Light treatment

[jopoh]

I am surprised to hear that there is a "lifetime threshold" for light treatment as my doctor has always reassured me that there is no risk of skin cancer for light treatment.    

Having said that I was uvb for 7 years and the effect is wearing off, the P comes back very quickly the moment I reduce the dosage and also the burnt feeling on the skin is getting more unbearable for me.

[Caroline]

I am surprised to hear that there is a "lifetime threshold" for light treatment as my doctor has always reassured me that there is no risk of skin cancer for light treatment.    

Having said that I was uvb for 7 years and the effect is wearing off, the P comes back very quickly the moment I reduce the dosage and also the burnt feeling on the skin is getting more unbearable for me.

I have read last week an article in the periodical of juni 2018, theme sunbathing, of the Psoriasis unity in the Netherlands. It is an interview with a leading dermatologist with expertise in skin cancer. She says: “you need vitamine D, but don’t go into the sun unprotected. Within 20 minutes you already can have skin burn. And a sunburnt skin enhances the risk on skincancer.”
The last paragraph tells about the addition of damage by sunburn. The sun (and also UVA and UVB) damages your cells. You have a repair mechanism, so the cells will be repaired. But when you keep on repeating and become a little older then this repair mechanism will start to falter. I could send you the article but it is in Dutch.

[D Foster]

I am surprised to hear that there is a "lifetime threshold" for light treatment as my doctor has always reassured me that there is no risk of skin cancer for light treatment.    

Having said that I was uvb for 7 years and the effect is wearing off, the P comes back very quickly the moment I reduce the dosage and also the burnt feeling on the skin is getting more unbearable for me.

I have read last week an article in the periodical of juni 2018, theme sunbathing, of the Psoriasis unity in the Netherlands. It is an interview with a leading dermatologist with expertise in skin cancer. She says: “you need vitamine D, but don’t go into the sun unprotected. Within 20 minutes you already can have skin burn. And a sunburnt skin enhances the risk on skincancer.”
The last paragraph tells about the addition of damage by sunburn. The sun (and also UVA and UVB) damages your cells. You have a repair mechanism, so the cells will be repaired. But when you keep on repeating and become a little older then this repair mechanism will start to falter. I could send you the article but it is in Dutch.  

I had UV for a long period of time and the dermatologist said I was reaching my maximum , it did work up to a point but when I came off it the P came back over a few months so bad I ended up in hospital which was probably a good thing as they found a problem with a lump on my back which they removed and I have not had any more trouble in that area again.
We are all different so you can't really compare one person to another only in a general way.

[JohnB]

Hi Filmbuff.
I've had 3 sessions of UV. The first UVB worked quite well, up to 90% clearance, sadly it only lasted a fortnight before the dreaded Ps returned. The second session the Ps started to return about 2/3 of the way through so it was decided to terminate the treatment, but at the time I was under severe stress loosing my Dad to liver cancer, so I doubt anything g would have helped then. The third time it was UVA where you take tablets to sensitise your skin and they cook you until medium rare. This cleared a lot up within 4 or 5 sessions but as with the UVB it started to fail towards the end of treatment.
As Dave has said though we are all individuals and I have heard of sufferers achieving several years of remission - you just never know 
It's a black art treating this disease 
JohnB

[cbleahen]

Hi Filmbuff

I'm in similar situation - just had session 5 of UVB light treatment, a whopping 24 seconds.  I don't notice any improvement on my body, but the nurses say it's looking better - and I'm hoping they see something I don't.  I have pustular on my hands and that is getting worse - whether that's down to a stressful weekend or the light treatment, I'll have to wait and see.

I have been told there is a maximum number of treatments I can have in my lifetime - about 300.  As I'm pale and pasty (Fitzpatricks skin type 1) I rarely stay in the sun for long anyway, but have been warned that during the UVB treatment that I mustn't get any additional sun on my skin, and to use factor 50 when out and about.  I am worried about increased risk of skin cancer, premature aging, blistering and the treatment not working, but am willing to try at least one round (approx 30 sessions here) to see if it works.  If it doesn't, or has limited effectiveness, I'll go back to managing with diet only (no dairy, refined sugar, gluten and alcohol (unless it's clear!)) and most importantly, trying not to get stressed.  

I'll be really interested in hearing how you get on.

Cat