Category Archives: flourouracil

The first two weeks of round 2 did not yield much results.  Then….BAM!!!!

The top two photos are from January 5 and the bottom two from January 6.  My scalp skin is rapidly changing and eroding.  Itchy and painful more so each day.

Only 1 1/2 weeks until application of the medicine stops.  Then at least another month of healing, when the skin continues to erode before it gets better.

Shaving the scalp *definitely* has helped.  Application is much easier.  I highly recommend this to anyone who has hair having to apply this treatment to their scalp.

I tell people my scalp looks like a big red fireball.  Or a lizard head.

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10 – and away we go!  The redness is starting and spreading.

Day 11

Day 13 – Panic! It appeared that I had enough in the tube to last the three weeks.  But today when we went to squeeze the cream out of the tube, nothing but air came out, leaving barely enough for one more application – yikes! Of course this was a Friday night.  I ended up calling the resident dermatologist on call and she immediately called in a refill (there were no refills on the original tube – should have been enough to do the job!).  Whew.

Days 12 and 14 – not a lot of change. Increased itching, that’s about it.

It is interesting how your perspective of things change over time.

A home screen photo appeared on my work computer the other day.  It was a beautiful photo of a pristine spot with cliffs overlooking water and and sand.  The caption read something like “The perfect spot for sun bathing”.

That picture on my home screen would have looked so very appealing once upon a time. Now, it makes me want to scream.

Becoming a skin cancer victim has definitely put me into advcoacy mode, in an attempt to educate others on the dangers of sun exposure. If only I had known….

However there are ways to advocate and there are ways to not advocate and educate. If someone had continually hammered on me about being out in the sun oh those many years ago, I would not have listened. Maybe I would have with the right approach.

This article sums up what it’s like to be an advocate, and what to do to work works “changing minds and touching hearts”. I have included some excerpts.

Skin Cancer Advocacy: A Work in Progress

Recently, I’ve tried looking at my photos from the perspective of a person who has never been diagnosed with skin cancer. I am beginning to see why so many people continue to tan, hit the beach without sunscreen, and neglect to wear protective clothing while making sure their children are covered head-to-toe. The “my-skin-looks-nothing-like-that” vibe is strong. Truthfully, they aren’t wrong in their thinking-they are only judging from what they see.

Photos like the ones I share show the impact of treatments and the side effects obvious to the eye. They don’t always show the skin prior to the first treatment. I’m willing to bet a vast majority of people who take a long look at photos of Efudex patients believe they are seeing the skin cancer itself. Our raw, blistered and crusted sores are intimidating. At the same time, they might just give observers false confidence. When they do a silent self-assessment, they will always feel relief–”None of my moles or spots look like that; I don’t have skin cancer.”

I will be chronicling my Flouracil journey in photos. The first 21 days involve application of the medicine twice per day.  The weeks after that are the healing process.

My husband has been applying it for me.

Week 1

There wasn’t much activity as far as changes to the skin on my scalp. Although I took daily photos I have only included day 1 and the last day of week 1 for comparison, plus the scarves I wore throughout the week.

I dread the thought of being in discomfort, but I hope this is working and would like to see a sign that it is. I did read that it can take a couple of weeks for symptoms to appear.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5