Basal Cell Carcinoma

I was behind a lady at a cashpoint queue a while ago. It was hot so she had on a strappy low backed top. She had a nasty looking mole in the middle of her back so I asked her if she had had it checked out as I had had skin cancer.

She said she lived alone and didn’t even know it was there but thanked me and said she would see her GP asap. I often wonder how she got on.

yes living alone, it is impossible to check your back closely, even with two mirrors. Your friend has `hopefully` dodged a bullet and has been lucky. Both melanoma and squamous cancer can metastaze, squamous is slower. I even thought of getting a plumbers mirror but even then I would not have been able to see close enough. I have to put vaseline on both areas every day, been wondering how to do the back mole. A long wooden spoon covered in cling film

My dd is a dentist and yesterday she told me about when she spots a very small mouth lesion that she is not sure about, she refers her patient to a consultant. She always tells her patient that private consultation is £200 and they will have the appointment in two weeks, nhs is free and the appointment will take 12 months. They always go the private route. She also said that some of her patients were prioritised for operations within days.

Nip it in the bud is key and after my nice experience today, I will never hesitate to go privately if I have any worries which are not enough to bother the GP with, or which would involve a scary wait

PS very well done primrose, I am glad you spoke to her

I'm glad the appointment went well karmalady and that you are now worry free.

Karmalady,
So glad it went well. Thanks for updating us. It is nerve wracking until you know what you’re dealing with. I have considered going private but my app. is next Tues. Trying not to get too anxious but if they were to delay it I would go private. I think your £250 was well spent.

sunflower have you had the consultation? If they offer you cryotherapy then I would recommend, the pain went in a couple of hours and the bad stuff drops off in 7-10 days and new skin takes its place. The cream is a very slow methodical process. I had to keep my eyes tight shut

The not knowing is what is making you so anxious, as it was for me. Can you find a project that will take your mind of it? It was on my mind all the time, so I made a pair of complicated dungarees, it was slow and steady and zen as I needed to de-stress. Then I went to bed tired and my mind was not so whizzy and full of `what ifs`

Excellent news Karmalady. Must be a relief.

Karmalady,
No consultation ‘till Tues. Just the referral by the doctor who thinks it’s BCC. I presume they’ll deal with it on the day if confirmed. Thanks for the info on Cryo. I didn’t know if I would be given a choice so was keen to know how to choose. I’d rather they used which ever method gets it all.
I am keeping busy and Tues. doesn’t seem too far away.

Thinking of you sunflower, keep posting about your progress

I’m going in tomorrow to have 2 removed. One is on my leg and looks like a possible Bowens and one on my upper chest I couldn’t see looking down. The consultant dermatologist thinks it’s a BCC which shocked me. I went to see him last week only about my forehead as I had an itchy red patch that just wouldn’t go away he thinks that was a solar ketstosis. He used cryotherapy on it and also on a mole on my neck. The cryotherapy is uncomfortable to have done but acceptable. I had a headache afterwards. I really hope tomorrow goes ok for the other two which will require local anaesthetic.

Nothing to worry about.

I was quite anxious but met someone in waiting room who had had several done. Reassured by him.

The medics did chat a lot, but I think that was to keep me calm. All in all it was a fascinating procedure.

Mine took the form of an odd looking pimple on my upper chest. It was a damn nuisance in summer months as the seat belt rubbed on it. Eventually I asked my GP who got a magnifying glass out and in a surprised voice told me that "my pimple had a blood supply of its own"

My scar was quite a long one ( probably because I had left the pimple too long ! ) but it has now healed up really well and is barely noticeable.

All the very best to everyone having this procedure.

lovetravel, best wishes for tomorrow

Good luck to everyone who is waiting for results or treatments. I've had 2 BCC's removed from my scalp. The first one was very large at the front of my scalp and the second was an offshoot of the large one.
The large one was removed and just had a covering and stitches. After 2 weeks the cover and stitches was removed and the open wound was left to heal by itself .. healing by secondary intention I think it's called.
Gradually new skin formed and I have a shiny bald patch which my hairdresser manages to cover over when she styles my hair.
Please don't neglect yourself as I did.

I have had 28 bcc’s over the last couple of decades. In the 1970’s we all used to love getting a tan, not knowing the dangers ! Mine have been treated by surgery or recently by a cream called Aldara. The cream has to be applied daily for six weeks and has to stay on the skin for six hours, so it requires a disciplined approach. On this treatment I ended up with a very scaly nose, but the treatment was very successful and no surgery required. I now wear factor 50, summer and winter - like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted 😂😂

You can get very good hats from australia, I have several and my latest was from solbari. Large enough to pull forward and keep my nose shaded. I have also ordered a craghoppers shirt with a high spf rating. I want to be able to easily carry it and wear it open to protect my arms and back of neck. I did look into making one but could not source the right fabric

My sister says that she has seen people at her leisure centre going in to use sunbeds. Surely there needs to be more publicity about skin cancers in the uk. In australia my sisters get a free skin scan every years and they have had several lesions removed at an early stage

We didn`t have any sunscreen as children, later olive oil was popular and also ambre solaire oil. Consequences now for many

My Mum had one removed from her forehead 5 years ago...took 20 minutes, in and out, virtually no scar

I had Mohs surgery (not sure what that stands for) on a small nose basal cell carcinoma. Once the injection is done (quick), it's fine. Very quick and I've just been left with a small thin white scar which hardly shows. Luckily, I did not need a skin graft. I also had a cheerful chatting surgeon and nurse but I was told it is a very common procedure - I would have been more worried if there had been deadly silence!

I also had stitches which came out a week later and had to wear a nose dressing for a few days which got me some funny looks at the shops!

Please try not to worry, it really is a small procedure and the injection really isn't that bad. It'll be over in a flash.

Now I wear factor 50 on my face everyday even if I'm indoors. Sunhats are good too.

Primrose53

Had several done. Biggest one was on side of nostril so you get local anaesthetics and the surgeon cut like an L shape and cut it out then just managed to stitch it up. He did warn me that as my nose is not very fleshy he may have to graft skin from behind my ear but he just had enough and no more.

Some hospitals do PDT (photo dynamic therapy) which lasers them off, I guess it depends on the size and position. They didn’t give me that option.

They are removing these all day, every day and there really is nothing to worry about. 👍 then they write to you and tell you what it was and whether they need to see you again.

I know that methods of removal vary. Mine (on the side of my nose) was taken out as a "core" and then a couple of simple stitches used to pull it closed. It showed initially because it pulled a bit and increased my deeper wrinkles, but skin is obviously stretchy and I can't see where it was now.
My sister needed a graft (have you ever noticed that private medicine is far more fussy and expensive!) but it is invisible to a normal person now. My son's BCC was more extensive and there are some little scars which bother him but I really don't see them.

Sunflower2

Karmalady,
No consultation ‘till Tues. Just the referral by the doctor who thinks it’s BCC. I presume they’ll deal with it on the day if confirmed. Thanks for the info on Cryo. I didn’t know if I would be given a choice so was keen to know how to choose. I’d rather they used which ever method gets it all.
I am keeping busy and Tues. doesn’t seem too far away.

I actually had to wait for ages once they'd confirmed it was a BCC, only if it had been something dangerous would they would done it immediately I think.

MOHS surgery doesn't stand for anything Alison333 it's the surname of the surgeon whose idea it was .
It's used in cosmetic surgery because it is less invasive on delicate places such as your face.
Thankyou Dr Mohs.

I had one removed from my face some years ago.
It wasn’t painful, had a local anaesthetic.
A slight scar although now it’s not visible.
I’m sure it’ll all go well for you.

karmalady

Thinking of you sunflower, keep posting about your progress

Thank you.

Lovetravel

I’m going in tomorrow to have 2 removed. One is on my leg and looks like a possible Bowens and one on my upper chest I couldn’t see looking down. The consultant dermatologist thinks it’s a BCC which shocked me. I went to see him last week only about my forehead as I had an itchy red patch that just wouldn’t go away he thinks that was a solar ketstosis. He used cryotherapy on it and also on a mole on my neck. The cryotherapy is uncomfortable to have done but acceptable. I had a headache afterwards. I really hope tomorrow goes ok for the other two which will require local anaesthetic.

Good luck. Hope all goes well. I have scaly patches on my nose too and have been given cream for those

Supergran1946

I have had 28 bcc’s over the last couple of decades. In the 1970’s we all used to love getting a tan, not knowing the dangers ! Mine have been treated by surgery or recently by a cream called Aldara. The cream has to be applied daily for six weeks and has to stay on the skin for six hours, so it requires a disciplined approach. On this treatment I ended up with a very scaly nose, but the treatment was very successful and no surgery required. I now wear factor 50, summer and winter - like shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted 😂😂

Supergrand: Yep! Guilty of sunbathing in the 70s.

Alison333
I’ve been wearing spf 50 on my face winter and summer for years! Think the damage may have been done years ago!