I HAD finally made it pass the 50% mark of completion for my chemotherapy, 87.5% to be exact. A week after my seventh (and second to last) session I was complaining of the intense itching that really was the most irritating side effect of this cycle of drugs. Limacol was my favourite thing to soothe the burning of my skin that came after all the itching,which I definitely could not just ignore.I had to scratch the itch…and with any available secondary sharp instrument because I’m a nail biter (yes, yes I know I’m trying to stop). The unfortunate result however was a lot of dry, scaly skin since the chemo drugs were also drying out my skin and all the scratching had bruised and damaged my skin even more.
Cut to a conversation with one of my best friends who asked whether I had tried Naked Skin (all natural) Soap and then bam! (LOL) He produced two bars of soap out of nowhere and handed them to me. “You’re walking around with soap now?”, I asked, amused as I closely inspected the bars in my hand. Each bar had been wrapped in cloth and then packed into a very organic looking package with names on them. I was holding the Tumeric & Neem Stream (face soap) and the Coffee Beans (body) soap, the other side of the bar was marked ‘Naked Skin’. As it turned out, a mutual friend of ours had started his own soap making business in Guyana and we were to be some of his first customers.
The soaps looked great if nothing else, but I doubted they would help my skin; thus far only coconut oil was able to provide some relief to my dry skin condition. Later that day after exercising for about fifteen minutes – terrible I know but I couldn’t go longer than that without getting very tired or the itching stopping me from working out literally. Just as I finished up my routine, the itching started and I took that as my cue to try out the Coffee Beans body soap.
Fast forward a week later and voila! My skin was definitely more hydrated and the itching had not stopped but the breaks in between them were longer (there); probably because my skin was not as dry as before. This will probably sound like a plug for my friend’s soap and in a way I suppose it is, but not without merit. The fact that anti itch/fungal creams did nothing to relieve my discomfort from the itching and his soaps did, speaks volumes for the power of coconut oil – which it turns out is the base ingredient for all of these soaps. My new regimen consisted of using the soaps and then lathering on some coconut oil on my skin for added measure. Anyone who has ever suffered with dry skin and irritating itching should definitely try these soaps; but more specifically for my oncology friends who,like me, have to endure all the dermatological gripes that affect us during treatment. I believe these soaps which come in about six different scents are available at leading supermarkets, pharmacies and salons in and around Georgetown.
Thanks to Naked Skin Soaps I was able to make it through the rest of my chemo recovery weeks without losing my mind to the severe itching that had plagued me since I began the fifth chemo session. These battles may seem insignificant to someone on the outside of cancer treatment but comfort is key when going through this adventure (as opposed to ordeal…perspective right?) and being able to have an ease from such an annoying and distracting side effect was just what I needed as I closed in on my 100% completion mark.