The symptom management of fungating malignant wounds using a novel essential oil cream

Abstract

Fungating malignant wounds are a distressing complication of cancer, which can develop with locally advanced, recurrent or metastatic disease. They occur where the tumour breaks through the skin surface and can lead to protruding or crater-like lesions. Key physical symptoms include malodour, exudate, pain, excoriation of surrounding skin and bleeding. Despite an extensive choice of dressings available, there are still a number of unresolved issues, which include the production of exudate, and resultant excoriation of the surrounding skin. Poor conformability of dressings due to irregular shapes of lesions and poor long term odour control. This work provides preliminary, anecdotal data for the safe, effective use of Neutralising Odour Cream (NEOC), a product based on blended essential oils, as a management tool for symptoms of fungating malignant wounds.