Hi All,
I am 36, and wanted to see if anyone else has had a similar experience as me. I was diagnosed with 10cm DCIS in Oct last year, but I was experiencing symptoms (sporadic bleeding drom the nipple, sharp pains) from around June time. At the same time in June, after having clear skin for over 10 years, my skin broke out in inflammatory acne, which covered my entire face. I’ve been on antidiotics for it since June (lymecycline first and now doxycycline), but it doesn’t seem to be getting any better. I was hoping that once the cancer was cut out, my body would rebalance and the acne would go but it hasn’t.
I’m due to have my biopsy and lymph node results tomorrow, to see whether I need hormone therapy, but I have no idea how this will impact me, or if it will help/worsen my acne. Any advice is appreciated and if anyone else has experienced the same.
I cant help but feel it’s all linked as it all started at the same time.
Thanks xx
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@shesthebeat
Sorry not experienced this myself but friend had similar she asked to referred to dermatologist , might be worth asking GP
If no improvement x
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It sounds as though it might be linked and perhaps the stress of waiting for results may be aggravating it. I would second the advice to get a Dermatology referral . I didn’t have this but had severe acne all through my teens and twenties which was treated initially with a combination of Tetracycline , Benzoyl Peroxide 10% cream , Quinaderm ( I now know this contained Retinol ) and Betadine face wash - quite good effect but the Betadine gave my skin a yellow tinge . Later Dianette pill which is also an oral contraceptive but one particularly good for controlling acne and also some other skin problems - I would imagine that’s not an option. I also had quite a lot of spots on my upper chest and back and have a lot of scarring on my back. I really feel for you.
As regards how it would respond to Tamoxifen I’m not sure but it might be worth speaking to the Nurses on the helpline about this as I feel sure this will be something they have heard of before. Xx
Thanks Joanne!
I spoke with the BCNurse today and she wasnt aware of any link, so I don’t know what is going on.
I too struggled with acne as a teenager and was on Dianette for a long time, which was amazing for my skin but really poor for my MH unfortunately. I have been prescribed Tamoxifen today, and now im having worries of similar side effects from when I was younger and being on the pill.
I definitely think it’s being caused by internal factors so im uncertain a dermatology referral will help, but I will def consider it! X
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I still think a Dermatologist would be able to shed more light on it all - honestly.
I am a lot older than you 56 at time of surgery and I was on Anastrozole but for what it’s worth I didn’t get any skin problems with it. I did get menopausal type side effects including brain fog and weepiness initially but those all became manageable after 6 weeks to 3 months. I can’t entirely blame weepiness on the drug either as I was just starting to process everything and there was other stuff going on in my life as well. Xx
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Or possibly and Endocrinologist
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Unfortunately as im under 40 my GP refuses to do any hormone tests and is just prescribing my antibiotics for now. I know that there is something wrong internally and antibiotics are just a plaster for now. But ill go through all the motions and ask to see endo if it doesnt resolve itself.
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I had a big skin flare during my diagnosis too, and my dermatologist said stress hormones can trigger it. Switching antibiotics didn’t help me either, but gentle skincare and time eased things.
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I had a similar weird timing with skin flare ups during a stressful diagnosis, and my dermatologist said big hormonal and inflammatory shifts can throw skin off course for months. Antibiotics didn’t touch mine either, so I focused on calming products and slowly patch testing. I used choose the best products for your skin to see what didn’t trigger more inflammation, which helped me feel a bit more in control.
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Thank you sooo much for sharing your experience! My BC nurse didn’t know anything about skin conditions and cancer, so I felt rather unsupported with this for a long time. I spent months on antibiotics from the GP and creams to ease it, but as you say over time it naturally went. I’m now more than a year out since treatment and my skin has improved massively and making its way back to how it was, but it was sooo distressing to experience it at it’s peak on top of having cancer, and no one had any answers. After working with a kinesiologist throughout this time, I now understand like you say it’s linked to the body being extremely unhappy, inflamed, hormones all over the place and it choosing to release through the skin. X
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During peri/ menopause in late 40s started getting deep cysts and recurrence of acne from younger years. I eventually got a dermatologist appointment after years of antibiotics, benzoyl peroxide (until it stopped being sold over the counter but it’s now available again) or the pill including Dianette from my teens/20s on wards. They prescribed Epiduo which contains Adapalene (synthetic retinol) and benzoyl peroxide. It really worked and now just have Adapalene to keep it under control. They think mine is definitely hormone related and I still get the odd flare up on aromatase inhibitors.
It needed a Dermatologist to prescribe for me so I would ask for referral. Unfortunately NHS wait time was nearly a year so if you can’t afford private that’s a quicker option.
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