Mohs or Aldara

I wanted to share my experience as a sufferer of both melanoma and bcc skin cancer. I understand the concerns around aldara and surgery . I last year had a cancerous bcc biopsy on my forehead and we opted for aldara. As a women in my early 40 I apparently reacted very well however the treatment is in my opinion harsh ( if you react well) very large  sores which are uncomfortable, they also impacted the treatment length and I was unable to do anything for 2-3months .whilst this treatment is harsh the results are fab (when it works) no scar and new skin, however I will Tuesday have more biopsies for two more expected bcc’s I too will have to consider the aldara against surgery it will in my opinion depend on the impact on scarring for the face. I would use aldara again just for the result.
I already have skin surgery on back , neck and chest which some how feels less intrusive . The face causes severe anxiety in my opinion  so I wanted to share I understand your situation and wish you well with the surgery . 

I know, it's a tough decision to make when you are dealing with a bcc on your face.  If it was guaranteed that it would be an easy Mohs with a small scar on my face I would go with the Mohs over the Aldara.  The problem with Mohs is you don't know until they start digging and that's what scares me so much.  It seems one has absolutely no control over the Mohs outcome.

The Aldara is a long process.  Six weeks of treatment and then it took another two weeks to start looking normal again.  I endured this through the Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays, not looking my best at social/family gatherings.  A simple Mohs could just be a day and it's all done. 

This is my second bcc, I'm sure I have more in my future.  I wish they could come up with an easier cure.

Hey bbecca14,

I’m sorry I missed your post until now. I was in pretty much the same position as you, Aldara or MOHS. After much reading and 4 different professional opinions I went with MOHS, mainly because I didn’t want to take the chance of having Aldara and still needing surgery. As I’d had the bcc frozen off 4 years earlier and it came back, it was considered more possible to not be totally gone with Aldara. My bcc was between my nose and lip and only the size of a pin head. Dry and itchy. The specialists all told me it was nothing for 2 years until i insisted they biopsy it. 

To be honest I found the MOHS procedure quite traumatic but painless. I’d highly advise to have light sedation if you can. I had a Valium and 5 mins later they called me in so I was on high alert for the entire time. It only took two goes at it, but left me with quite a big hole in my face. And extremely swollen. Lips are known to inflame easily. It was followed by plastic surgery to graft the hole left, from my cheek, near my ear. The graft was not a problem at all, the mohs had a pad sewn on to it and then I left it covered for a couple of weeks with tape. I had 3 weeks off work. I was very self conscious for a couple of months, used silicone patches every night to hydrate the scar. and then just got used to it. Most people don’t notice until I point it out. It’s a pretty good result. I don’t think I’d be so scared in the future but would defiinitely ask for light sedation. However I’ll also be more open to using Aldara for any new spots in the future too, as had a friend who had a good result with new spots. All the best.

I had my appointment for my Mohs surgery this morning.  The surgeon reviewed the results of my negative biopsy following 6 weeks of Aldara use.  Since the biopsy was negative he gave me the choice of having Mohs to see if any "rogue" cells were left or taking a "wait and see" approach.  He was a bit concerned because the biopsy they took last week was very small and could represent a sampling error.  However the original biopsy showed superficial basal cell which responds well to Aldara.  He also reviewed pictures of my nose at it's worst during the Aldara treatment and felt I  showed a strong response.  It was a no-brainer for me, I took the wait and see approach.  In the last 3 months I have had 2 nose biopsies, and 6+ weeks of a gross looking nose from the medication and I want to look normal for a while.  If it comes back in the future I will get the Mohs. 

So that's the end of my "Mohs or Aldara" saga.......for now.

Hi bbecca14

I'm glad to hear you've come to a decision you feel comfortable with. Hopefully, that'll be the end of your BCC and you won't need to have any further treatment.

Wishing you all the best

x

Yep you need a break from this right now, the treatment and recovery is so long, hopefully it never returns. And if it does you will be equipped with what to do. All the best!