Today Dan had radiation number 23 and he's completed 5 cisplatin treatments. The past week I have noticed that his skin looks weird. In addtion to the redness, etc. that we were forewarned about he has black dots and freckle like spots. They are hard to describe. I asked the RO about it today and he acted like it was common and I asked him should we see a dermatologist and he said yeah after treatment. Has anybody experienced this? I would love some input and to hear stories. I have tried using different keywords to search here and to search on google and I can't find what I'm looking for.
Thanks!

The only black dots I had was my whiskers falling out. Seriously though I don't ever remember someone describing that the way you did and I also don't remember anyone saying their cancer Txment doctor suggested they see a dermatologist post Tx. Most of us had mild to severe skin reactions from the radiation that manifested themselves in sunburn like conditions. I have heard of people getting severe sunburn that leaves spots on their skin.

I had some dark flecks on my neck as well. This developed near the end of the Tx. As soon as the Tx ended it went away. (Needless to say that this worried me too). In any case it needs to be watched.

Markus

Hi Michelle,
Aside from the normal discoloring due to RT my mom developed some black spots on her arm and hand. She was using advil to help with pain, the docs told her to discontinue that, tylenol only, and the spots disappeared.
Don't know if that will help, just thought I would share it with you.

Follow up with the dermatologist is a good idea, particularly if he has any history of skin cancer or is prone to actinic keratosis.

I have had several basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers removed from various parts of the body over the years, due to 20 years of competitive swimming before the advent of sunscreens. After treatment, I developed a spot that turned into a rather ugly looking growth, square in the middle of the radiation field on my upper chest. It turned out to be a low grade SCC skin cancer, which they removed with no issues. My RO explained that the radiation can act like years of sun exposure for people prone to skin issues.

Hey everyone - thanks for the responses so far. Dan has no history of skin cancer or actinic keratosis. He has spent a fair amount of time in the sun with work and with outdoor hobbies. He has always been good about wearing sunscreen though.

As I'm sure you guys know any "different" symptom is enough to make you worry. I just don't like him to be experiencing something that I can't read about because then I don't know what do to - worry? not worry? proactive treatment? ignore it? normal? abnormal?

He does have the noraml deep tan / mild sunburn look and I expected that, but these spots are different.

Oh - Dan's not taking Advil or anything with aspirin in it.

The "black dots" are probably dead hair folicles. They will work their way to the surface and fall out. The RT also zapped all of my skin tags. Fortunately it (the skin on my neck) was the first area to heal after RT was completed.

Thanks Gary - with you and David both "reporting" the same "black dot" deal I feel much better.

Hi,

I noticed my dad had some black dots also as well as the tatoos that were placed on him. RO told us this was normal. He has had 20 treatment so far so I am noticing more and more skin changes.

Talked with the MO and RO regarding his skin and they prescribed some Silvadine (spelling?).

Geo - my RO does not do the tatoos - he uses the mask for that... I was looking very closely today and in better light and the black spots are gone - they had to have been the hair as the guys mentioned above.