Erbitux rash~

[lisabarnesnc]

Anyone have any ideas on what can help to make me more comfortable? I started my first chemo last week and it included the erbitux, rash started on Monday, recieved second treatment of erbitux on this past Tuesday, today rash has spread more especially around my nose and mouth, Dr gave me a prescription for Tetracycline on Tuesday but I need some relief... any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Lisa

[rthornton]

Hi, LIsa.

When I used Erbitux, from November of '05 to April of '06, I got the rash and I absolutely hated it. I used Minocycline, Clindamycine, a benzoyl peroxide/Clindamycin mixture, and a drugstore's worth of facial cleansers, soaps, and OTC acne medications. The Erbirash never went away ... never, I still have it just a little ... but I believe that the antibiotics helped to curb it a bit. I have since heard that Keflex is good for the rash, but I never tried it. A family practice doctor once suggested that I try an antifungal, and I did so but probably didn't try it long enough to see results. I don't think there is a definite solution to the rash. Many doctors will tell you that if you get the rash, that means the Erbitux is working against the cancer. I don't know if that's true. I had a liver recurrence a couple of weeks after I stopped Erbitux. There were four mets in my liver that were easily resectable. Who knows ... without the Erbitux and that obnoxious rash, there might have been more tumors that were not resectable.

Good luck with it.

Rodney

[Jeremiah]

Proactiv. The acne medicine product.

Works wonders. look it up on the web. I used it alot with the rash and it helps some with the pain (just soothing and not any form of pain killer), keep the area very clean, and moisturizes. In my case, I had no scars left over once the rash was gone.

[Traveler001]

Hello,

I am on Erbitux too and because it is a Clinical Trial, was referred to and have been seeing a dermatologist specializing in Cancer Skin Care and specifically the drugs like Erbitux that target EGFR, Dr Mario LaCouture. http://www.medschool.northwestern.edu/d ... uture.html

He is the Director of the skin care program and is really good.

The rash is still evident, but not nearly as bad as it was when I first started. Incidentally they say that the rash peaks early and then dies down a little. But anyway, the rash can be made up of a combination of things including infections and so I was put on the following regimen:

Topicals:
Ciclopirox cream
Alclometasone Cream
Capex Shampoo
Eucerin Face Moisturizer (They suggested Vanacream - but I guess this is very similar)
Mupirocin ointment (an antibiotic ointment that I stick in my nostrils)


Pills:
Doryx (Later changed to Keflex due to an infection) Doryx is used for teenagers who have acne. They wanted to switch me after a while to another pill called Isotretinoin, but my liver enzymes were high at the time and they would not let me take that pill.

I also put Ammonium Lactate Cream 12% on my hands to help the dry skin and some cracked cuticles. and at night, a really thick generic hand cream

Also the newest symptom to appear from chemo is cracks/fissures in the skin of my ankles and heels and eczema above that. For this they prescribed a special compound cream of Fluocinonide and Sarna.

All this stuff is taken twice daily, except for the shampoo, hand cream and the compound for my ankles which is done at night.

I think it really has helped, although I am a little concerned about the cortical steroids Im putting on my skin for so many months. I try to go easy on those, but the Dr says that there is nothing to worry about.

I also had to have one fingertip cauterized because the fissure on the cuticle was big and it had a tendency to bleed often. it wasnt a big deal but that is another possible side effect of the Erbitux.

Right now, with 6 weeks left to go, my face looks red in some places and someone commented that it looks like I have a lot of freckles, stuff like that, but not nearly the kind of rash like in the beginning.

Use the moisturizers often whenever needed. The rash might spread to your shoulders and chest too. I hope this helps.

Eric (Traveler001)

[missjv]

I HAVE HAD 4 DOSES OF ERBITUX AND I WAS WONDERING WHEN THE RASHES START??? MY HEELS ARE VERY DRY AND SKIN IS CRACKING BAD BUT NOT PAINFUL. I HAVE BEEN SMOTHERING MY FEET IN VASELINE AND PUTTING SOCKS ON OVER NIGHT AND BY MORNING IT SEEMS TO HELP. I ALSO SOAK MY FACE AND NECK WITH VASELINE TO KEEP MOISTURE IN BUT I SO FAR HAVE NOT HAD ANY BREAK OUTS EXCEPT FOR 1 PIMPLE ON MY NOSE BU THAT COULD BE JUST A REGULAR PIMPLE?? I DID HAVE A NASTY ALLERGIC REACTION WITH THE LOADING DOSE AND BROLE OUT IN HIVES BUT A BENADRY INFUSION HELPED AND I HAVE NOT HAD ANYMORE PROBLEMS WITH IT BUT I GUESS THE LOADING DOSE IS QUITE HIGHER THEN THE MAINTENANCE DOSE???

MISSJV

[KP]

I have completed two cycles on Fulfiri with Erbitux (25 cycles of chemo total, but only two on erbitux so far) - - the rash is also horrible for me.

I have both blisters/pustules and dry itchy skin on my face - centered on nose, chin, but spreading. My chest and back, back of neck, are also covered. The fissures on my fingers and heels are painful too.

I was given a topical steroid cream, oral allegra for itching, and an oral antibiotic (minocyn) about the fifth day of the first cycle on Erbitux.

I do not know if they are helping or what the effects would be without it. I use Eucerin on my face multiple times a day and it helps alot. I also use an "extractor tool" to alleviate pressure. I am sure that' s not advised, but they get really painful if not alleviated!

My lips are very painful - raw and tender. Has anyone had this too?

I think that I need to ask for some modification in the dosage.

I hope that indeed this is the "peak" because its so bad I can't go anywhere and I wonder if its worth it. I wish you the best and hope that relief is out there!

Karen

[sue]

For the extreme dryness and cracking of skin I found that BagBalm works the BEST! I plaster it on my feet at night and put socks on. It desolves right into the skin! I use it on my hands and fingernails too, works great and is very resonably priced! Before I tried this I tried many, many creams/lotions etc. This is the best. Get at drugstores.

[FiG-S~]

My reaction began about a week later. It started out as pimples in the T-zone, making me look like an adolescent girl going through puberty.
My doctor recommended cortizone. (It worked really well.) He reminds me at every appointment to lather up on the lotion. I now have a rash, not as bad, on my Torso. My skin feels like a reptile.

I was given a sheet about this:
Use a thick, alcohol-free emollient cream.
Use a sunscreen of SPF 15 or higher, preferably containing zinc oxide or titanium dioxide.

I use several different lotions: Aveeno Lotion, Skin MD (a pharmacy ordered it at the request of a doctor, so I gave it a try - skinMDNatural.com), and Aveda hand, foot and body lotions (800.328.0849/763.783.6999, www.aveda.com) Once I started using these products, my cracked skin finally healed. Prior to this, I was using neosporin and bandaids. Although this worked prior to cancer, after about a month, I still had no improvement. Days after the Skin MD and Aveda (I tried them both at the same time), I saw improvement. I only tried the Aveda on my feet, and that crack healed within days. I was having to wear a bandaid on my foot so it wouldn't hurt when I walked. Aveda sells purse size bottles so you can try it before purchasing the big ones. I heard Airbonne works well for the face. I believe I'm getting some from my aunt for Christmas. It's all natural, like Aveda.

My lips hurt slightly from being too dry. I used medicated chapstick and then used regular chapstick for maintanance. I heard the neosporin lip stuff works well.

I found that wearing makeup makes it worse. I didn't wear any for several weeks and then put in on for a night. I noticed a worse rash within a day or two.

[missjv]

well i now have joined the erbituux rash club. my face broke out all of a sudden today. i felt flushed in my face all day but never looked in mirror until a few minutes ago and my face is full of zits. i just hope this is a good thing meaning the drug is working. i wiped my face in witch hazel and applied alot of hypoallergenic vaseline skin moisturizer is that good or bad to do? any suggestions appreciated. tommorrow is my 5th dose of erbitux.

missjv