Hi ! My itchy red blotches on arms and hands won't go away. I've tried benadryl, anticortizone creams and many moisturizers. The doctor wants them to go away before he puts me back on chemo . I was on xeloda and herceptin when this happened. My doctor made the comment that maybe the xeloda caused any precancerous lesions to come out on my skin. did this happen to any of you or do you have any ideas for remedies? God Bless You All- Cathy

I am on xeloda and also experienced the red blotches (on my arms and face). Mine seem to be where I've been exposed to the sun, and while I'm diligent about sunscreen and sun exposure in general, I think I will try to be more diligent about it during the summer, and am going to see if that helps...

I was previously on herceptin, and had no such effects while on that ...

Good luck, and let me know if it resolves.

Shell

Hi Cathy and Shell,
Linda is on Xeloda now and did get a few blotches but they went away on there own while continuing Xeloda. Dermatitis is mentioned as a side effect.

Cathy,
Did the onc just cut you off or did he try reducing the doseage first. Unless it is life threatening, they usually don't take you off it right away with some intermediate steps.

I would look into this as you don't want your legacy to read: "we cured the rash but the patient died!"

Regards,
Al

Dear Cathy
I think I mentioned in my previous post i had the red marks all the way through. I think maybe the onc is right cause the ones on my hand swere where the basal call things I used to get burnt off were. Xeloda is like the cream wffudix which is like a 5 fu cream used for basal cell things.I have often wondered if it would work on some skin mets.
love
linda

It might be a good idea to see a dermatologist and see what he thinks about your skin. He'd be able to tell if it's just an allergic reaction or needs to be looked at further.

I've heard of other stage 4's needing to see a dermatologist to get stuff checked out, and often it turns out to just chemo related, once in a while some other type of intervention is needed.

Hi Al- He just put me back on the xeloda starting tomorrow- no change in the dose.I was 210 pounds and now 204. He kept me at 4000mgs daily. I am seeing a dematologist on the 25th.I also had a lot of diahreah on xeloda and they told me to take one immodium every other day.Does Linda get diahreah? Can you tell me what dermititis is? God Bless You Both- Cathy

Hi Cathy,

Dermatiitis is skin rash or skin related disorders and no, Linda doesn't get diarea....how ever you spell that. She take narcotics for bone pain and that actually causes the opposite. Imodium makes sense.

Im am so glad you are back on xeloda and remember......that sutff is saving your life so think twice before going off it!

All the best,
Al

ps Linda W, 5FU cream is used routinely for suspected pre-cancerous lesions due to sun damage.