Actinic keratosis & Lung cancer

[Adaughter]

Hi,

Dad is in 5th week of taking Erlotinib and corresponding face rash appears to be under control with prescribed cream / antibiotics. Also good to see that his cough has reduced in frequency by around 90% and no increase in fatigue. My question is- dad has actinic keratosis ( for around 25 years +) which was managed with efudix cream i.e would bring out rough skin patches and then clear completely, however since Jan this year, a section of these rough skin patches has not healed. The oncologist said to concentrate on the lung cancer and not do anything about the skin cancer but it’s really unsightly and I know it gets dad down. Has anybody here been in the same position? Surely having the skin patch could be treated without affecting his targeted therapy for lung cancer??

Thank you.

[RoyCastleHelpline Partner Ask the Nurse Roy Castle]

Hi Adaughter

It is understandable that this is getting your dad down, I assume he is under the care of a dermatologist for this and if so you could discuss this with them.

You may find this link of interest, where actinic keratosis can worsen or have a flare up whilst on Erlotinib, but can also spontaneously decrease: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/176...

It is encouraging to read that your dads cough has improved greatly with Erlotinib, and it may help to chat to your dads lung cancer nurse specialist if you have not already done so.

You are welcome to contact us if you would like to discuss anything, our ask the nurse helpline number is 0800 358 7200 Monday to Thursday 0900-1700 and Friday 0900-1600, alternatively you can email us at [e-mail]

Kind regards

The Roy Castle Support Team