Efudix

Hi and welcome to the skin cancer group

I replied to you yesterday evening in New to the Community so I'm pleased to see you over here.

While you're waiting for replies from people who have been prescribed Efudix you may be interested in this information about it from Macmillan. 

As you will see the action of the cream should make the area sore and weepy but I can totally understand that this isn't pleasant, especially on your face. If the area is very sore speak to your GP as a steroid cream can also be prescribed to sooth the area.

Do let us know how you get on with the treatment.

x

Thank you so very much for your support and fast reply 

I do understand how aggressive this cream is and I have done week 1 , not too bad yet but am prepared for the worst , hopefully it will work and I won’t need any surgery . I will update in a week , thank you again for support it means so much 

Hello Lolly, last year I had to use Aldara cream and it sounds as tho it has a similar reaction to the cream you and others are using. 

My skin was red, scabby, weeping, blistering for four months and it looked dreadful. BUT within a month of stopping using the cream, my skin had healed really well and then a couple of months down the line you really couldn’t see anything.

So I just wanted you to know that however your skin might look, it will heal.  Had I known back then that my skin would look like it does today, it would have made the whole ordeal so much easier to deal with. So do hang on in there, you will get through it  

Rebecca x

Dear Rebecca thank you for your message and encouragement. Great to hear it worked for you . Am only on week one and treating small areas on upper lip and chest . I do hope that it will only be few weeks and I don’t have to treat  any more . Counting down to next week to see Doctor and fingers crossed it will show it’s working . I do worry that it’s suspected atinic keratosis that can turn into SCC or that I could have other BCCs growing. I’m not sure if the cream works if this is the case . Did you have atinic keratosis? 

Thanks again Lolly x

Hello Lolly

I had lentigo maligna/a mole on my left cheek which was pre cancerous. I had it removed and didn’t have clear margins so had to use the Aldara cream to blast the remaining cells. 

It was all I could think about for nine months whilst I lived through it. I was miserable, paranoid about my other moles and blemishes on my skin and paranoid about the sun. However once I was through it, that went away (although of course I am still very mindful).  

Good luck with your journey. 

Rebecca x

Hi - I hope by now you're through your treatment and all is good. I've started a course of Efudix today, and have the whole process to go through still! I've had the solar keratoses for many years, bit they've just become a bit troublesome. The areas affected are my scalp (been bald all of my adult life) and my nose. I also had a BCC removed with PTD a couple of years ago.

Hi and welcome to the online community

I'm sorry to hear that you're about to start on a course of Efudix for solar keratoses and there's nothing like talking to others who have already undergone the treatment to find out what to expect.

I noticed that you haven't 'joined' the group yet. Don't worry, you haven't done anything wrong but joining means that you can start your own discussions, if there's something you want to ask, and you can also get email notifications telling you when people have posted.

To join just go to the top of the page and click on 'join this group' and that's it. You might also like to pop something about your journey with skin cancer so far into your profile as it helps others when answering or looking for someone with a similar diagnosis. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Edit Profile'. You can amend it at any time and if you're not sure what to write you can take a look at mine by clicking on my username.

x

Just keep it going I know my face was the size off a basket ball after 2 week and I thought what am i doing to my shelf !!! thank fully i kept going.

It like a new face , look 10 years younger so i am told !!!

Am currently using it (efudex) on my Right arm only another week to go ish , did my Left arm last month it very red  now but looks like new skin and on the mend..  

Stay with it !!!

Good luck

I have just been prescribed with this cream for a cancerous mole on my calf.. I am so scared of side effects and if it will be really painful but it is a better option than surgery. I hope it works

Hi there Ive had a lentigo maligna cut out of my right cheek by a plastic surgeon and was advised to use Aldara to clear the margins. After 3 weeks of nightly Aldara application broken reddened skin and some large black scabs appeared. I also felt weak and weepy which I initially thought was due to low iron but that was checked at 13.8 so fine but I was alarmed at the size of the black scabs and so have stopped use of Aldara. the scabs have eventually fallen off. How long did you consecutively use Aldara? did you also use a moisturiser say in the mornings when you had washed off the Aldara? I was told by my Dermatologist to use Aldara for 3 months. I guess I may have to try again to make absolutely sure. Did you apply Aldara every day for 9 months? Apparently it can affect some folk internally ie make one feel a bit weak/ tired. i was advised to use Aphoria Eucerin as a moisturiser which I only started using after I stopped the Aldara.  I would appreciate your feedback on this. regards from Cape Town.