New Book: Skin Care Guide for People Living With Cancer

This new book makes a wonderful gift for a cancer patient. It has important and helpful information for individuals undergoing treatment for cancer, and is especially informative about cancer side effects.



Click here to buy this book on Amazon. View the book on Amazon.com.

Book description from the publisher:
"More people than ever before are living with and surviving cancer. However, the human cost of life-saving cancer treatment may be unexpected side effects to the skin, hair, and nails. How can patients navigate these changes without affecting their treatment, their appearance, or even their sense of who they are? Dr. Lacouture's Skin Care Guide for People Living With Cancer is the first book written by a board-certified dermatologist to help patients care for treatment-associated skin, hair, and nail toxicities, which can range from mild and annoying to serious enough to affect health, treatment, and quality of life. In this book, Dr. Mario Lacouture discusses a number of side effects that may rise from chemotherapy, biologic therapy, radiation therapy, stem-cell transplants, and other tools in the fight against cancer. He offers a number of practical suggestions that are useful to people living with cancer, including preparation for the rash, itching, or dry skin that may come with treatment; care for the fingernails, and suggested products that will contribute to their health; awareness of the risks for hair loss, and resources that patients may need to cope; suggested moisturizers and cosmetics that are appropriate for patients' use; and specific information for survivors. Written by one of the foremost experts in the dermatologic side effects of cancer treatments, Dr. Lacouture's Skin Care Guide for People Living With Cancer offers patients clear information and practical suggestions for preventing, treating, and living through these changes during their cancer journey."

Lots To Live For, Inc. is dedicated to helping cancer patients who are experiencing unpleasant and uncomfortable side effects from cancer treatment. Lots To Live For, Inc. has an website that offers "One Stop Shopping and Solutions for All Cancer Side Effects" - selling products for skin care, hair care and nail care. Some of the product lines that http://www.lotstolivefor.com/ sells are mentioned in this book, such as the LindiSkin skin care line. Visit Lots To Live For, Inc. to find products to help alleviate cancer side effects.

You can also find Lots To Live For, Inc. on facebook. We post practical articles about dealing with cancer side effectsand interesting articles about new developments in cancer therapy. Please "like" us at www.facebook.com/LotsToLiveFor

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Ten Surprising Places You’re Being Overexposed to Radiation

Radiation. The word alone scares us, but we’re exposed to it on a daily basis in some unlikely places. While there’s no reason to dictate where you go based on radiation, know that extreme exposure to certain types of radiation can be hazardous to your health. Illnesses include vomiting, nausea and in some cases, a loss of white blood cells (the good cells that fight bad germs in our system). Excessive cumulative exposure to radiation over many years should be avoided. So while our Cancer Blog! Typically talks about radiation oncology risks and side effects, we thought that it might be helpful to remind readers that radiation also comes from other sources.

Maureen Denard reviews the ten most surprising places that you might be exposed to radiation in her posting on http://www.msndegree.com/ and the article can be accessed by clicking here.

In summary, the 10 most surprising places are:
1. Airplanes
2. Living in the plateaus of New Mexico or Colorado
3. Color TV’s
4. Tobacco smoke
5. Military service
6. Packaged food
7. Working in hospitals or clinics where x-rays are performed
8. Smoke detectors
9. Camping out frequently
10. Radon gas


Her conclusion is simple – be aware and exercise caution. “Radiation can be hazardous, but with a heads-up on where you may be overexposed, you can live life carefully. Understand some instances that expose us to radiation are harmless because they’re in such small doses such as getting an x-ray or standing near a microwave, so there’s no need to overhaul your life to stay away from the scary buzzword.”

Remember, if you are out in the sun, we sell some excellent sun protection products on our website. They are SolRx Skin Care products and you can read about them by clicking here.

Skin Care during Chemotherapy and Radiation Oncology Treatments

Chemotherapy medications can affect a patient’s skin, hair, and nails. The side effects vary by patient and more broadly by the type of chemotherapy that is being administered.

Before starting treatment, it is suggested that the patient ask their oncologist or oncology nurse what specific skin/hair/nail reactions might be caused by the regimen prescribed. That way, they can better prepare by exploring products that will be helpful.

Some common side effects are dry, flaky or itchy skin. If a patient is receiving radiation, the skin can become burned, or an itchy bumpy rash can develop.

Tarceva can cause a rash and other skin changes. Soon after you start taking Tarceva, a rash may appear—most often on your face, upper chest and back. However, a rash may appear anywhere on your body with symptoms such as itching, tenderness, burning, dryness, or cracked skin on your fingers and hands. It may look like acne or dry skin. Rash is a common side effect of Tarceva. If you get a rash while on Tarceva, call your doctor about what to do, as some rashes have been serious. (Source: http://www.tarceva.com/patient/taking/effects.jsp)

Erbitux can also cause a very bad rash, sometimes called an acne-form rash. It can be mild, but sometimes it is severe. You can read more about this rash on the Chemocare website by clicking here.

Another side effect that can occur is hand-foot syndrome (sometimes referred to as Palmar-Plantar erythrodysesthesia). This is an irritation, cracking and peeling of the skin on the hands, and feet. Some medications that can cause hand-foot syndrome in patients are Capecitabine (Xeloda®), 5-Flurouracil (5FU), continuous-infusion doxorubicin, doxorubicin liposomal (Doxil®), and high-dose Interleukin-2.

A study that was published in the Journal of Supportive Oncology (March/April 2009) reviewed some of the skin, hair and nail effects from the toxicities of targeted biologic agents. This article is called Dermatotoxicity Linked to Targeted Biologic Agents.

A further description about the side effects that can be caused by EGFR Inhibitors including Erbitux, Tarceva and Vectibix can be found on the Mayo Clinic website.

We have products on our website that can help with many skin related side effects.

We sell many products to help radiation burns. They can be found by clicking here

The Lindiskin product line can help with many skin issues. These products can be viewed by clicking here.

Soothing balm can help hand-foot syndrome and you can read about it by clicking here.

Face serum, which comes in either a lavender scent or a citrus scent, can be viewed here. Face serum is an excellent product for individuals who are taking EGFR inhibitors and who might be experiencing the acneform rash as a side effect.

This information is published for informational and helpful purposes and is accumulated from sources that are believed to be reliable. It is not meant as a substitute for individual medical advice. It is suggested that you contact your healthcare provider with any questions you have that are specific to your disease and treatment protocol.