I had an scc removed wth small margin from my nose in March , would healing ok but iridge now right in middle of nose , I have received no other follow up or advice except cover up n sunscreen (which I do anyway ) on my letter it says keratacanthoma like scc! Consultant said I will be seen in 6 mths for check up , is all that normaL? Should I not have a scan to check for any others ! I was on my own n got my diagnosis over phone in less than 5 mins , cons. Was so sure it wasn’t scc!! I’m angry n scared n as a nurse it doesn’t feel right ! I’m used to looking after others n knowing the answers ! Any advice or experience would be great , many thanls
Hi Andie and a very warm welcome to our corner of the online community although I'm sorry you've had to join us.
It's natural to be feeling as you do after a cancer diagnosis and you've probably thought of lots of questions since your initial diagnosis. As it's 6 months before your check-up you might want to give your consultant's secretary a call to see if you can arrange to speak to him/her before then to ask your questions.
I don't have any personal experience with how often follow-ups are for SCC, as my skin cancers were melanoma and BCC, but I noticed that your post hadn't had any replies yet. If you have a look on page 4 of this information sheet from the British Association Of Dermatologists it says:
"Current guidelines state that patients with SCC who are at low risk of getting a second one do not need a specialist following them up. Higher risk SCCs should be followed up regularly for 1-2 years by the specialist or their team." Have you been told whether you are considered to be low or high risk?
The most recent person to post about SCC here was Katkinz so I've tagged them into my reply to you and hope they'll be able to pop on and share their experience with any follow-ups they had after their SCC diagnosis.
Sending virtual ((hugs))
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
