h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The teacher I work with has been researching alternative skin cancer treatments for some cancerous/precancerous spots on his face (he's had a couple of tours in A Sandy Place, been in the merchant marines, lived in Florida and Hawaii, didn't marinate himself in sunscreen like he should've). He *has* had some spots removed with liquid nitrogen, but there's always the concern that not everything is gone. Evidently, this "black salve" stuff is supposed to draw everything out and not do anything to healthy tissue. He told me what the main constituants of the salve are, but I just remember that it's caustic (I suppose I could google it, but don't have the time right now). He did order some and try it earlier this week, after reading sites both pro and con, and the spots are scabbed over with scabs that resemble mostly-healed cold sores.

I'm going to email the link to this thread to him so he can read along, but I don't know if he'll register or not, so I may be relaying comments.

search for the terms and you will find it's considered dodgy.

I had some success in removing sun damaged scalp lesions
with an ointment made up of Vitamin C crystals dissolved
in liquid Vitamin E and applied via a Vitamin E lotion.

Then last summer I kept forgetting to wear a hat when out
and about in my convertible and the condition has returned.

I have been waiting to see a dermatologist since October
to have liquid nitrogen applications before using my home
remedy on the residuals.

Warning: Ascorbic acid (Vit C) is quite caustic and will
also leave dark brown stains on pillows, hats if allowed
to set.

I take this thread as a reminder that I should must begin
the regimen again and not continue waiting for the Health
Care System to service me. With summer in just 4 months
I want this cleared up before it gets exacerbated again.

~jwf~

jwf<Warning: Ascorbic acid (Vit C) is quite caustic and will
also leave dark brown stains on pillows, hats if allowed
to set.<

It does seem that the word 'caustic' comes up quite a bit with regards to this sort of thing.

As one who is susceptible and is very likely to have ongoing problems for the rest of my natural (see A18189129), have one or two excisions a year, plenty of squirts, I say:

Do Not Use It.
See A Doctor.

For pre-cancerous conditions (eg keratoses) a 'fluorouracil' cream can be effective.

I've had many, many treatments with liquid nitrogen and am not aware of problems - my doc says it can be tricky estimating the depth of the thing (therefore the amount of the stuff to apply) but methinks she's had much practice.

Surgery is, of course, less pleasant... and less pleasant again if you leave it without treatment.

SEE A DOCTOR


Rod

I do know that he has been

I recall having something caustic for a wart when I was a child. Put on with a dropper, wart went black - haven't got it now, but I don't remember how wart eventually went.

Sounds a bit like a poultice, but to my mind rather dodgy as far as cancer is concerned.

My mother started getting skin cancers in her mid-80s. She's 92 now, and they still keep popping up. My father, who is a few months older, has not had skin cancer at all, that i know of. The experts used to say that your lifetime risk for skin cancer depends on what you did before the age of 11. If you had at least one case of serious sunburn that early in life, you have been set up for skin cancer later on. My mother has mentioned suffering from sunburn early on. My father has not mentioned anything similar. Surely genetics plays a role?

I have heard of it, yes. And I'd advise using proper medicine. I can only repeat what Rod said: See a doctor who knows what he is doing. Not a cure-all salesman.

Am I the only one who initially didn't read the final word quite right and thought WHAAAAAAT?????

My husband was prescribed something that sounds like this. It was for a wart on his forehead. The dermatologist sprayed it with something (he thinks it was nitrogen-based) and it went black, then fell off, leaving no scar, no marks.

Wart a great product that must have been!

Transposed the letters, Hoo?

That could've been

It's a good thing I tend to ramble on in my questions, or else we could've had some *interesting* topic drift...