supplements?

Hi Rubin w us ,

Firstly welcome to the MacMillan online community although I’m really sorry that you’ve had the need to find us. 

I can’t comment on either of the alternative medications that you have mentioned, personally I closely followed the advice given to me by my oncologist regarding supplements that I was taking prior to starting treatment. I would advise being cautious though as there’s many things including supplements & even some topical treatments that can interfere with the effectiveness of the radiotherapy & the chemotherapy. 

I would definitely start moisturising the skin of the area that’ll be receiving the radiation, it’s a plus if your skin is well hydrated going into treatment, I moisturised with a plain aqueous type cream from my bikini line right through to the back around my groin & the top of my thighs, my skin held up pretty well throughout. 

Nicola 

Hi Robin

Sorry I can’t comment on the use of alternate meds.

But using creams in advance seemed to work for me although I did start well in advance as a regular cyclist I’ve been doing it daily for over 20 years.

 I started to became sore (but not really painful) during week 5 and the skin didn’t really start to break down until the end of the final week, with the peak of discomfort being about 3 or 4 days after treatment had finished but it had almost completely healed a week later and I could wash and wipe as normal.

I did get comments from the clinical review team that the area appeared well moisturised and this had probably helped to keep the skin intact.

Monty x

Hello Rubin w us

I will answer your last question firt - yes, yes and yes!  Anything to keep your skin soft and supple prior to radiotherapy.  Just be careful not to have cream on prior to a radiotherapy session, a thick layer can interfere with the dosage.

I had a very quick look on Dr Google about melatonin during radiotherapy.  This is the first time (to my knowledge) it has been mentioned on the forum and I didn't know about some of the studies, some of which are quite old - 2014.  The question I would be asking is if melatonin has these benefits, why hasn't it been rolled out world-wide to patients undergoing radiotherapy.  I am a great believer in all my supplements and when starting chemo, I had to show each one I was taking to the pharmacist.  He said no to every single one.  It is recognised that some supplements do aid in cell renewal which of course you want to avoid when being treated for active cancer.  My oncologist also said there weren't many studies on any supplements, that it would be unethical to trial people undergoing treatment for cancer.

But I am not a chemist and don't know the composition of melatonin and whether, as well as offering benefits, it may affect the effectiveness of the chemo.  So I can't help there.

I am intrigued, though!  Please let us know if you find out more.

Irene xx

Hi Rubin

Welcome to the forum. I took various supplements etc before treatment and was advised to stop nearly all of them by my oncologist as they can interfere with how the treatment works, so I stopped the lot. With regards to melatonin I'm pretty sure its prescription only in the uk. Personally I would run anything past your doctor even moisturisers and go with what they ok. Definitely start moisturising, get your skin in as good condition as possible. Sending hugs. Xx