Really bad acne.

AwtcT

Wanted to vent and also see if anyone else has had this problem and treated it successful. I had my first TCHP treatment on April 1 for triple positive, stage IIA, grade 3 IDC. The side effect that's bothered me the most has been an outbreak of really bad acne. Not the crushing bone pain and muscle aches or the constant diarrhea that's probably caused an anal fissure, or even the hair loss. Freaking nasty whiteheads and cysts that started popping up a few days after chemo! I know it's silly to worry about this - I have breast cancer, after all - but I've never had good skin to begin with and having such horrible breakouts has done more to take the wind out of my sails than any other side effect.

I got a prescription from my oncologist for clindamyacin gel but that'll probably take a while to actually work. I've seen other people on the boards mention this problem too so I know it's not unusual but mine seems worse than what I've generally read about. I'm assuming this is from the steroids and will talk to the oncologist about decreasing them if I can.

Will this breakout continue with each treatment? Should I go to a dermatologist? Compounding my problem is that I'm Asian and since my skin has more melanin, breakouts really leave bad post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation marks, which means that these zits will still be around in some shape for months to come, even if the original blemishes disappear.

Sorry if this is disjointed and a bit whiny - I'm really upset about this, even if there are more legitimate problems to focus on.

PS - Just a few short weeks ago, my skin was basically clear (or as clear as my skin can be). So annoying!

Tresjoli2

so...this happened to me. I went to my derm, and got a script for retin a. It was a huge help! Go see your dermatologist

Italychick

Get some doxycycline if your doctor approves. The Italians are doing a trial on it for breast cancer, it was announced at the San Antonio breast cancer forum, so I don't think it will hurt. Hoping it can help with the acne, what a completely sucky side effect.

greenae

hi AW

So sorry you are having acne troubles...I can relate! I had a faceful within a week of my first TC infusion. Clindamycin lotion cleared it pretty well, and subsequent infusions didn't escalate the problem. I used the lotion every other night, and wore Estee Lauder Double wear foundation. At 58, I still get the occasional zit, and also hyperpigmentation for months after. I truly could not believe I had to deal with zits on top of chemo, either! But thankfully my MO warned me, and it went away completely when I finished chemo. If the clindamycin doesn't work, I would definitely check with your derm. Good luck and hugs!

Arlene

placid44

I had it after the first taxol treatment, but not subsequent treatments - not sure why. I didn't take anything for it

DSW1976

So sorry you have this.. I got this all over my bald head really bad and my face.. I had no clue to even think to ask for medicine for it nor did my Dr.'s office offer any. Again sorry hang in there..

sas-schatzi

Hi Aw sorry for this chit, I have a different take on it than taking antibiotic. Skin bacteria that is normal can go wacko when we alter their environment. Plus, we introduce other bacteria that is not good for our skin. Especially, in a reduced immune state.

Normal flora of the skin is too numerous to talk about. I did research after my one and only chemo that almost killed me. I reposted some stuff on a thread I recently started b/c I wanted to consolidate posts. I spend a great deal of time researching to make sure what I do is evidence based. Those posts were being lost.

This is the link to the page that has the posts about dilute bleach baths. This research re: dilute bleach baths was completed in 2006 and published in April 2009, It was timely for me as I had my problem from fall of 2009. I reviewed what i wrote before coming here. It could be better written, but it will do. This original research published in the Journal of Pediatrics in April, 2009, involved kids that had skin disorders with secondary bacterial infections. The kids secondary infections healed. The conundrum was how to handle the lesions that weren't part of the soak.i.e above the water line.The researchers had the kiddos hold their nose and go under water..............Your face should do quite well.

https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/136/topics/839123?page=3

The study was stopped early b/c it was seen as so effective that to deny treatment to the placebo group was detrimental.

Some initial non scientific reports were very much against the study b/c it was seen as exposing the kids to chemicals. The dilution of the bleach bath of the study was equivalent to the required concentration of a commercial pool. This wasn't evident in the first publication and was since clarified within a year of the April 2009 publication. Since then it has become accepted practice. If you google keywords "Skin infection and dilute bleach bath" It will pull many articles from accepted organizations.

I had an additional problem in that time period that caused me to seek outside what was accepted practice of my docs. I cultured on the top of my head one of the worst bugs imaginable. I was aghast when I read about it. It made me wish I had MRSA. After 5 weeks of following doc antibiotic prescriptions with no change, I went on the internet search. That's when I found the above information. Then I applied what I learned in the study, what I knew about the restaurant industry, and OSHA. My head situation was corrected in 3 days.

sas-schatzi

Aw I will go through another story. It predates the BC time by about 7 years or so. My hospital administration introduced cell phones for the nurses. At first we were thrilled. etc, etc,. I noticed that I had zits on my chin and jaw line. Seriously odd because I went through puberty without zits. Here I was with zits and I'm above 50. OH no, there has to be something going on.

I looked around at staff and saw many with the same pattern. Then I watched how the cell phones were used. Common pattern against the jaw line and particulary at the chin corner right or left. I went to the internet. Zit's and cellphones. Actually, " bacteria and cellphones". They're was an exceptional study out of Israel. The authors identified they had a problem in a hospital(forget hospital). They cultured everything. It was determined it was the nurses hands and the cell phones. They did things to correct the problem. Restudy showed the problem wasn't corrected. They discontinued the use of the phones.

I looked at other studies. I was able to pull three at the time done in the US. The three are what I call lazy studies. None did their own microbial work i.e. culturing. They all cited the Israeli study. It was sad because science really demands that studies be replicated. At that point the Israeli study hadn't been replicated. But all the studies had them as a first bibliography citation. Sucks , lazy. One of the studies did do culturing of ECG lines.... ewhohwee. Not good. Recommendation was the lines for ecg and telemetry be disposable.

What I did after the research was talk with the nurses. My plan was a cell phone was wiped and beeper too, at all exchanges. The others, when given the explanation that I have just given you, did the same.

Italychick

interesting, I didn't think about the bleach thing. We give my granddaughter bleach baths for her exczema and it helps a ton. I fill up a little swimming pool in the yard with warm water, put some bleach in, and let her play to her hearts content. The bleach baths help her more than anything.

sas-schatzi

Oh Chit, OCD now just as OCD then. OCD requires that I tell you the further outcome The wiping of the phones and beepers. lead to the wiping of all counter surfaces, Med book, computer surfaces, common table. It was a real PITA. I felt like Felix Unger. It took close to 10 minutes.

AwtcT

Thanks for all of the responses! I would never have thought about the bleach idea. My skin seems to be clearing up a bit, perhaps due to the clindamyacin, although I'm still getting a few breakouts here and there. I bought a Laura Mercier moisturizing foundation and it provides MUCH better coverage than my old BB cream, so at least I can have the facade of okay skin. I see the oncologist tomorrow and I'll ask her about it and also about reducing the steroids a bit. I've heard that acne is a good indicator of the chemo working, but is that really referring to the "chemo rash" and not to actual acne? If it's referring also to actual acne, then I should be completely clear of cancer!

I was also really embarrassed to show my bare face to my fiance, who annoyingly has lovely, clear skin! After trying to hid my face for a bit, I realized that I was being utterly ridiculous so I finally made the big reveal. He was completely unfazed and then fished around for some old photos of his that showed when he had acne in high school. The pics he showed me didn't seem very bad at all, but I appreciated the effort on his part.

sas-schatzi

Aw if clindamyacin clears it up GREAT. But if it doesn't................

AwtcT

Had my second treatment on April 22 and reduced the steroid by quite a bit. Unfortunately, I ended up breaking out almost immediately and now have a nasty rash on my cheek. Not sure if the steroid was preventing the breakout or if it was the cause. Sigh. I'll have to look into the bleach-water solution now.

sas-schatzi

AWt, remember to decontaminate your phone computer keyboard, purse...........things that you touch frequently with your hands Frequent hand washing with good mechanical action. Avoid use of nail polish and fake nails. (you don't want to know what's under there). Fake nails etc are outlawed in hospitals for direct patient care givers.

Don't contaminate skin care products by re-entering the container or touching the tip.

JennaJMU

Has anyone had any acne issues since being on Aromatase inhibitors? My skin has been awful...deep painful nodules and cysts. I See my PCP tomorrow and I need to ask her about some kind of treatment.

Meow13

yes, I have had strange acne different than typical stuff. I also found that after exercising I need to shower and clean my face as soon as possible. It helps to do that. I asked my oncologist if I could be having this acne because of exemestane, he said yes he was certain of it. Well I think he was right because my skin feels and looks better now that I'm off it.