skin cancer
 

This information comes from my experience. For those who have been taking prednisone, cellcept, and Imuran for extended period of time you need to see a skin doctor every 6 months. I started with basil cell a number of years ago before my MG. I was diagnosed with MG in 2009 and was warned about the effects of these drugs by my neuro-muscular doctor. He put it this way; he said it was a matter of the quality of life I wanted. At that time I was 69 years old. Well I got 8 years of good life before this skin cancer thing started.
I have had 8-10 squamous cell removed by knife. A word of caution MG does not like lidocaine so he uses as little as possible mixed with saline. In March of this year he removed a large squamous on top of my head. My MG went nuts and I was in hospital for 8 days. I was shaking so bad I couldn’t eat or drink. At the hospital they discovered my electrolytes were very low. After 2 days of IV treatments the shaking stopped. I came home with a walker and had fallen 18 times. There is always a plus to these things. While the hosp ran all those scans they discovered a small cancer in my lung. Guess what it was squamous cell, that has been radiated and just waiting on results. Oh the hospital doctor wanted to remove it with surgery but my panel of neuros said no way.
My latest visit to my skin doctor gave me 4 squamous and one melanoma. Now it’s getting serious. I did discover that basil and squamous can be removed with radiation which no one told me until now. I even asked my skin dr about this some time back and he gave me a vague answer. Melanoma can be treated with radiation but they don’t have enough data to show how effective it is.
Wow longest post I ever made. Sorry it’s so long but hoping someone will benefit from all this. May all your days be bright and beautiful.
Mike

Geez, Mike, haven't you reached your medical limit yet?!!! How is this fair?

That's why I've always hesitated to have more immunosuppressants. We had an outdoor pool growing up, so I'm sure I'd be a pill away from skin cancer, too. Many people with MG don't really have a choice; they need that kind of treatment in order to live.

Have you seen a hematologist/oncologist? They're the cancer experts, not a derm guy. Interesting how squamous cells can grow inside the body, not only on the skin.

Start juicing (I like carrot/apple/spinach!) and getting a lot of dense nutrients into your body. And please take vitamin B12 daily. At least 10 mg. Mayo proved years ago that B12 goes in to the cancer areas in an attempt to heal that. Take the sublingual kind, so that it goes to work in the bloodstream right away and bypasses the liver (which converts cyano B12 into methyl B12).

You'll be in my thoughts, Mike, as usual. I'm sorry you have one more thing to deal with.

:grouphug:
Annie

Thanks Annie. I have about 5 different doctors. All who treated my wife. I love her oncologist. I have scan Friday and see him next week. Not sure if he will use chemo to slow all this down. Tried to read up on using chemo on MG patients but found nothing.
Neurologist are a weird bunch. I had a team of 6 at the hospital and they couldn't agree on treatment. One even said my tremors were caused by the tiny cancer tumor in my lung. Even I knew better. The lead dr stood there and stared at me for about 30 minutes. He was a nut.
Thanks again
Mike

pingpongman,
I am on chemo and have MG. No problem with MG while on chemo so far. My Neuro says he thinks the chemo helps knock down the MG.
I still take lots of Mestinon and 100 mg Imuran a day. Also go to Dermatoligist on a regular basis. No problem so far.

Hope to help
FREDH

Thanks Fred, I go to Dermatoligist every 3-6 months. I go to my oncolgist tomorrow to check on my lung cancer interest to see what he has to say about this skin cancer outbreak. Glad to hear chemo doesn't bother your MG.
Thanks again
Mike

Mike, Any new news? I hope it's all good!

:grouphug:
Annie

They removed the spot but report said it was squam but first report said melonoma. We are checking on what it was really was. It did set my MG back. The surgeon was a real JERK. Took 11 staples to close it. See bunch of dr's in next 2 weeks.
Mike

Mike • Recently, I, too, have had several basel cell and squamous cell thingys removed from different areas of my face ... three Mohs procedures and the rest zapped with liquid nitrogen. I never connected those to the MG, but I'm not ruling that out. As a youth, I logged in too many hours getting a tan - who knew?. I think I'm paying for it now. I do see the dermatologist PA twice a year, more if necessary. Just this past week - November 20 - the NYT ran an article 'Skin Cancers Rise, Along With Questionable Treatments', a real eye-opener and must-read, in my opinion. All best to you.

We believe mine are caused by cellcept. I have been on imuran and cellcept now for a number of years. I just had 5 removed by radiation which I now think is the best method. Ended up with like a real bad sun burn for about 7 days. I had a large one on my head (silver dollar size hole) removed via MOZ and ended up in hospital for 8 days. MG does not like your body to be invaded. In Dec I am going to do a series of IVIG then try Rituxan to get me off Cellcept.

Do you have a link to that article? A lot of my skin cancers came in areas where the sun never saw.
Thanks
Mike

Mike - I don't think links are allowed on this forum, but I could be wrong.

You could Google the title of the article and it will give you options to access it.

Good luck.

Happy Thanksgiving, Mike!

I'm not sure this will give you much insight, but here you go.

Skin Cancers Rise, Along With Questionable Treatments - The New York Times

With the spraying of the skies with chemtrails (with heavy metals), the sun can have a far more potent effect on the body (acts as a intensifying agent). Skin cancer doesn't always happen only due to the contact of the sun with the skin.

Have you ever had an old injury? Does that injury ache more than other areas if you have a fever from the flu or other infection? Weaker parts of the body are more prone to invasion (weaker immune-wise).

I hope you can come off of Cellcept. Take good care of yourself!!!

:grouphug:

Annie

Hi
Links are allowed as long as they are in keeping with the Guidelines, and are being posted by someone not at Newly Joined status

Happy Thanksgiving to all :)

Mike, I stopped CC the day of my first Rituxan infusion and have not gone back. I also got completely off of prednisone and Gamunex sub-q. I hope it does the same for you. My first two infusions were good for eight months and I have had a third now and am 95% symptom free.

I'm really excited about getting the new treatment. Been on prednisone since day one 9 years ago.
I have had skin cancers where the sun has never seen so I can't blame the sun. When I had a few small squmas removed by Dr I would be down for a couple days but when they made that big cut on my head it put me in the hosp. I was shaking so bad my wife had to feed me. At first we thought it was the numbing drug so I had a few done without and results were same we then concluded it was the insult to my body. They are really puzzled about my case because I am postive for 4 antibodies. They had a panel of 4 neuros and they had no answers.
Mike

Mike, is there a history of skin cancer in your family?

If so, this might be worth checking out.

There are a number of genetic risk factors for both squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma.

If you have any of these they could be important in treatment options.

Mike, Please read these articles (or have your wife do that!). ;)

Paraneoplastic syndromes of the nervous system - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic

Paraneoplastic syndromes

How many of these tests have you had done?

PAVAL - Overview: Paraneoplastic, Autoantibody Evaluation, Serum

You may need an immunologist.

The sun's rays don't only affect the areas they "hit." They affect the immune system as a whole.

Anything that is seen as an attack on the body is damaging, whether that is inflammation from dairy, sugar, or beef, infections, injuries, stress, bad food, whatever. Some people are more sensitive to those things. If the body has a bad defense, then a person needs a good offense full of organic food, lots of water, restful sleep, vitamins, etc.

There was an article I read a couple decades ago that I cannot find. The guy who wrote it was brilliant. He said that the immune spectrum goes from inflammation to infection to cancer. Minimizing those first two "can" help stop cancer.

And don't forget about viruses. There are so many things they don't understand about what can cause diseases or cancer.

They are making headway in the fight, however. This guy, for example.

S.R. Burzynski, MD, PhD | Cancer Specialist, Cancer Drug Clinical Trials | Houston, Texas

And some more info.

Cancer'''s Newest Miracle Combines Genetics and Immune System | Time

https://www.nature.com/news/cancer-t...within-1.14955

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/loc...ar-5396963.php

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news...ht-6633172.php

This one is just a good read on the connection between diet and cancer/inflammation.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4566461/

Whatever is going on, you really need an immunologist and/or a hematologist/oncologist.

:grouphug:
Annie

Nope no family history. Besides poker my hobby is family history.
Mike

I will get my wonderful wife read these. Every one should have a spouse as caring as mine. I thank God for her every day.
Mike

Yikes! I will immediately add a Dermatologist to my list of specialists. I grew up in the sunny south for 25 years before moving to the mid-Atlantic. I, too, have already had several basal cell carcinomas removed thru the years due to sun exposure. Ever since, I’ve been a sun screen fanatic but the damage has already been done. Now, I’m concerned about the long term consequences of the Cellcept. Thank you for sharing your experience so that I can stay on top of it.

Barbi-girl

I consider that a great idea. I have great insurance which I am sooo thankful. I have not paid a penny through all the medical problems my wife and I have had. Spending 22 years in the Navy was the second smartest decision I ever made except for marrying my beautiful wife of 57 years.
Mike
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