Hello,
In may my partner noticed what looked like a cigarette burn on my back and took a picture so I could see it. I just presumed I'd caught my self on something at some point and dismissed it. At the beginning of July I noticed it had scabbed so reluctantly (after my partner nagging me) made an appointment with the GP. A week later after the scab had dropped off the doctor looked at it and said I'd need to be referred to dermatology. Two weeks later I went to hospital for them to take pictures to be sent off. That appointment was yesterday and today I received a digital letter from them saying it has clear indication of me having BCC and will need to go back to the hospital to be seen. Sorry if this seems like a stupid question but my head is swimming at the moment.
Is Basel cell carcinoma skin cancer or is it a lesion that may or may not be skin cancer?
I'm also worried as I have very fair skin, covered in moles and freckles aswell and everything I read is about it coming back numerous times . How am I going to check my skin if I'm covered with bumps and marks anyway, how am I supposed to tell what's what?
I wasn't even going to go to the doctor's with the mark on my back ,it was my partner who kept bringing it up and that's why I eventually went but now I'm panicking at every mark on my body!
Thankyou
Hi Littlemiss-ka and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.
I’m Anne, one of the Community Champions here on the Online Community, and I've had treatment to remove a couple of basal cell carcinomas.
Basal skin carcinoma (BCC) is the most common form of skin cancer. So yes, BCC is skin cancer but they are usually very slow growing, low-risk skin cancers which almost never spread to other areas of the body.
I have a lot of moles and marks so was advised by my dermatologist to take photos of all of the different areas of my body, ie lower front left leg, lower back left leg, etc. Then once a month use these photos to compare against your body now. That way you'll spot if any have changed or new ones have appeared.
The online community is divided into different support groups and I can see that you've already found and joined the skin cancer group where you'll then connect directly with others who have the same type of cancer as you.
When you feel ready, you can start a new post there in the same way as you did here and join in with existing conversations by clicking on 'reply'.
It would be great if you could put something about your symptoms and tests to date into your profile as it really helps others when replying to you and also when looking for someone on a similar pathway. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Profile'. You can amend it at any time and if you're not sure what to write you can take a look at mine by clicking on my username.
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
