Skin Discoloration
Your skin may change color during breast cancer treatment, sometimes taking on a red color, turning darker, or looking black, blue, green, or yellow (as if you have a bruise).
Breast cancer treatments that may cause skin discoloration:
- surgery
- Ixempra (chemical name: ixabepilone), a chemotherapy medicine
- radiation therapy
Some pain medications also may affect the color of your skin.
Skin discoloration also can happen if you're experiencing other treatment side effects such as a rash or an injection reaction.
Learn more about managing radiation-related skin side effects in the Radiation Therapy section.
Managing skin discoloration
In most cases, skin discoloration fades after you finish treatment. If you're concerned about a change in the color of your skin, talk to your doctor.

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