My second day of chemo.

[trof]

(It was suggested that I cross post this from the Lounge as a PSA.)

Not the life changing throwing-up and all-your-hair-falls-out kind.
Relatively minor.

I've been bald on top for over 30 years.
My old bean has soaked up a lot of sun.
So now I get these 'pre-cancerous' little thingies.
Actinic keratoses.
Little scabby things, not really too noticeable.
All that is about to change.

Once a day I smear on something called 5-FU (5-Fluoroplex).
It destroys the little premalignant spots.

But first...it turns them red.
Then crusty/oozy. (yuck)
Then scabby.
And then they finally slough off and according to the literature I'll have smooth skin up there again like a newborn babe.

But for 3 or 4 week it'll look pretty gross.
I'm shopping for attractive headgear now.
:-)

P.S. If you're over 50 you really should have an annual checkup with a dermatologist. If you have health insurance.
:-(
He caught Miz t.'s melanoma very early.
Only had to do outpatient surgery. No chemo or radiation.
She's past the important 5 year mark and no recurrence.

[Cleita]

1. The good news is that it's treatable and easily controlled if you follow orders.

I have a friend who has fought it for thirty years and he's 88 and still active. Here's the best to you in fighting this disease.

[Maddy McCall]

2. Do what?

DO WHAT???

I did not know this...my prayers for you, trof.

My dad fought off the beast esophageal cancer almost five years ago. He's still kickin' like a spring chicken.

You will be ok. I know it. :hug:

Please keep us updated.

[trof]

5. It's really pretty minor.

The doc's been freezing them off for a few years.
The 5-FU has only recently been developed as a topical treatment.
They've given it IV for other types of cancer for a while.

What kind of hat should I get?
;-)

[Mz Pip]

8. A top hat!

and tails. Time for some puttin on the Ritz. :-)

Good luck with your treatment and stay out of the sun!

Mz Pip
:dem:

[trof]

15. I like that.

[Maddy McCall]

12. My dad wore a tweed paperboy.

One of these:




I thought it looked really handsome on him.

Funny you should ask about hats...hats became kind of central to everything we did while dad went through chemo.

"Have you got your hat, dad?" "Anyone seen my hat?" "Nice hat!"

LOL.

[Quantess]

29. Those are stylish.

[TahitiNut]

20. "What kind of hat should I get?" Well...

... I'm a guy with all his hair and a noggin that's size 7 7/8 to 8 - too big for the "one size fits all (pinheads)" stuff. About 5 years ago, I "discovered" an appropriately-sized bucket/crush hat in a disc golf store. I fell in love. I wear them all the time, now. (I NEVER wore a hat other than in the military, so this is new.) Keeps the sun off my head, the rain out of my eyes, and keeps my head warm enough in the winter.

I'm fond of pique polo shirts, denim overshirts, and elastic-waisted casual khaki slacks (or shorts during Daylight Savings Time) ... above my Birkenstocks. The very idea of wearing a tie and jacket makes me crazy ... too many years of that shit to do it anymore.

I've "gone Gilligan"!!

[Tuesday Afternoon]

3. Thanks trof.

K&R

[aquart]

4. A friend is getting married.

It's way over five years now since her second recurrence of breast cancer. What I remember most from that were the doctor's instructions to flush the toilet twice after a chemo treatment, because the poisonous, corrosive chemicals leaving her body could otherwise destroy her home's plumbing.

Glad you aren't ignoring the problem.

[trof]

6. Holy shit!

Naw, this is only a 5% solution.
Put it on every morning.
The doc said shower as usual.

[Solly Mack]

7. (((trof)))

Warmest vibes!!

[iamthebandfanman]

9. skin cancer runs in my family

so i try to avoid prolonged exposure to the sun ...

take care of yourself :)

[NNN0LHI]

10. I am thin on top and occasionally find "little scabby things" on top of my noggin

I may have the doc look at it the next time I notice one.

Thanks for the tip and good luck with your treatment.

Don

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. Hang tough and good luck

it can be (rather is) a pain... but I wish you the best

[mahina]

13. God bless and good luck...

lemons! Lemonade, lemon everything. Aloha, wishing you health and happiness.

[shanti]

14. wishing you luck, trof!

i've had several of these AK'S burned/cut out too, mostly on the face. this is what happens when you mix english heritage and southern california sunshine :( the derm dept. at my hmo is VERY busy!

you just made me remember to set an appointment!

on edit....isn't this the same procedure that poppy* had?

[Skittles]

16. kick some chemo ass, trof!!!

yes INDEED! Keep us updated - you know we care! :hi:

[mentalsolstice]

17. From one Alabamian to another...

:hug: Stay well you retired old fart.

[KoKo]

18. Trof....why the cream and not the Nitrous Oxide Spray stuff they do?

Is this something NEW you are being treated with? When I saw your post about "chemo" I thought the "IV BIG STUFF" where you are debilitated and have to go to lab and sit for hours while they shoot the stuff through your veins.

I've had the "spots" removed with the Nitrous Spray...and you look like hell for a couple of weeks but after that in a month or so ...you'd never see a scar or anything. :shrug:

Anyway...thanks for the post...and ..yeah...as sun worshipers ...the KoKo family tries to get a check up for that...fighting with our insurance companies yearly...but we still try.

[KatyaR]

19. My best friend from grad school, someone I loved like an older sister,

died 24 years ago from melanoma. She had a malignant mole removed, and the doctor never told her she needed follow up for the rest of her life. She died a few years later--by the time they figured out what was wrong with her, she had mets all through her. It still breaks my heart--she was a remarkable woman. I never really knew much about melanoma before that.

Hang in there--we're pulling for you. :hug:

[noiretextatique]

21. best wishes, trof

there's a cancer support group here at DU, if you're interested. unfornately, i joined the club in november. i am currently undergoing radiation for breast cancer.
i'm glad you caught it early...it seems i did too.
best of luck :hi:

[midnight]

22. I hope you are have the peace you need at this time to

recuperate. I was an Arizona baby, but my mom being from the midwest kept hats on my head. I get teased for staying out of the sun, and have been nick-named snow white.

[I work for workers]

23. Hope you feel better! Good luck to you!

[Blue State Blues]

24. Good luck to you

I've got a spot on my nose that my doc is watching -- thinking it might become actinic keratosis. I wear a zinc cream daily and reach for a baseball cap when I'm outside.

My dad, who has had several of the little nasties frozen off over the years, goes for an Australian-style cowboy hat. It protects his neck as well as his face and, I must say, it's rather dashing.

Best of luck to you with chemo cream. Is nausea a side-effect?

[Darth_Kitten]

25. We are all wishing you the best.

:hug:

[RuleOfNah]

26. Think healthy.

:hug:

[David Zephyr]

27. Thanks for your helpful post, trof.

I'm a white guy who grew up in the sun and living on the beaches and still divides his time between L.A. & Palm Springs. I love being in the pool and spa. I am a time bomb.

Still, I go to the dermatologist twice a year.

Remember, if your shadow is shorter than you are, get out of the sun. And wear a cap.

[PsN2Wind]

28. They should give you another ointment, Desonide

that you use after the treatment phase for the pre-cancerous growths (AKs). All of my own Basal cell carcinomas were frozen or excised then I was given the Fluor??? for the AKs.
But get those regular checkups. I am having chemo for a serious form of cancer now and my arms which had had the above treatment less than a year previous litup with AKs being affected by my other chemo.

[seabeyond]

30. my father just had this done. walks into house, and was like what the f*ck. lol lol

i didnt know anything about it and as you say, he does cause lots of damage first BUT.... i will tell you once it is done, it heals up nicely. he is all better. think it was just a couple weeks after he had finished putting this tuff on his face. but man... the time of, was really hard for him cause he had to always tell people the story

i saw a picture of the older bush face totally messed up a couple years ago and thought, geez.... he must have good make up cause i never saw it before. once i saw my dads face i realize bush probably had the same thing. i kinda (no kinda about it) feel bad who ever did that thread didnt put down bush was going thru a medical treatment and that is why his face looked like that. i think it is pretty wussy to misrepresent.

ah... i hear the stuff hurts too, especially out in the sun. take care of you

[spacelady]

31. Check out the Tilley Hat website. n/t

[NMMNG]

32. My condolences

Do take care. :hug:

[Dawggie]

33. Best of luck and good vibes to you.

I'm sure it will all go well.

[Hekate]

34. Been there, done that. You'll look leprous for awhile & be surprised at how much damage is revealed

...by this procedure. At it's worst, it's uncomfortable -- your favorite soft pillowcase will feel incredibly scratchy and rough. Eventually your doc will probably want to do your arms and upper chest (the V where your shirt opens) as well.

Mr Sun is not our friend. I see my dermatologist at least once a year -- this week I'm pretty sure he's going to carve a chunk off my ankle for a biopsy, but :shrug:

Best of luck with your procedure, and thanks for the PSA!

Hekate

[hunter]

35. I have a tube of that nasty expensive stuff.

I keep looking at it, but then I say, naaaaaaaahhhhh.

It expires 12/2008.

I've already had a few nasties cut out of my skin, nothing too horrible yet.

When I was a kid on the Southern California beaches we didn't have sunscreen. We just tanned or burned or blistered. Whatever...

:scared:

[mogster]

36. Good luck, trof

Hope you'll be allright soon!

[trotsky]

37. Good to know it's become such a simple procedure.

You are one of DU's most valuable assets, trof. Take care of yourself!

[kestrel91316]

38. My previous DBF had to do that. He spent too many years in

the Santa Barbara sun, fishing and surfing and such.

Just don't let your kitties or doggies lick on it. It's highly toxic to them.