Efudex (Fluorouracil) Skin Cancer Treatment

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/artsandliving/fashionandbeauty/features/2006/skin-sense/may08.html

This story is the second place I have read that actinic keratosis is pre-cancer to Squamous Cell Carcinoma, specifically. I had thought that AK’s could turn into Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) as well as SCC,  but this article suggests otherwise.

Fluorouracil (5-FU) is a chemotherapy compound which has been around for a long time.  For topical (on the skin) use, it is sold as Efudex and Carac, and is used to kill cancerous or pre-cancerous skin lesions. Actinic Keratosis, or Solar Keratosis, is a condition in which there are generally many spots, some visible and some not, some of which will become skin cancer if untreated. So, fluorouracil is often prescribed as a method of killing many of the pre-cancerous spots before they become cancer and have to be removed by freezing or cutting.

The Efudex, or Carac, treatment is itself not very pleasant. The drug is prescribed when it is deemed to be preferable to addressing the individual Basal Cell or Squamous Cell cancers one at at time over a period of years.

Cancer is, to most people, a scary word. But the truth about skin cancer, which is as common as all other cancers combined, is that in the vast majority of cases, it is not life-threatening and it is easily treated.

Please do not take anything on this site as medical advice, or as authoritative medical information. I am just repeating information that I have read or heard and believe to be true.

First, it is important do understand that there are (at least) three types of skin cancer:

• Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC, sometime “sBCC” for superficial)
• Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC)
• Malignant Melanoma

The appearance, the treatment, and the prognosis can be very different from one type of skin cancer to another.

By far the most common form of skin cancer is basal cell. Basal Cell Carcinoma, sometimes called Superficial Basal Cell Carcinoma, or SBCC, is a growth on the skin that won’t spread but will grow until it is surgically removed, either by freezing or by cutting.

The next most common form of skin cancer, squamous cell, is more serious. Much less common than basal cell, a squamous cell carcinoma can spread…in fact, I was surprised to read the other day that one fourth of skin cancer deaths are caused by squamous cell carcinomas, or SCCs.

Melanoma, of course, is the most feared. Melanoma can kill you, as I have seen first-hand, having lost two good friends to Melanoma. You should familiarize yourself with the signs and symptoms of melanoma and when in doubt, see a dermatologist (not just a family doctor) immediately.

Fluorouracil (5-FU) is a chemotherapy compound which has been around for a long time.  For topical (on the skin) use, it is sold as Efudex and Carac, and is used to kill cancerous or pre-cancerous skin lesions. Actinic Keratosis, or Solar Keratosis, is a condition in which there are generally many spots, some visible and some not, some of which will become skin cancer if untreated. So, fluorouracil is often prescribed as a method of killing many of the pre-cancerous spots before they become cancer and have to be removed by freezing or cutting.

The Efudex, or Carac, treatment is itself not very pleasant. The drug is prescribed when it is deemed to be preferable to addressing the individual Basal Cell or Squamous Cell cancers one at at time over a period of years.

I am building this site to share my journal of my Efudex treatment, as well as my very charming Efudex pictures. I also intend to gather in one place the best advice I can find on coping with Efudex or Carac treatments, both from a physical and an emotional standpoint.

If you are going through this treatment yourself and would like to post an online journal of your own, I would love to have you post your journal on this site. (Or, if you already have a journal posted elsewhere and you would give me permission to reproduce it here, please let me know.)