Anyone used Efudex cream ?

[MrsPelligrinoPetrichor]

I will have to use this,pick up prescription tomorrow. The GP said it's going to be very painful but try and ride it out. Anyone else used it and have any tips? It's for a tiny patch on my face.

Happy Easter to me 🙄

Yes I’ve used it twice. It makes the area being treated very sore but then it heals and leaves no scar. It’s a wonder drug as it stops any cancer cells developing. It’s really not so bad, especially as you only have a small area.

My husband has used it several times on his scalp.
He is very fair skinned and got sun burnt lots as a child.
He says it's only mildly sore .
The area that has been treated is very red and inflamed looking
After about 10 days it usually settles

This is all encouraging, thank you😊

I have used it several times (on my face) and my reactions have varied a lot. First use was quite scary, very sore and swollen and made me feel quite ill. Other times my reactions have been much less severe.

I have used it for periods of 3 weeks and the effects are cumulative so by week 3 it can be quite intense.

However on each occasion, once the treatment is stopped I quickly feel better and the healing process is amazing.

My advice would be not to plan anything major towards the end of the treatment, don't freak out if the reaction is severe, it quickly gets better.

That's really helpful especially about the after healing which I've been worried about as I have such sensitive skin I was worried about scarring. Plan on using silicone scar therapy gel afterwards.

My top tip is Vaseline. As soon as you have a heal apply several times a day.

Do you mean Vaseline after I've finished using it or every day while I'm using it?

What about lidocaine gel?

Once the treatment has finished and any open sore have healed then start Vaseline. Personally I don't use any other creams.

Also, if your skin gets really crusty and tights during treatment then Vaseline can help.

I didn't get much redness, the Dr said that is common on the scalp, he showed me potential red photos and prescribed eumovate to use after the efudix treatment stopped to calm the skin but I didn't need it. Wear gloves and be careful not to get it in your eyes. I bought new pillowcases just for this.

Thanks everyone,this is all really helpful.

Do you mean you changed your pillowcase daily?

No, I just bought dark ones which I threw away afterwards, I put it on an old pillow which only i used because I didn't want the cream to get on my partner. Use it a couple of hours before bedtime si it can soak into your skin and I didn't use soap, just warm water and I bought some soft wipes from a medical shop or a baby sponge.

I used it on my leg for superficial BCC, it went a bit sore after about a week, I used a disposable glove to apply it and had to use it twice a day on my leg for a month. Unfortunately the patch is still there a bit so I will have to revisit the GP and probably have another go with it. It's on my leg just above my ankle so not a place that's too bothersome fortunately. I didn't find it too bad really but it has to go sore to work.

Sorry it didn't work, hope it works next time.

Sorry to jump on your thread but I've also been prescribed the cream, not started it yet. After reading this thread I looked on Google and am quite perturbed by the results!
Like the OP I just have a very tiny patch on my face. I don't know if this is a silly question, but will it only be the tiny patch that I put the cream on that will go red and sore? All the people in the pics on Google have huge patches all over their face. Is that because they've put cream all over?

Yes it's only the patch that goes red and sore, I put it on my leg with quite a margin and the good skin was fine. The photos online are mainly of people with widespread actinic keratosis so a lot of patches to put cream on.

Hi, I'm using this after having a non-melanoma skin cancer removed from my nose. The dermatologist told me to apply it once a week for 9 months. I'm on week 6.....33 more to go! My nose is slightly redder and today I had what is described in the side effects in the leaflet as "spontaneous bleeding at site of application" . I also feel vaguely off-colour - and again I see "feeling generally unwell" is listed as a side effect. Other than that ok, I also use a different pillow case and towel as the cream remains flammable even after washing towels etc.

9 months,omg that's a long time! You poor thing x

Thanks @MrsPelligrinoPetrichor I hope you, and everyone else on the thread who're using it, get good results in the end

I have used both efudix and aldara on a superficial BCC on my nose. Neither has been painful at the site, but both were unsightly. I think the aldara was worse for me as the skin broke down completely and the drug entered my bloodstream which made me feel like I had bad flu.

both creams made my nose skin break down entirely and resulted in a red and weeping patch. I had significant face to face work commitments at the time, and it was not possible to cover it with makeup. That was probably the worst part, but people were so nice about it.

I’m pretty sure the flammability nature is more to do with the carrier than the drug itself. It’s the same as eczema creams from that point of view - so not particularly alarming.

@Duckinglunacy The consultant said in the letter to the GP either Efudex or Aldera but that Efodex was the one of choice if possible because Aldera can make you feel fluey. Did they both work ok on yours

So - they are slightly different creams with different mechanisms of action. Efudix is a chemotherapeutic agent which targets rapidly dividing cells, including cancer cells. Aldara is an immune system modulator, which works by triggering your immune system into clearing the cancerous cells. Aldara’s primary use is for genital warts so every time I picked it up (from our neighbourhood pharmacy) I was like ‘IT’S FOR MY NOSE’.

ultimately I was given Aldara because the efudix didn’t work, at least in the medium time frame. It did work short term - I was treated first in Feb 2020 and again in Sept 2023. It sounded very much like it could have been either or and that another course of efudix might also have worked

Ah, right thanks @Duckinglunacy i will probably need another course of something, it has sort of half cleared up. Mine is seen as totally non urgent as it's on my leg and has been biopsied but it's in a difficult place to excise so hence the topical treatment. I had a larger nodular BCC excised from my thigh but they were able to do that easily as there was plenty of leg to be able to easily cut it out. The ones people have on the face like yours obviously need treatment quite quickly as you want to minimise scarring and don't want BCCs on your face as they do grow if not treated. At least yours sounds like it has gone now.