BCC on nose, awaiting MOHS and probably a forehead flap

You will smile again Suzanna1 again I promise trust me.  These bcc's are nasty but are curable and the scars heal and we look good as new again in a few months.  Here for you anytime you need to chat as are other too, we stick together on this site and help one another along the way xx

Hi Suzanna1.  Please don’t worry, your smile will be as lovely as ever.  The surgery on your stomach wasn’t done by a plastic surgeon, any facial scars will be a zillion times better.  Otherwise how would all those celebrities look so good?

After the stress of the tumour on your ovary, and about to start a new job, I can imagine this bcc diagnosis has knocked you down.  But it is totally treatable.  I hope that reading my account hasn’t caused you unnecessary worry.  I think I have had the most extreme version of treatment, that you are unlikely to need, plus I am a drama queen, and even I am making a great recovery.  Most people have their bcc dealt with very easily and don’t spend time on the forum.  There was even someone who posted a couple of months ago, DW30 I think, whose bcc just went away by itself.  And many of us had our bcc for a long time, so hopefully you will have plenty of time to settle in to the new job, and minimal time off required when the time comes for treatment.

Sending smiles.

Hi Suzanna. I had an infiltrative BCC removed from my nose up by the tear duct in 5 months ago. I don’t know if I had MOHs or not they didn’t tell me. However my consultant did offer me the choice of radiotherapy and then advised against it! He said in my case it wasn’t guaranteed to work. 

I had a cheek flap with the scar going under my eye down the side of my nose and diagonally from nostril to the corner of my mouth with a facial reconstruction. I went NHS and  was told I’d only need a couple of weeks off work although I took 4 weeks in the end as my scar was a huge shock mentally. 

for the 2 months after stitches were out I wore silicone gel sheets over my scars and then changed to the silicone sheets during the night and silicone gel during the day. These have really helped my scar and everyone says it’s barely noticeable now.  

Thank you LuckyLass

I think the unknown is always daunting and I always think the worse so that I can prepare myself . I am going to try and shut it out as much as possible until the next appointment .  I have a holiday booked to South of France in May with all the family .. so will try and concentrate on that for the time being and keep smiling xx

Hi Biinny

Thank you for you message.

I am so glad that things  have worked well for you..

it doesn’t sound like you had MOHS as you have to be up the hospital most of the day and they take it away bit by bit and examine under a microscope until it is all clear .

It is encouraging to hear how well your scar is healing x

Morning Suzanna definitely sounds like I had normal surgery mine was just a couple of hours under a general anaesthetic. Obviously you need to follow your surgeons advice but I’d definitely recommend the silicone sheets  

I got really lucky my NHS surgeon was a maxillofacial plastic surgeon and he recommended the silicone gel sheets and gel to me. Good luck. Hope it all goes well. Always happy for you to contact me if you’d like to chat with someone who’s 6months ahead of you

I haven’t posted for weeks because really there has been nothing to report.  The forehead is still tight, the corner of my eyebrow where the flap joined is tender to touch,  the nostril stings and itches at times, breathing is impaired on that side.  All very very slowly improving.  I just took a comparison photo, which I last took 6 weeks ago.  I’d be pushed to detect any improvement in appearance, maybe the scars are ever so slightly less red. I am pretty much back to normal activities, but less strenuously than before.  I trim the hairs on my nostril with scissors every week or two and they are hopefully not very visible.  I am well into hay fever season and the nostril has coped with a lot of sneezing and nose blowing, so my timing was good in that respect- I would hate to think how it would be with a brand new graft.  I am thinking I may be just about ready to get a haircut.  Fortunately I had the foresight to get a very short cut just before the op, and it has lasted well till now.

Today I saw the MOHS surgeon, dermatologist, who assured me that the reconstruction was excellent considering the size and site of the damage.  He said he had seen a lot of reconstructions and mine was really good.  So I guess that is nice to know.  I said that I hadn’t expected to still feel discomfort 4 months on, and he said it was normal to take a year for things to settle down.  I had heard that, but thought it meant the scars took a year to fade . My melanoma WLE scar is still improving, to near invisibility, after a decade, but I don’t remember it being sore for very long, ditto the incisions from my two hip replacements now 4 years and 18 months old respectively.  I guess that there are many more nerves on the face than the leg.  His advice is to massage for 10 minutes twice a day, and I will do that, in the hope of reducing the thickness of the graft and therefore getting better airflow through the nostril.  It may help the forehead tightness too.  I must say that I have no complaints about the appearance of my forehead, the vertical scar is a faint line, the donor site is lost in my hairline, and I think the pulling together has actually flattened out my frown lines.

The dermatologist also carried out a full body scan and found no problems, so that is brilliant news.  I will go to him (privately) annually for a scan.

Oh, and I forgot to report that I can once again chomp on things like an apple or corn on the cob.  I remember saying that once I could do that, I would consider myself fully recovered.  So I have much reason to celebrate.  Nonetheless,  feeling a bit low, for no good reason.

Hi Luckylass lovely to hear from you and that things are going okish.  Feeling a bit low for no reason is acceptable sometimes.  I think we all forget we have been through quite an horrendous time (you especially) and it takes its toll on us, even now when we are in recovery stage.  I am stressing at the moment as we go to Cornwall at the weekend and it is time for Factor 50 before venturing through the door.  Think I am getting more paranoid about the sun that ever now.  Not been outside really these last few days, although I have a Factor 50 sun brolly, hats, sun cream, but I am still anxious.  I normally have half an hour in the garden around 8,30 pm dont think people realise how it makes you.  Glad you are getting better though.  My scars are a year old now and I would say I can see them but others tell me they can't. but think they are being kind.  My donor site down the side of my face isnt visible at all, but the others are.  I did massage every day with bio oil about 4 or 5 times and the flap certainly flattened with doing this.  One day it was really raised and I looked the next and it was flat I couldnt believe it.  Keep in touch I did wonder how you were doing xx

Hi Harlyn, thanks so much for your reply, it is so nice when someone who has been through similar “gets” it.  I hope your weekend away is lovely despite your worries.I just looked up the forecast and at least it’s not going to be so hot there, don’t know how you feel about thunderstorms though.  The UV level according to the Met office is the same, 1 = very low, from 7 pm till 9 pm, so you should be ok to enjoy the evenings.  But I would agree that it feels safer at 8.30 than at 7 pm.  The UV is also very low before 8 am, the beach would be beautiful and peaceful then if you can get out of bed, but that’s not necessarily everyone’s idea of the perfect restful weekend break.  

Hi Lucky Lass it sounds as if it’s all going well as far as your surgical team is concerned which is great to hear

My surgery was 7 months ago and the site is still sore so I think that’s fairly normal.  I have been massaging for the last 5 months 4 times a day with bio oil and then the silicon gel sheets all night the scar is improving and much more ‘skin’ coloured now although it still looks really obvious to me. 

like Harlyn I’m hiding from the sun and have downloaded a UV app onto my phone. when I have to work outside I wear large sunglasses and a mask up to my eyes and down under my chin I probably look really funny but I’m not brave enough to trust sunscreen yet  

You have plenty of reasons for feeling down - you’ve had surgery on your face!  I really struggled with mental health issues after my surgery and was referred to the mental health nurse at my GP surgery. She taught me that feeling down (and even being depressed)  is ok and actually perfectly normal after facial surgery especially if it involves cancer. She also told me to take your time and don’t rush to ‘feel normal’. (I hope you don’t mind me sharing her words?)