supposed to see the derm again this Weds but the clinic cancelled and rescheduled for August some time.

Getting back to Efudex use, gentlemen please.
I’m at a bit of a loss over how long to leave the cream on if I’m planning to use twice a day for two weeks. Is the idea to apply cream in the morning, and leave it on all day? Later that day, should I re-apply and leave the cream on all night? I’m not a fisherman, but at 75 years, have a bit of facial sun damage. Regards, Geoff.

That’s the plan Geoff. As much as a shower might not be pleasant after a week, I showered each evening before I lathered the stuff on.

I’ve done the flourouracil/calcitrol cream treatment. Yes, I burns pretty good by the third day. I had to do it 1 x a month 2x a day for 5 days…….for six months. It’s a pain but does make a difference. You’ll notice it getting better because towards the end you stop flaking and peeling so much during the healing period.

I hope everything goes well for you,Tom. I too have many scars from from spot removal. I just told my dermatologist to keep carving and not to worry about the scars. So, sunscreen, long sleeve tops, hats and good lip ice is the way to go. Keep battling, Tom.