BCC

Hi there .

I had what I just assumed was some kind of perpetual abrasion/spot on the side of my face (close to my ear) for a number of years, but last September/October I spoke to my GP about it and it was diagnosed at a dermatology clinic as a BCC.

I had it surgically removed last October. About 6 weeks later I had a phone call to say that it was an infiltrative BCC and they’d not removed all of it, so about a week ago I had it removed for the second time. This basically took the form of them removing the original scar, leaving a new one which is slightly longer than the original.

I know it’s frightening to be told we have a form of cancer - and a BCC is cancer, albeit the least serious of the skin cancers - but I think it helps to try to keep things in proportion (it helps me, anyway). BCCs almost never spread to other parts of the body, and most of them are not infiltrative. The reality is, therefore, that your surgeons are almost certainly going to be able to remove all of it, and afterwards it won’t affect you again. It may grow back, but if that happens then it can be removed again.

Because of where mine was I didn’t need a flap, but many people here have spoken about having BCCs of the nose and having a flap/graft, and almost all of them report that with time the process goes very well, and scarring is eventually quite difficult to detect. Hopefully some of them will see your post and come on to tell you about it. In the meantime you can search the forum for posts about similar conditions.

Best of luck to you, and again - almost certainly all will be fine, and it will turn out to have been nothing more than a rather scary inconvenience :)

Thank you. Its been really useful to read through peoples expeirneces and put my mind at rest a bit. Thank you for sharing your story. 

Hello, sorry for another questions. Thank you for your answer, it was really useful and put my mind at ease. 
I have been told I have an appointment this Friday with a dermatologist where they will have a look and may or may not remove it on the day. I only saw the Dr on Monday and so its all happening quickly which is great, but I have seen that other people have had to wait quite a while for their appointment so not sure if it is a good or a bad thing that they a rushing it through!

Its also annoying not knowing if they will remove it on the day or not as would be good to prepare myself but its fine. Do you think this is all okay from your experience? x

HI  and no problem

Don’t worry about your early appointment - I think you’ve just been lucky. 

Quite a lot of GPs will refer patients to Dermatology under the 2 week pathway system even when they believe they’ve detected a BCC rather than a type of skin cancer much more likely to spread. Mine did, and it sounds as though yours has too.

It’s lucky that they’re able to fit you in really quickly, and since your GP told you she thought you have a BCC I think you can be absolutely confident that you’re not being given a quick appointment because they believe they’ve detected something sinister. I think it’s extremely unlikely that they’re rushing it through, and that it’s genuinely the case that they simply had a vacancy for this Friday: possibly from a cancellation.

It is frustrating not knowing whether they’ll remove it on the day or not, but really it does depend upon what the dermatologist diagnoses, and where it is. At this point I’m really making what is no more than an educated guess - I could be quite wrong - but I think that if the dermatologist believes on Friday that it’s a BCC (or any kind of skin cancer) on your nose it isn’t likely that they’ll remove it then and there, Mine wasn’t on my nose but many people on here have had BCCs in that place, and from what I’ve read on here it’s more usual for people with lesions on their faces to be asked to return at a later date. Have a read through the forum to see what other people have experienced.

Unfortunately sometimes people are given inaccurate info by GPs or sometimes even dermatologists. The dermatologist I saw at the clinic who diagnosed by BCC told me that I’d be in and out of surgery in less than 10 minutes, and I then spent a lot of time worrying about how it would be possible to remove something from my face with any kind of a view to cosmetic outcomes in such a short period of time. In the event it took more like 45 minutes, and the surgeon and nurses laughed when I told them what I’d been told by the dermatologist!

Try to be calm, and not to worry. Again, if it’s a BCC it’s very unlikely indeed to be anything sinister in the long term, and hopefully after Friday you’ll have a much better idea of what to expect. Please come back and tell us how you get on, and do ask any further questions if you have them. I don’t have many answers, but there are lots of others here who do x

Thank you so much for all that information. That's really helpful. I will let you know how Friday goes, I did imagine it would more likely be scheduled at a later date but we will see. Thank you x

I’ve had a bcc and an scc removed at the same time in hospital privately. I suspect whether the dermatologist will be able to remove on the day will be down to the size and whether a graft is needed. Mine were on my back an temple side of head. Both were fairly large and done without need for a graft as skin can be stretched and pulled into place. My sCC on forehead was about 10mm and she cut out a margin all round of 6mm so that’s a total of 22mm and still didn’t need a graft. If it’s not too big I suspect the derm will do it, if not you will be referred to a plastic surgeon and I think for a bcc the wait time is about 6-8 weeks, someone else maybe able to confirm that. 

Thank you Kassy64 mine is only 6mm so may be okay. I think the location may just be the tricky bit as at the top of my nose, close to my eye. But sounds like they may be able to stretch the skin then. Will have to see. Hard not knowing but either way, at least it will be gone. Thank you 

Make sure too let us know how you get on.

Hello

I went to the dermatologist today and he said the bump on my nose is just a light coloured mole and nothing to worry about. 

Which was obviously a relief but I felt a mix of emotions as I was told it WAS a BCC on Monday so had all week looking into it, reading about it and my first Dr seemed so sure. 

The mole on my face has grown and become raised over the last 2 years. I am going to speak to my Dr again but that's good news. 

Thank you for all your help. I hope everything goes well for you all. 

That is such good news. Keep checking your skin, wear sunscreen and enjoy!