Teeth and Nails

Chemotherapy affects most of your body. It not only kills cancer cells, but also healthy ones. You notice it while going through treatment, but also long after you complete your infusions.

Four months after my last chemo infusion I noticed that one of my toenails was darker. It kept getting darker until I felt it was getting loose. This picture was taken five months after my last treatment. It looked like I had dropped something on my toe, but I had not, and it did not hurt. I was mostly concerned that the nail would catch on something and get ripped off.

About two months later, seven months after my last chemo infusion, the nail fell off. There was fortunately another one growing underneath.

Now, two months later, about nine months after my last treatment, the nail looks normal.

I’m happy to have it back. There is a nail on the other foot that looks a little darker than the others. Keeping my fingers crossed that it won’t fall off. 

My fingernails have always been hard and strong. Since I started on this journey, they have become soft and break easily. I cannot open a soda can without help or using a spoon to pry it open. My nails now need to be kept very short so that they won’t break so easily. I have found some products that are helping. One is called PolyBalm. You rub it on and around the nail bed. It has improved the new nail growth. The other is Sally Hansen Miracle Cure strengthener. It makes the nails harder so that they don’t break as easily. I’m sure there are other products that work just as well. 

We are discouraged from getting dental work done while going through chemotherapy and too soon after. I saw my dentist a few months before I started chemo. The reason it is not a good idea to get dental work done is that you may be immunocompromised, have bleeding risks, and risk for infection. Cancer treatments can unfortunately cause tooth decay, infections, gum disease, and problems with the salivary glands, so it’s a worry not seeing a dentist.

I finally saw my dentist for a checkup, almost 18 months after my last one. Even though I had been extra diligent in cleaning my teeth because of the cancer treatments, he found three cavities at the gum line, all under crowns. He believed my dry mouth is the reason because of where they are located. One of the side effects of radiation, as well as the infusions I am currently getting, Kadcyla (a targeted treatment), is a dry mouth. 

My mouth is so dry that it wakes me up at night. I am constantly drinking water and chewing sugar free gum. Sugar will make a dry mouth worse, but xylitol, which is a sugar substitute in some sugar free gum, helps. It has helped, but my mouth is still very dry. 

After I saw the dentist, I looked for other products to help create more saliva. I found that Xylimelts helps some. They are lozenges that stick to your gum. They work especially well at night for me. Biotene also helps. It comes as a rinse, mouth spray, and lozenges. I have the spray, and it also helps. They are both sold over the counter. None of the products work perfectly, but maybe if I had started using them sooner, I would not have the three cavities today.

I should not complain though. I have seen women lose teeth, and not just get cavities. Chemotherapy, radiation, as well as Kadcyla can make your teeth fall out, and I feel fortunate that I have all my teeth in place.