Hello all,
I am new to the group & have recently been told I have a BCC on my face. I had a simple excision but unfortunately it is more invasive & high risk than they thought & I now need more treatment. My surgeon also told me that I am very young to have this type of cancer & it has come as quite a shock. I do not spend much time in the sun, rarely go on holiday abroad & try to be careful with suncream etc.Is there anyone else in this group diagnosed at a similar age?
I’m also looking into the next treatment options & heard Moh’s is a good procedure to have - what are others experience of this? Did you have to wait long? Is it worth going private?
Also wondering what to tell my six year old daughter - any tips? She thinks I’ve had a mole removed but not sure how to explain further surgery when the ‘mole’ is no longer there.
Sorry for all the questions but still trying to get my head around this.
HB
Hi Hannah,
I had Moh's surgery on my top lip for a BCC a couple of years ago, also at 37. I'm not going to lie: it was painful when the anaesthetic wore off. I understand lips are especially sensitive. Mine was out in two goes and I had to wait in a recovery room with two other people undergoing the same thing while the doctors analysed the tissue they had removed. Then a couple of hours later I had to go back in for the reconstruction part of the procedure. This required even more anaesthetic of course, but luckily I didn't need a skin graft. They removed more tissue than I was expecting: the wound was about the size of a 10p. I'm sure it would have been smaller if i hadn't been fobbed off when referred to a different hospital 10 years prior - at the time I didn't mind as the BCC was just a pin prick that didn't heal, but little did I know it was a BCC and went on to grow over all that time.
The surgeon did an incredible job with the stitching, so good in fact that the stitch removal was also painful, but aesthetically the result was amazing. Even my dentist was surprised when I told her what I'd had done 2 months later. At my follow-up appointment the surgeon was really chuffed with herself.
It's great that yours has been spotted - these things are not obvious, even to doctors. But to have the offer of Mohs is probably for the best long term. Putting off the surgery until the BCC has spread would be more uncomfortable - when you think they have to pull the remaining skin tissue across the wound to stitch it up it makes sense. The other patients I was with were much older than me and had to have skin grafts and I just felt sad for them that they hadn't been referred before the BCC had spread as far.
Good luck! And make sure you stock up on paracetamol and ibuprofen. I made myself a schedule for a week or two so that I could stagger both and was back to normal eating and drinking after that. I bought some silicone gel online (I'd had it prescribed after the previous removal of a mole on my jawline at age 26 but found it on ebay this time), and using that twice a day after the wound had healed really helped to smooth over the scar tissue. It's called Kelo-cote.
Believe in the possible and good things will happen. 
What I’ve heard is that Mohs is the better option from both success in fully removing it & cosmetic appearance after. I have also been referred so hoping to hear something soon (via NHS) but if too long a wait I’ve already started looking at going privately so I know my options. Good idea about asking for a full body check - will see if I can get that as have several moles & not all in easy to monitor places. Good luck to you too 
