Hi all, I had a fast growing Squamous on my nose. After the MOHS on 08-24 most of the left side of the nose and part of the cheek were gone. On 08-26 the plastic surgeon started the reconstruction of my nose. Damn, I was not prepared for the extent of the surgery! A five hour surgery with the forehead flap and all. A lot of pain and the left side of my scalp is still numb. Had the flap removed last week and was told two months before he will start to reshape my nose. Two months with a big clown nose! I have two c-t scans next week and possible radiation therapy to follow. This has me worried and a little depressed. My employer is treating me very well though this and with my Medicare there is no problem with cost and I'm grateful for that.
This is a long journey and had to be treated as an emergency. The anesthesia has left me in state of jet lag like fatigue...
Hi thanks for the reply. The forehead flap truly sucked! Ugly and, it really messed with my vision. My doctor is being very conservative with the treatment because I am a smoker. I said it's just cigars, not like I smoke a pack of Marlboro a day! He said it's still a high risk category. Still painful though, there is a tightness in my forehead where it's numb on the surface, kind of hard to explain.
I'm not familiar with your health care system in the U.K. Who makes the call when it comes to treatment? Just because it's skin cancer doesn't make it less serious! My tumor grew in about a month and could have gotten much worse. Best of luck with your treatment...
Normally the general practitioner would make a referral to dermatology for any lesion to be assessed.
Either the dermatologist would treat it or refer you on to another specialist if necessary. For instance head and neck or plastics. It all depends on what treatment is needed. They often work together as well. One will remove the cancer and the other will do the repair.
The treating consultant make a the call but will always work with you as the patient and take any concerns into consideration.
I recently had a basal cell removed which involved two consultants.
I'm in the U.S. what got me are the waiting times for treatment I saw for you guys. Here a routine dermatologist check out are scheduled way out depending on history. My Squamous cell was treated like the emergency it was. I'm lucky to have Medicare coverage as a senior and it has been a good thing. There are some co-pays involved but cheap compared to regular insurance. As an old guy and a redhead the older you get the cheaper the insurance...lol
Had the stitches removed yesterday and the doc said it looks good. Prescribed Neurontin for the non stop headache and will see how it goes. Have the c-t scans next week and have an appointment with with the radiation clinic on 10-27. So on it goes. Has anyone been through radiation therapy?
I am in the US too, and I got a recurrent invasive SCC. It recurred right after it was removed by my dermatologist. So now she sent me to mohs surgery, and the waiting list is 2 months or more! It is unbelievable! I too have Medicare and a good supplemental from my employer.
Br44, It took me a while to get seen by the dermatologist with my work schedule. They took the biopsy and it took about a week for results then they scheduled me for the MOHS consultation. All of this time it was getting worse. The MOHS dr. walked in the door and said "That has to come off a.s.a.p!" I had to wait another week for the surgery! So yes about a month. It started out like a zit that grew quickly into a reddish purple lump. It was painful!
