Many breast cancer patients will experience changes in skin, nails/toenails and hair during treatment, resulting in changes in their appearance.
1. Factors that cause changes in skin, nails/toenails and hair during breast cancer treatment
(1) The effect of chemotherapy drugs: The effect of chemotherapy drugs is the most common factor that causes skin changes in patients. During chemotherapy, the skin can become dry and sensitive and more susceptible to sunburn. Some chemotherapy drugs also cause redness, pain, dry, cracked and flaky skin on the palms of the hands and heels of the feet. Chemotherapy also stimulates brittle fingernails/toenails that split easily; if the skin is severely affected, you should talk to your specialist and perhaps make adjustments to the type and dose of chemotherapy drugs; some treatment regimens can also cause dry, brittle hair, which can reduce hair volume or even cause complete hair loss; chemotherapy is the most common cause of hair loss, but hair can usually grow back a few months after chemotherapy is completed.
(2) Effects of targeted therapy: Some targeted drugs can also cause dry, itchy and sensitive skin, and some patients have red rashes or acne-like changes in their skin.
(3) Effects of radiation therapy: Radiation therapy is a local treatment, and the skin changes caused by radiation therapy only occur in the treated area. The skin in the radiation therapy area will become red, swollen and itchy, which will cause increased local skin pigmentation and local darkening of the skin tone. It should be emphasized that skin changes in the radiation area can be relieved by using some topical medications, but they must be used under the guidance of a professional radiotherapy specialist, and other skin medications should not be used without authorization.
(4) Effects of endocrine therapy on skin: Endocrine drugs usually need to be taken for a long time in breast cancer patients, which can cause dry skin and skin rash. Fortunately, endocrine drugs are usually mild to skin irritation.
2.How to deal with dry skin
(1) Take a bath with slightly warm water and use a mild, non-irritating bath or hand soap without fragrance, not soap, which can only make the skin drier.
(2) Choose a bath or hand soap that does not contain coloring, and avoid bath products containing sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS),
SLS) bath products, bathing agents containing SLS more likely to produce foam, easy to irritate the skin, especially patients with eczema, and of course, do not choose baths containing exfoliating ingredients, facial cleansers.
(3) Avoid prolonged bathing and contact with hot water. (3) Avoid prolonged bathing and contact with hot water. After bathing, gently pat the skin dry with a loose towel to avoid the irritation caused by rubbing the skin with a towel.
(4) Use body lotion, hand cream immediately after bathing to keep the skin moist. Choose a skin care product that does not contain alcohol, and you can choose a moisturizing body lotion that contains oatmeal to better relieve dryness and redness of the skin. (b) Choose oil-free moisturizers for patients with oily skin.
(5) Trim nails frequently to avoid overly long nails that can rub the skin.
(6) If lips are dry and cracked, use lip balm containing tallow or glycerin.
3.How to deal with skin rashes
Sometimes patients may have acne-like skin changes, but these changes do not necessarily have to be acne. Do not use acne treatment drugs directly. If there is a widespread skin rash and acne-like changes, it is preferred to consult your specialist who will help you identify whether these skin changes are caused by the treatment of tumors and whether they need to be treated.
4.How to deal with skin allergy
(1) Wear loose-fitting cotton clothing.
(2) Wear a wide-brimmed hat to protect the skin on your face and neck and sunglasses to protect your eyes when you are outdoors in the sun.
(3) Avoid outdoor activities during the sunniest hours of the day, usually 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The sun is strongest.
(4) If you can’t avoid going out in the sun, choose a sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or more.
5.Care of nails / toenails.
(1) Wear gloves when doing housework, avoid hot water and chemical stimulation to reduce fungal infection of the nail bed.
(2) Wear loose shoes, cotton loose socks and avoid laces that are tied too tightly.
(3) trim nails and toenails frequently, keep nails/toenails short, trim nails/toenails with a nail clipper instead of scissors, keep nail/toenail edges smooth with a nail file, file in one direction when filing nails, filing nails/toenails back and forth can easily cause splitting of nails/toenails.
(4) Use skin care products for hands and feet to keep the skin moist; use lubricating cream to moisturize the skin at the root of the nail to prevent dry, cracked skin at the root of the nail.
6.How to reduce the damage of treatment on the hair.
(1) the use of ice caps during chemotherapy can also prevent hair loss to some extent.
(2) Use mild shampoos that do not contain irritating drugs, do not use conditioner at the roots of the hair, and do not use conditioner if the hair is very short; use a comb with wide teeth, not a hairbrush.
(3) Avoid using hairdryers and avoiding perms.
(4) Cut long hair short before receiving chemotherapy, as the weight of long hair can easily pull it down and cause hair loss.
(5) Avoid head massage.
(6) When sleeping at night, wrap a headband around your head to avoid hair folding into corners during sleep.
7.Can breast cancer patients wear makeup?
Of course, breast cancer patients can wear makeup, only that it is not recommended in many aspects of receiving treatment so that the doctor can better examine the patient and avoid the condition being covered up. Foundation, moisturizer, concealer, makeup brushes, etc. can all be used. For the flushing that may occur in breast cancer patients, a small amount of a light green makeup prep can be used to lighten the redness of the facial skin and give a more even and natural tone to the cheeks, nose and cheekbones, and of course a concealing primer can be used. For eyebrow and eyelash loss caused by breast cancer treatment, makeup can also be used to cover them up. As for how to apply makeup for best results, it is not our discussion here. In addition, some treatments for tumors can make patients more susceptible to skin infections. Patients should be careful to wash their hands before applying makeup and not to share makeup and makeup tools with others.