First of all, thank you to everyone that responded to my previous posts about my Dad's NSCLC. He had his 6 chemo sessions and now on Iressa for about 2 months. The oncologist asked him to follow up in January '15. The malignancy has reduced a lot, but not to the extent I would like it to. The oncologist is not inclined towards more chemo as my Dad's platelet count dropped and the 6th chemo had to be postponed twice.
Now that he is stable on Iressa, various side effects are showing up, primarily dermatological. 4 weeks ago, he had incredible dry skin and skin irritation He was scratching really badly, couldn't control it. He tried all possible skin lotions, creams to reduce the irritation but it failed. The oncologist mentioned it as a side effect and nothing can be done. Still he went to PCP about 2 weeks ago and he gave some antibiotics (don't know which one, we are communicating half world apart) and itching disappeared. This is very confusing to me, but I am just happy that the itching/irritation disappeared.
The dry skin part is still present and that dry skin irritates him from about a week (but not like what he had before those antibiotics). Is there anything that he can do about this dry skin? Vaseline, lotions or creams are not cutting it. He even tried coconut oil, did nothing.
As always, thanks a million for all suggestions.
Reply # - December 9, 2014, 06:07 PM
Hi deltaforce,
Hi deltaforce,
Stability is a very good result in Stage IV lung cancer treatment, especially for any regimen after first-line chemo, so congratulations to your Dad.
Antibiotics are frequently used to combat EGFR inhibitor rashes, often with good success. When my wife was taking Tarceva, she had a standing order for Bactrim which she used whenever her rash flared up.
Otherwise, keeping the skin moisturized helps a lot, using products that do not contain alcohol. Dr. Mario Lacouture, a leading expert on such skin issues (who was my wife's dermatologist before he moved from Chicago to New York), made this presentation to GRACE members: http://cancergrace.org/cancer-treatments/2011/09/08/dr-mario-lacouture-…
Good luck with managing these skin issues, and for continued stability.
JimC
Forum moderator
Reply # - December 9, 2014, 07:44 PM
Yes, this is an extremely
Yes, this is an extremely common side effect, for which there are many suggested interventions. Dr. Lacouture's podcast is the best place to start, but you can find more by searching for other discussions about Tarceva or Iressa and rash or dry skin on the site.
Good luck.
-Dr. West