I completed treatment about 20 months ago, which included radiation and chemotherapy. I've been gradually feeling better in most ways. But one area has gotten worse, The corners of my mouth are continually sore, possibly caused by the radiation. I lick the corners of my mouth and use aquaphor to stop the cracking of my skin. It helps a bit but they still sore.

Is anyone else experiencing this? Does any treatment lessen the sore corners of my mouth. Ay advise would be appreciated.

Ron,
check with your doctor. I had something like that before OC and radiation, and a doctor gave me some medication. I can't recall the medication or the diagnosis.

Ron,
You are not alone. I see this in patients on occasion. If you could humor me and answer a few questions I may be able to help you.
Do you wear dentures?
Have you had back teeth extracted recently?
Did your radiation fields include the corners of your mouth?
When did this situation first occur?
How long has it persisted?
If you can answer these questions I may be able to offer some assistance to you.
Cheers,
Mike

I use Penaten on the corners of my mouth. It is a zinc ointment which is primarily sold for diaper rash but it works wonders on the corners of my mouth. Good luck.

Donna

Mike,
Here goes the answers:

I don't have any dentures and no teeth were extracted.

My tumor was at BOT, but they used a number of different angles with the IMRT radiation.

I seem to recall some soreness there a little after treatment ended (20 months ago). And it would be more sore when I went to the dentist for any work, just from stretching my mouth and the dentist's hand rubbing the corner. But the last month or so it seems more constant, with the skin cracking and peeling. I'm wondering if the dryer, heated air in the house is aggravating things.

Thanks for any help.

Ron

Donna,

The Penaten sounds worth checking out. I had mentioned the soreness to my MO. He had seen it before, but had no suggestions. I need to ask my RO on my next visit.

My doctors are good with the big treatment issues. But the people here seem to know the little tips and ideas to make us more comfortable with all the side effects.

Ron

Ron,

The medication I used "may" have been a zinc ointment, but this was many years ago so not certain. It was a prescription from a dermatologist, not OTC. I first went to family doctor who referred me to a dermatologist. Another thing a doctor recommended was using vitamin E on the corners -- at the time hs suggested taking a vitamin E capsule and using just the liquid inside to apply topically. It probably won't hurt to take Vit E orally since it is reported to help with healing and skin conditions. I've had post RT healing issues and by RO has me taking Vit E regularly.

Ron,
It sounds to me that you may have a common fungal infection that occurs in the corners of the mouth called, "angular chelitis".
It is caused by the same fungus that causes thrush inside the mouth, "candida albicans".
There are two options to treat this and both work very well on there own and can be used together in stubborn cases. Diflucan (a pill form antifungal) usually taken in one dose but, in skin lesions may be prescribed once a day for five days. Nystatin skin cream applied three times a day for up to seven days.
Dry air is actually good for helping to resolve this as fungal infections like moist areas.
This can be a real bothersome condition if not treated but, is very easy to rectify. Ask your doc about it and see if they'll prescribe you one or both of the above.
Contact me if you have any questions.
Cheers,
Mike

Thanks Susan and Mike.

I'll pick up some vitamin E this weekend and see if it gives me some relief.

And I'll contact one of my doctors next week about the prescriptions. It would be great to get rid of this. It's minor compared to all the other things we go through in our treatment, but annoying. It's interesting that I didn't have any thrush during my radiation treatment, even though I was warned I might. So it never occurred to me there was any connection.

Ron,
You don't have to undergo any type of treatment to get angular chelitis. It may or may not be related to your situation and/or treatment.
The fungus that causes this is present in almost all people and all it takes is ideal conditions for it to take hold and cause a problem. It is part of our normal oral flora and saliva etc. usually keeps it at bay.
The vit. E may help but, I wouldn't put all my money on it. You mentioned cracking so the causative agent is now deep in the skin in a moist nutrient rich environment. Call your doc as soon as you can and get a prescription to slay this nasty beast.
Cheers,
Mike