Black mum of two taking kidney-cancer drug suffers ultra-rare side-effect that is ‘turning her skin white’
A BLACK cancer patient says she is “losing her identity” due to an ultra-rare side effect of treatment that is turning her skin white.
Paula Edwards, 54, was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2012 and was initially given 12 to 18 months to live.
But more than five years later, the mum-of-two is still defying the odds and holding down her job as a community care officer.
After undergoing surgery for a fourth time last year, Paula started taking Votrient tablets, which can come with side effects such as blisters on the tongue and hands.
But Paula said the drug has also caused her skin to lighten dramatically.
Paula, of Loughborough, Leics., claims medics have told her there is a chance that her skin tone could continue to get lighter to the point where she appears Caucasian.
She is “praying” her skin does not lighten further as her daughter says she “doesn't look like my mummy”.
She said: "I was put on the cancer tablets in 2016 after my last lot of surgery as the cancer had returned again for the fourth time and was in my pancreas and colon.
“It’s been a gradual lightening of my pigmentation and skin ever since.
“I first noticed because I had a picture of myself and my daughter Reccarnei at her 18th birthday on May 14 last year.
“I started very subtly going a bit lighter but it wasn't obvious, I was still quite dark and then as it progressed,” she said.
“By November it was very apparent. While I've been on the cancer journey I've always gone into work, seen my colleagues and tried to catch up on things.
“But they did not see me during this time at all because I was struggling to deal with the loss of my colour.
“I've feel like I've lost my identity.
“Although people say 'Paula, you're still Paula, you've still got your lovely smile and your voice' - but I don't feel like me.”
Votrient tablets are a targeted cancer drug that work to inhibit proteins that act as a messenger in cells, preventing cancer cells from forming the blood vessels they need to grow, according to Cancer Research UK.
There are a range of side effects Votrient tablets can cause from diarrhoea, skin rash, nausea, a change in hair colour and a change in skin colour.
Cancer Research UK says the drug can cause vitiligo, a long-term condition that can cause pale or white patches to appear on the skin.
It is caused by a lack of melanin, a pigment in the skin which gives it its colour.
The gradual loss of her identity has been a hard journey for Paula, who says people have accused her of bleaching her skin.
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She added: “When people bleach, there are still traces where you can tell they've bleached, for instance their knuckles and elbows are still fully black.
“With me, I was through and through light - from top to bottom, knuckle elbow, you name it.
“For me, it was quite insulting when people would say, Paula, have you been bleaching?' I would never do that.”
How can medication cause skin colour to change?
Votrient tablets are a targeted cancer drug that work to inhibit proteins that act as a messenger in cells, preventing cancer cells from forming the blood vessels they need to grow, according to Cancer Research UK.
There are a range of side effects Votrient tablets can cause from diarrhoea, skin rash, nausea, a change in hair colour and a change in skin colour.
Cancer Research UK says the drug can cause vitiligo, a long-term condition that can cause pale or white patches to appear on the skin.
It is caused by a lack of melanin, a pigment in the skin which gives it its colour.
Paula was first diagnosed with kidney cancer in May 2012 but has managed to hold down her job at Nottingham City Council, where she has worked for 26 years.
When her skin started to lighten, medics at Nottingham City Hospital did not know why it was happening and contacted specialist consultants in America.
“At the end of the day it's a side effect of the drug but the consultants weren't able to answer if I could definitely turn white,” Paula added.
“All they could come back and tell me was that it had happened to some people with Afro-Caribbean skin colour in other parts of the world.
“I would hope and pray I won't go white because I've still got melanin in me but it's not as strong as what it should be.
“I don't want to sound ungrateful because I'm still here but I'm not happy because I've lost my colour.
“When your nine-year-old says, 'you don't look like my mummy', what do you say?
“But I can live with it - I've got no choice really, luckily I've got good friends who accept me for who I am.”
Paula has since helped set up a support group called Sista's Against Cancer for black women suffering from the disease.
She added: “Although I could relate with what women were saying as a professional person myself, they couldn't truly understand where I was coming from as a black person.
“But we are not solely just for black and Afro-Caribbean people though.
“People hide when they've got cancer - you only hear they have got it when they've passed.
“They miss out on valuable support.”
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