Tarceva® “Flaming Face” Skin Care Regime
Rash before
Rash after regime
Can you have a face after Tarceva®? The answer is yes. This regime originated from Christine
Stewart (Web site below) who came up with the specific products and procedure that seem to
work best on the rash itself. I have modified a few things and added more information about
other side effects as others have shared what has worked and I have experimented myself.
Tarceva® can dramatically dry your skin and leave your face looking/feeling like a rash and a
pimple-laden Mojave Desert. When I started Tarceva®, I developed not only a rash on my face,
but had splotches of sores that were bleeding. The “before” picture above was actually taken
when the skin had improved beyond the acne stage. It was far worse than it looks. The “after”
picture has no make-up (I am allergic to make-up). You can see that the redness and rash is
markedly reduced. The discomfort (and almost all of the rash) is gone.
The secrets of the regime below are 1) keeping the skin moist and free of the dead skin that
Tarceva produces. 2) Obtaining a daily antibiotic from your oncologist and 3) Staying out of the
sun.
Bacteria love dead, dry skin. With Tarceva®, it is amazing so see how much oil and moisturizer
the skin absorbs. The skin care regime below is done in the morning and at night – with touch
ups with water and oil during the day. A shopping list is included at the end to simplify the
buying process.
This regime is for mild to moderate rash. If you have a severe rash, you may need to ask your
oncologist to reduce your dose of Tarceva. That, too, has helped many reduce severe rash.
The following regime will add about 3-5 minutes to your day and is not expensive.
With any luck, you will be on Tarceva a long time. Thus, I have included other side effects that
have a way of popping up over the long haul and provided solutions that have worked for myself
and others.
"Tarceva® Flaming Face" Skin Care Regime
1) Wash hands thoroughly.
1
2/12/2016
2) Spritz or splash water all over the face (I like a spray bottle so there isn't so much excess
water).
3) Put Aloe Vera 80 facial wash or Physician’s Formula Gentle Cleansing Lotion in dots over
your face. You can experiment with other mild soaps but many of them are too harsh.
4) Wet part of a flat black washcloth and rub the cleanser around face. If your rash isn’t bad you
can rub harder. The black washcloth will remove the dead skin (the dead skin can lead to
infection if you leave it on). Keep rubbing until you don't have any more dead skin showing up
as white specs on your black washcloth.
5) Spritz or splash water over face again to put moisture back in.
6) Put Sweet Almond oil (closest oil to your own skin oil) all over your face. You might use a
square cotton pad to do this. . Put it on your eyelids, eyebrows and be especially generous in the
crevices around your nose.
7) Cover your face with Eucerin Original Moisturizer. Let the face soak it in (you will look
ghostly weird for a few minutes while it does this). Rub it in if you have to go out right away.
The really dry spots will need a second coating. Eucerin is one of the only moisturizers that
works with Tarceva®. Many others make the face worse. Don’t use a moisturizer with perfume.
The soothed skin will last for about 2-3 hours. I carry a small water Spritzer around and some
extra Almond Oil. When my face starts feeling bone dry - I spritz it with water and apply some
more Almond Oil.
8) Ask your doctor to write you a prescription for an antibiotic like Doxycycline or Clindamycin.
. I take 100mg of Doxycycline a day. Others take 200mg/day. If you have trouble with nausea or
keeping it down, have food with it. Drink lots of water afterwards. The antibiotic prevents
bacteria from having a field day with all the dead skin that now hugs your body. This is the
most critical step of all in preventing red and/or bloody splotches or acne.
9) Add a daily pro-biotic pill from a health food store to make sure you are re-introducing good
bacteria to your body. Otherwise you are vulnerable to c-difficil staff infection so common now
in hospitals.
10) Many people use Almond Oil on their bodies after their showers. Keep in mind that the
purpose of adding oil is to seal in moisture so it is important that you not dry yourself off
completely before applying it. I use baby oil because it is cheaper and it doesn’t adversely affect
my skin.
Without this regime, I could easily look 20 years older than I am in just a few days. Can’t believe
the wrinkles that get started with such bone-dry skin.
Caveats:
1) If your skin has open areas-don't rub, just blot so you don't irritate the open area. Otherwise
rub. Be gentle around the eyelids and under the eyes. The skin is very thin in both places and
you can damage it if you are too forceful.
2
2/12/2016
2) Pay attention to the eyelids, eyebrows, entire nose - especially the crevices around the noseand area surrounding the lips. Wash around your ears as well. These areas generate a lot of dead
skin. Rub until you don’t generate any more white specs on your black washcloth.
3) Sun REALLY aggravates the Tarceva® rash - wear sun hats, sunscreen and stay out of the
bright sun. I hold up a piece of card board between my face and the sun when outside.
4) Do not use any products with alcohol, perfume, or any acne products - they can make the
situation worse. Some poor souls tried Vaseline on their skin at first. Great idea if you want an
immediate flaming rash. Neosporin also doesn’t seem to work except for split skin.
Shopping list and sources:
1) Aloe Vera 80 facial wash- most drug stores or http://www.lilyofthedesert.com. Other
cleansing product is Physicians Formula Gentle Cleansing Lotion. Buy at
http://www.physiciansformula.com
2) Sweet Almond Oil - Great Earth Vitamin Stores - get the larger bottle(s), you will go through
a lot of this.
3) Eucerin-Original Moisturizer - Wal-Mart. (CVS carries travel size tubes under 3oz.)
4) Black wash clothes - get the flat rather than fluffy ones so you can see the dead skin - WalMart. I have ten wash clothes so I can change them out frequently between wash cycles.
5) Spray bottle for water.
Other Tarceva® issues and solutions:
1) Nail problems: nails can become brittle and can split. Cuticles can dry out and can become
problematic. Apply Sally Hanson's Grow Nails Now (Wal-Mart) and Burt's Bee's Wax cuticle
cream. (Wal-Mart). Tea Tree Oil is another remedy for splitting nails. I take my left over Eucerin
after applying it to my face and rub my nails and hands thoroughly in it.
2) Scalp problems: some people get the rash on their scalp or even infections. One of best
shampoos is T-Gel. If you get pustules on your scalp, have your Dr. prescribe Clindamycin 1%
gel (or whatever) and apply it to the pustules.
3) Diarrhea: Try Imodium. (Wal-Mart over-the counter or stronger prescription if you need it).
Several people have said that eating sweetened shredded coconut stopped their problem. Some
have reported that if they eliminate certain foods (spicy, meat and/or citrus), it helps. If nothing
helps, ask for a lower dosage of Tarceva. Dehydration is dangerous and maintaining a healthy
weight is critical.
4) Lips-lips can also become dry and cracked. Burt's Bee's Lip Balm helps.(Wal-Mart)
5) Itching: Cortisone 10 (applied to problem rash only) helps for mild itching. (Wal-Mart).
6) Dry eyes: Others have reported restasis can help with very dry eyes. (Prescription)
3
2/12/2016
7) Cracked skin on the hands. Try Plysporn ointment and Bag Balm and wear gloves to bed.
8) Mouth sores: It is important to determine whether they are thrush (fungal) or canker sore
(ulcer) problems. Your tongue looks coated with thrush. Your doctor will need to help you
diagnose which one. For thrush try Nystatin. Clotrimazole tablets (100mg; 5X a day) is another
alternative. . A homemade mouthwash consisting of one pint of water, one heaping tablespoon of
baking soda and one tablespoon of liquid benedryl has helped prevent reoccurrence (do not
swallow).
9) Runny Nose: Sudafed, Muncie or Clarinet
10) Acne like pustules: Clindamycin 1% gel, applied topically just to the problem area.
11) Thinning hair. Two products have really helped stop hair loss for me: 1) Shampoo (in
Starcrest catalog at 800 777 0327) and 2) Alterna Life Solutions Hair Conditioner (available at
Wal-Mart).
Feel free to email me additional solutions that have worked for you.
Tarceva® Team Tracking
Why does Tarceva® work for four months for some people and four years with others? I have
been asking this question of any oncologist I meet and haven’t found anyone who is doing
research on it or knows the answer. Yet, the people I know who are doing complementary
treatments (like nutrition, yoga, message, acupuncture, etc.) along with Tarceva® seem to be
sustaining its positive effects longer than those who are not or at least living a higher quality of
life. It felt like a really good question, though, to do some systematic work on.
Thus, I am keeping track of Tarceva® complementary treatments (Yoga, nutrition, exercise,
acupuncture, etc) that are being used with Tarceva® patients and tracking length and quality of
life (as well as skin care successes). Call or email if you want to be part of the Tarceva® Team
that is helping each other both live longer and enjoy better quality of life. Tarceva® Team
Members simply fill out a five minute survey; I will aggregate the results and share the
(aggregated) results with all Team Members. Maybe we will see patterns – maybe not.
If interested, email me for the Tarceva Team Survey. :
Sheila Kessler,.
Tarceva® Team Tracker
949 498 0122
sheilake@aol.com
Disclaimer. The Tarceva Flaming Face regime is not to be medical advice. It is merely a way of
sharing of what has worked for at least a few of us. Everybody is different. There are no
guarantees any particular solution will work for all.
Special thanks to Christine Stewart, who provided many of the basics of this skin care regime
through her extensive experimentation. See http://www.practicaltruisms.com/GoodSkin.html
4
2/12/2016