SKINCARE – ISN’T IT LOVELY WHEN YOU ARE RIGHT!

Particularly over skincare for cancer survivors

Lord Darzi’s recent report on the state of the NHS was scathing , saying UK has “higher cancer mortality rates than other countries”. 

And, the NHS is not noted for handling the side effects of cancer drugs, especially drugs which can affect skin.  But if we were ignored when we complained about cancer drug side effects, we now find ourselves vindicated. 

Finally, doctors admit cancer drugs produce horrible skin rashes, etc. and Europe has shown us these should not be neglected.

Underlying this is the way the Royal family bypassed the Marsden (the usual NHS ‘go-to’ hospital for VIP cancer patients), and chose to be treated at The London Clinic. Here I found the Clinic offered gentler, European-style patient-focused care.

However, if we have to rely on the NHS we must make the best of what Lord Darzi called   “a crumbling system”.  So here are some of the ideas to copy that I picked up when being treated in Europe.  These products developed by European hospitals for men and women to treat side effects on our skin, are now available in the UK, and we can buy products online, developed by Continental hospitals to deal with side effects.

Incidentally, these products also work if you experience skin problems from drug side effects when undergoing treatment for Long Covid, etc.

I have chosen Boots as the company I recommend;  I’ve tried them all, but this one gave me the least amount of online problems!  Also, they seem to have frequent discounts.

What happened to me

I didn’t expect cancer treatment would be easy, but no one told me what to do about side effects.  Worst were skin eruptions caused by cancer drugs, such as tamoxifen.

As a Beauty Editor, I thought I knew a thing or two about skin, but blood-filled blisters appearing overnight, plus peeling skin and itchy eruptions were out of my league. As it turned out, they were out of the Marsden’s league too.  When, after a two-minute examination,  their head dermatologist told me blood-filled blisters were “due to your age”, Irealised he didn’t know what he was talking about;  Challenging him after his diagnosis. he refused to answer.

To speed things up I had paid for a private appointment.  After I challenged him, he never sent a bill.  so I reckoned he thought better of it.

Then I  set off to find out how Europeans dealt with the problem.

How it started

After I was prescribed tamoxifen during cancer treatment, I woke up with blood-filled blisters all over my body, my face had scabs and my skin felt on fire.  Yet the hospital dermatologist had dismissed these side effects, saying “It’s your age”.

This wasn’t right, and officials at the British Association of Dermatology agreed.  Apparently we have fewer Dermatologists per head than most European countries.  A friend on the Ethical Committee that had approved tamoxifen confirmed that blisters, scabs etc. were recognised side effects – albeit rare;  the NHS doesn’t have enough dermatologists,  hence trying to dismiss my concerns as being “due to age”.

So  I took advantage of little-known NHS tie-ups with Europe, went to France, and found proper care at France’s centre for skin problems at La Roche Posay/  Then  organised a tie-up with Boots the Chemists, to offer the appropriate skin care products here, and take advantage of discounts.

Often, it isn’t what you know but whom you know. The Senior Chaplain at The Marsden was Revd. David Brown, a great friend and fellow dog walker. He had an address book filled with useful names, and when he found me in floods of tears after my dermatologist visit, he arranged for me to be treated at the Dermatology Clinic at La Roche Posay (LRP) in France.

This clinic had been founded by Napoleon, to treat his soldiers with skin diseases, and  today it treats about 10,000 cases of skin problems a year

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As soon as I arrived, a Consultant was waiting to see me;  I took out my dictionary and then put it away, as all the doctors and technicians I met spoke excellent English.  Most nurses spoke English too – and if they didn’t my poor French sufficed!

After seeing the doctors, I was off on a series of tests, one following seamlessly on from another: blood, skin, everything you could think of had its part, and by the end, I was back with the Consultant.  To be told that my symptoms were side effects caused by Tamoxifen.

The Clinic knew all about these, and had developed balms and creams to treat the problems.  So then I met up with a charming pharmacist, who kept on fishing out yet another bottle or jar containing products to help my skin recover., starting with a bath or shower gel to use every day:

If you have similar problems you can now order the appropriate balms etc. to help your skin, starting with

La Roche-Posay Lipikar Syndet AP+ Body Wash 400ml An ultra-gentle wash for dry or very dry skin.