# Chemo/Radiation Lotion



## Soapmomma (Mar 2, 2009)

My sister-in-law was diagnosed with stage 3 cervical cancer 2 weeks ago. This week she will start aggressive radiation/chemo treatments.  I have been searching and reading til my eyes burn on the subject. From what I've read, alot of patients get a very dry, cracked, peeling skin that regular lotions will not help and the scents often nauseate them. She loves using my soap so I'm making her an unscented batch superfatted with shea but would also like to make her a lotion. Since I've never made lotion, just played with whipping some shea and other oils, I thought I would get started now in case she is in need of it later.

I've read where emu oil is very healing and soothing for cancer patients, as is shea. Also where someone used VCO, avocado and shea mixture for a lighter lotion as the whipped shea alone was too stiff and made someone peel from just applying it  :?  I also found a commercial lotion for cancer patients that contained aloe, could you replace some of the distilled water in the recipe with aloe juice?

Can anybody with lotion making experience help me with this? I guess what I'm looking for is a light, not greasy lotion with no frangrance that will moisturize her skin enough to take the chemo.  I have germaben II for preservative, vco, shea butter, 1 oz of jojoba,  ordering advacado, sweet almond, cocoa butter, and mango butter. I don't want to make anything to sell, I just want one or two good bottles to help her out. Thank you so much for your help.

Rissa


----------



## JuBean (Mar 2, 2009)

So sorry to hear about your SIL. 

I am so not an expert. But if you want your whipped shea butter not to be so greasy, a teaspoon of corn starch works wonders.

I'm sure you will get the help you need this is such a great forum full of nice and helpful ppl!


----------



## Pug Mom (Mar 2, 2009)

Is she having Chemo or radiation?  I know that when my mom had radiation she couldn't use any lotions, not even deoderant.


----------



## Soapmomma (Mar 2, 2009)

Thank you Jubean, it's gonna be tough. My mother in law died of breast and colon cancer a few years back so they are all reliving it and thinking the worst right now   

Pug Mom, she is getting both. Starting with the chemo and then more targeted radiation treatments. Something to do with a rod they place inside her for 2 days? I'm not really sure about it but it's gonna be aggressive and very hard on her. They said she's had it at least 3 years and our local doctors just didn't catch it.  I just wanted to get a mild moisturizing basket together for her because she loves her bath and body stuff and I read where they might get to harsh for her to use.


----------



## Soapmomma (Mar 2, 2009)

Can anybody critique this? This recipe is on FNWL and sounds like it has ingredients I would like to incorporate.  Can I sub aloe juice for the gel?   TIA


Ingredients:

    Water Phase
    16 oz distilled water
    1 oz aloe vera gel
    .5 oz glycerin
    .5 oz citric acid
    Oil Phase
    1.5 oz jojoba
    1 oz sweet almond Oil
    .5 oz shea butter
    1 oz emulsifying wax
    .5 oz stearic acid
        .2 oz Germaben II E

Instructions:

    For the water phase add all ingredients and heat until citric acid is dissolved. Melt all ingredients for oil phase in a double boiler and hold temperature at 140 degrees (to temper the shea butter) for 20 minutes. Combine the two phases and mix with a stick blender or hand blender until thickened and cooled. Add fragrance and preservative and mix well. Pour into sterilized containers and allow to cool completely before capping. Enjoy!


----------



## Etelka (Mar 3, 2009)

Lavender Hydrosol	 68%
e wax	                   7%
stearic	                   3%
olive	                   8%
hemp	                   8%
emu	                   5%
vit e 1 capsule to 200ml 	   0%
preservative 	   1%

I made the above lotion for a good friend of mine when she was having radiation treatment for breast cancer,  on the advice of her doctors she was not allowed to put anything on until after the treatment was fineshed expcet what was prescribed to her,  it had something to do with oils not allowed on her skin and radiation.    Your SIL may need to check with her doctors first.

I am not too good with ounces and pounds could you possible give your recipe in %
Etelka


----------



## Soapmomma (Mar 3, 2009)

I wasn't aware of the radiation/no lotion thing. I'll have her talk to her dr about it. I know she won't be starting the radiation for a couple more weeks because of them waiting for the Pet scan results.   

I'm not good with computing percentages etelka so I just put in the total in soapcalc (random ingred) and this is the percentage totals they spit out. 

71% distilled water
4.4% aloe vera gel
2.2% glycerin
2.2% citric acid
Oil Phase
6.6%  jojoba
4.4%  sweet almond Oil
2.2%  shea butter
4.4%  emulsifying wax
2.2%  stearic acid
.2 oz Germaben II E 


Thank you for posting what you made for me. I don't have the lavender hydrosol or the hemp or emu. I've spent over 100 in ingredients in the last couple days and can't afford to get any more. Would it help to post what I have?


About the germaben IIE-- I've read where you really only have to use this when you have more than 23% of liquid oils in your recipe. Since this is not the case here would my germaben II be fine for this recipe? Also on the ph, MMS states that your ph needs to be 7.5 or lower for germaben II. Do you think that's the reason they have IIE listed for this recipe, is it a higher ph range?  Is there any way to know the final ph before making the product or is it experiment and adjust as you go?  
Rissa


----------



## carillon (Mar 3, 2009)

I'm sorry to hear your news.  I can imagine how upsetting it is for the family to have to deal with this.

I would also be cautious with giving her homemade lotion.  I don't mean this as an insult to you in any manner, but you said yourself that you've never made lotion before.  It's very thoughtful that you want to do something for her, but I would encourage you not to let a cancer patient become your guinea pig.  You're probably not going to have your lotion lab tested to make certain there is no bacteria or other harmful contaminants in it are you?  If her immune system becomes weakened due to her treatments the last thing she needs is a skin infection.  Her doctor can prescribe medicated lotion if necessary to treat any skin problems.

In a situation like this, I think a simple single ingredient oil like emu oil or tamanu oil, etc., might be the best solution, but only upon consulting a doctor first.  Her health concerns are much too serious to take any kind of chances on the possibility of impurities or reactions to products.


----------



## Soapmomma (Mar 4, 2009)

Yeah, I kinda figured that's why not many were posting on this.  Appreciate your candor.  Thanks

Edit: I won't give her the lotion, just because you're right of course, she should have a completely safe, no doubt about it moisturizer at a time when her immune system is compromised. But I'm not completely in the dark about making lotion. I have bought a base for a while now and know how to sterilize, have all the equipment that is for lotion only, even a stick blender dedicated to lotion mixing because I didn't want to use my soap blender for lotions in case of contamination.  I was just looking for a safe, tried and true recipe. Again, I appreciate your honesty and thank you for your kind words. 

Rissa


----------

