| Author |
Message |
Jeff
Member
Username: Jbinsb
Post Number: 3
Registered: 08-2011
| | Posted on Sunday, August 28, 2011 - 03:23 pm: | 
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Has anyone developed chronic skin cancer post transplant. I have had 29 MOHLS surgerys in the last year and a half, 90% on my face. My Dermatologist has had me use Fluorouracil cream and referred me to an Oncologist who put me on the cemo drug Xeloda. nothing seems to help. My Dermatologist feels that the drug Prograf is what is causing the problem. All of my doctors are part of my UCLA transplant team and seem to work well together in adjusting my anti rejection drugs, but I have been told that my Prograf is as low as it is going to get. I am on .5mg Prograf, 2mg Rapamune and 10 mg prednisone |
Happy2Bhere
Forum Leader
Username: Happy2bhere
Post Number: 4241
Registered: 02-2008
| | Posted on Sunday, August 28, 2011 - 04:31 pm: |
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Jeff, I might could possibly write a book about my experience with various kinds of skin cancers post heart transplant. I am very familiar with MOHS surgery.
Mine appear mostly on my face and forearms.
Good luck
Ol' Bob
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Joe Berry
Forum Leader
Username: Joe910
Post Number: 291
Registered: 08-2008
| | Posted on Sunday, August 28, 2011 - 06:19 pm: |
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I too am familiar with skin cancer post transplant. I think part of mine is heredity. My mother who has not had a transplant has had many surgeries for skin cancer and most of them were on her face. My nose seems to be where mine settle, but I have had several pre-cancerous lesions removed from my head, face, and arms. My current dermatologist, a member of the transplant team, does not do MOHS very often. I must admit his surgeries are much faster and he has done a great job of making the scars almost invisible.
I read somewhere that the damage from the sun is done in the first 20 years of your life and what we have now is a result of those years. The prograf just expedites what would have otherwise happened.
I am on low doses of prograf and cellcept.
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Marina
Member
Username: Marina
Post Number: 203
Registered: 08-2009
| | Posted on Sunday, August 28, 2011 - 10:49 pm: |
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May I remind you that the use of sunscreen 30 or higher, wearing a hat, long sleeve shirts,
or simply avoiding long exposures to the sun, is HIGHLY recommended to try to avoid skin cancer.
Of course there's no guarantee (are there any guarantees in life??) that we'll never get cancer.
But at least we're doing what we can to protect ourselves,
take care!
Nov 9, 2010 Kidney and Pancreas TX @ California Pacific Medical center CPMC San Francisco, CA . What a blessing!!!!
BELIEVE!!!!!!!!!! |
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Staggerin' Dave
Member
Username: Rodeonm
Post Number: 14
Registered: 07-2011
| | Posted on Monday, August 29, 2011 - 01:41 am: |
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I too, have had numerous basal and squamous cell skin cancers. I attribute this to anti-rejection drugs, living in the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts, and being out doors much of the day. I agree, the remedy is to cover up...even when it is hot. Sunscreen makes me feel like I'm running a marathon whilst covered in Saran Wrap, so I don't use it.
Cadaveric Kidney Transplant (08/87)
Hepatitis C (08/87) from kidney tx
Organ Donor dad {(Virginia, 15) 02/93}
USPS clerk 1988-present |
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Bill
Member
Username: Bill_e
Post Number: 86
Registered: 09-2006
| | Posted on Monday, August 29, 2011 - 06:40 am: |
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I had MOHS surgery 13 times in a 3 year period. The cancers began about 4 years post transplant, and none have developed in the past 2 years. All of them were on my ears, nose and forehead.
The Dermatologist ( I go every 6 months) prescribed Fluorouracil for the basal cell cancers - messy, but effective.
Kidney transplant 11/24/02
cadaveric transplant
Duke Medical Center
Home: Virginia |
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Happy2Bhere
Forum Leader
Username: Happy2bhere
Post Number: 4249
Registered: 02-2008
| | Posted on Sunday, September 04, 2011 - 07:24 pm: |
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Skin cancer is sneaky, and not because it doesn't give fair warning. An early -- and curable -- cancer can usually be spotted, but often you never see it (it's hiding on the back of your upper thigh), or you dismiss it as just another freckle. Sure, you've heard the "changing color, ragged edges" litany many times, but do you know exactly what that looks like on your own skin?
Ol' Bob
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Rita
Forum Leader
Username: Rita
Post Number: 750
Registered: 06-2003
| | Posted on Saturday, September 10, 2011 - 06:43 pm: |
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I go to the skin doctor often. I get mostly these kind of warts that I have been told comes from having a low immo system, but I have had skin types of cancer removed also even though I use sun screen and wear a hat etc.
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Amy Tippins
Member
Username: Amytippins
Post Number: 85
Registered: 06-2009
| | Posted on Monday, September 12, 2011 - 02:30 pm: |
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Skin cancer is the reason you go to the dermatologist at least once a year and get a skin scan. Also, consume cancer fighting foods like on the Alkaline diet. Carrots are really good for repairing damaged skin cells by the sun. Sunscreen is great to wear daily, but personally, I will not wear long sleeves over 68 degrees....there comes a time for me that I want to enjoy my life and being able to wear sleeveless shirts is part of that for me
RockScar Love is where we celebrate the scars of new life! www.Rock Scar Love.com
A portion of sales credited to Transplant Buddies goes to COTA! |
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miocean
Member
Username: Miocean
Post Number: 133
Registered: 07-2010
| | Posted on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 - 10:17 pm: |
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I am having Mohs surgery on a squamous cell carcinoma on my scalp soon. The reason I have having Mohs is because the skin on the scalp is harder and tighter, otherwise they would just cut it off.
I have been extremely careful in the sun since transplant but have had a lot of sun exposure. I had a basal cell carcinoma removed from my thigh before transplant.
Both of these areas appeared as scaley bumps that I would pick off but would come back.
I am told to plan to spend 4-6 hours at the drs. Can any of you share your experience?
Thanks,
miocean
Diffuse Scleroderma
Kidney Transplant March 11, 2010
St. Barnabas Medical Center, Livingston, NJ |
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Grateful for my unknown donor
Member
Username: Jazzgirl
Post Number: 1
Registered: 12-2011
| | Posted on Thursday, December 29, 2011 - 10:43 am: |
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I too have had many Moh's surgeries for squamous cell carcinomas on my head. The surgeries do take a long time because they take of only a layer at a time. Last summer one of the places came back after the surgery i had had 6 months before and a scan showed it was in the nerves so i had radiation on my scalp for 6 weeks. My dermatologist is a part of our wonderful tx team at Emory Healthcare and the team met and decided that the prograf and bactrim were causing the cancers. i have been switched from prograf to rapamune and from bactrim to mepron. i also take cellcept and pregnisone. The mepron has lowered my cr levels and since stopping the prograf i have not seen any more skin cancers. i will have a body check at my 4 year annual in Feb of this year.
Good luck to you. |
albertnices
Member
Username: Albertnices
Post Number: 1
Registered: 03-2012
| | Posted on Monday, March 26, 2012 - 06:18 am: |
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This is nice post which it is very useful to us some points like Has anyone developed chronic skin cancer post transplant. I have had 29 MOHLS surgerys in the last year and a half, 90% on my face. My Dermatologist has had me use Fluorouracil cream and referred me to an Oncologist who put me on the cemo drug Xeloda. nothing seems to help.
Medical Problems;
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gratefuldeb
Member
Username: Gratefuldeb
Post Number: 174
Registered: 05-2009
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 28, 2012 - 12:33 pm: |
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Did anyone else find that their sun damaged spots became more noticeable during the immediate post transplant period? I looked like I had a case of measles on my legs and arms, which lasted for several weeks, and lessened as my doses of immunosuppressants decreased. I have a lot of sun damage from living most of my life near the beach in California, and I also lived in Hawaii for a few years, so it doesn't surprise me that I have skin cancer issues. There weren't really any good sun screens when I was a kid, and the dangers of sun exposure weren't widely discussed.
I'm also curious if anyone has tried the "blue light" laser treatment for skin cancers. I hate using Fluorouracil, especially on my face, but it's a better option than waiting for my AK's to develop into basal cell CA's! I've already had four MOH's surgeries on or near my nose, and I get numerous lesions treated with liquid nitrogen each time I see my dermatologist. I'm super careful now, and use both sunscreen and sun protective clothing whenever I go out.
Debra
Heart Tx 9/08
Stanford University Medical Center
Dx: Right sided heart failure due to a rare form of muscular dystrophy
I have a beautiful new heart from a wonderful donor named Robin, to whom I will be forever grateful.
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Sean Ben
Member
Username: Seanben
Post Number: 1
Registered: 05-2012
| | Posted on Friday, May 25, 2012 - 04:41 am: |
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You can reduce your risk of skin cancer by limiting or avoiding exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Checking your skin for suspicious changes can help detect skin cancer at its earliest stages |
