An update on the topical antibiotic treatments:

I decided to get a new tube of Neosporin, because the one I had was slightly outdated. Based on our discussion about "wet" ointments being worse than a drying type, I chose a cream based antibiotic, hoping the open wound would breathe better.

For anyone interested, I bought a CVS Drugstore generic cream containing neomycin sulfate (3.5mg), polymyxin B sulfate (10,000 units) and pramoxine HCL (10mg). The last ingredient is, I believe, a pain killer.

I applied it yesterday morning and then went skiing, so I was active all day. When I got home in the early evening I removed the pad and found that a lot of "stuff" had stuck to it. The cream apparently caused the infected stuff to be ejected and more of the tumor cells appear to have eroded. The wound also looked less inflamed and more pink instead of white.

I am encouraged that this erosion/lysing process seems to be moving along more quickly and that the danger of infection seems less with this antibiotic dressing.