Poisoning my Face to Heal It
Yesterday I wrote about a few visits to the dermatologist this year, where I got zapped with a cold ray and was told I had 'scaling'. After the second round of cold ray treatments the doctor said that using the cold ray felt like playing whack-a-mole with my scales. (Though I imagine it a very fun variation of whack-a-mole to be suppressing a reptilian metamorphosis with a cold ray.) So she also gave me a cream, Fluorouracil, to rub on my forehead at home for two weeks.
That last appointment was 10 weeks ago now. I put off starting use of the cream for 8 weeks. I had other medication changes going on, plus travel. I wanted to minimize risk by not starting multiple new things at the same time and not starting something just before leaving home for two weeks— like when a head wound burst while I was 2,500 miles from home. So starting the Fluorouracil cream got put off until the start of this month. And it was a good thing I put it off— because there were definitely issues with it!
Sores on my forehead after 8 days of treatment with a chemotherapy cream
This picture (above) is after 8 days of treatment. This is worse, way worse, than my skin looked before treatment. If you want to picture what the "scaling" on my forehead ever looked like, imagine if just 3 or 4 of those, like 30 sores, were visible. And weren't as red and irritated looking.
I knew the cream would make things worse to make them better. Fluorouracil is a chemotherapy treatment. Chemo is a game of deliberately poisoning your body but doing so in a way to target the poison at the bad parts of the body more so than the good parts.
But still, I wasn't sure if this reaction was within bounds. I texted the doctor, and her MA called me the next morning to set up an urgent telemedicine appointment. I rearranged my schedule to see her same-day.
As I explained to the doc at the start of our call, I was looking to answer a triage question. Was this a situation of:
And yes, it got worse.
Here's how it looked this past Saturday morning, after 12 days of treatment:
Sores on my forehead after 12 days of treatment with a chemotherapy cream
And here's how it looked 36 hours later, when I had only 2 treatments left:
Sores on my forehead after 13 days of treatment with a chemotherapy cream
Oddly while this looks terrible— or should I say, gruesome (I'm considering that a Medical term now 😅)— it never felt painful. At least not until after I finished the 14-day treatment. (More to come.)
A few questions I'll answer in advance:
1) No, I am not playing up the amount of skin damage in these photos. I didn't scrub my face or do anything to irritate it for the camera. I snapped each of these pics right before applying the poison cream, and all I'd done was wash my face gently with cool water and pat it dry with a soft towel.
2) How did I go outside and live a social life looking like this? Hats. (Some people who've been to my house have complimented me on my collection of fashionable, practical hats.)
3) How have I gone to the pool for 15 days in a row while using this cream that makes my skin super-sensitive to sunburn? Also hats! 😅
That last appointment was 10 weeks ago now. I put off starting use of the cream for 8 weeks. I had other medication changes going on, plus travel. I wanted to minimize risk by not starting multiple new things at the same time and not starting something just before leaving home for two weeks— like when a head wound burst while I was 2,500 miles from home. So starting the Fluorouracil cream got put off until the start of this month. And it was a good thing I put it off— because there were definitely issues with it!
Sores on my forehead after 8 days of treatment with a chemotherapy cream
This picture (above) is after 8 days of treatment. This is worse, way worse, than my skin looked before treatment. If you want to picture what the "scaling" on my forehead ever looked like, imagine if just 3 or 4 of those, like 30 sores, were visible. And weren't as red and irritated looking.
I knew the cream would make things worse to make them better. Fluorouracil is a chemotherapy treatment. Chemo is a game of deliberately poisoning your body but doing so in a way to target the poison at the bad parts of the body more so than the good parts.
But still, I wasn't sure if this reaction was within bounds. I texted the doctor, and her MA called me the next morning to set up an urgent telemedicine appointment. I rearranged my schedule to see her same-day.
As I explained to the doc at the start of our call, I was looking to answer a triage question. Was this a situation of:
- Normal results. Buck up and keep going;
- Slight concern. Pause or make minor course adjustments and keep going; or
- Major concern. Hang up and get to a clinic.
And yes, it got worse.
Here's how it looked this past Saturday morning, after 12 days of treatment:
Sores on my forehead after 12 days of treatment with a chemotherapy cream
And here's how it looked 36 hours later, when I had only 2 treatments left:
Sores on my forehead after 13 days of treatment with a chemotherapy cream
Oddly while this looks terrible— or should I say, gruesome (I'm considering that a Medical term now 😅)— it never felt painful. At least not until after I finished the 14-day treatment. (More to come.)
A few questions I'll answer in advance:
1) No, I am not playing up the amount of skin damage in these photos. I didn't scrub my face or do anything to irritate it for the camera. I snapped each of these pics right before applying the poison cream, and all I'd done was wash my face gently with cool water and pat it dry with a soft towel.
2) How did I go outside and live a social life looking like this? Hats. (Some people who've been to my house have complimented me on my collection of fashionable, practical hats.)
3) How have I gone to the pool for 15 days in a row while using this cream that makes my skin super-sensitive to sunburn? Also hats! 😅