Can Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer Affect My Skin and Nails?

Dr. Eric Winer answers the question: 'Can Chemo Affect My Skin and Nails?'

By
Eric Winer, M.D., Director, Breast Oncology Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women’s Hospital
May 8, 2008, 4:02 PM ET
1 min read

— -- Question: Can chemotherapy for breast cancer affect my skin and nails?

Answer: Chemotherapy can affect skin and nails in a number of different ways. Some chemotherapy drugs will cause a rash; some of them will cause sensitivity of the skin on the hands and feet with peeling of the skin. And in terms of the nails, a lot of different chemotherapy drugs can affect the nails, sometimes causing nails to initially appear as if they're swelling and ultimately to fall off. Usually, the nail changes aren't very painful, but it is something that, for many women who are receiving chemotherapy, can be a really disturbing aspect of treatment and something that people do complain of a great deal.

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