Bcc .....really scared and worried

Hi  and a very warm welcome to the online community

I'm sorry to read that you've recently been diagnosed with a BCC (basal cell carcinoma) and it's natural to be worried. I think you might benefit from having a look through this information from Macmillan about managing anxiety as it gives ways to cope.

BCCs are the most common form of skin cancer accounting for 80% of all skin cancers in the UK. They are usually caused by exposure to the sun or by using sunbeds.

The good thing about them is that they are usually cured with simple surgery and very rarely spread. It's quite normal for surgery to remove them to be a few months after diagnosis because of this.

Edit - I've just realised that you haven't seen a dermatologist yet that it was your GP who has said you have a BCC. Is the appointment in February just a consultation or is it for the removal of the BCC?

x

Hi, my appointment in Feb is for the dermatologist to look at my lesion but the Dr at my GP practice seemed pretty sure it was a bcc.....hence I feel like I'm in a living hell at the moment...I am so worried. 

I have had it for so long, some people will probably think well why didn't you go to the drs sooner?? The thing is I suffered really bad acne when i was younger and bad skin has always plagued me....I just thought I had got another blemish..

I feel stupid. 

X

Please don't feel stupid  as you've done nothing wrong. Instead you have done the the right thing in going to see your GP who has in turn done the right thing in referring you to see a dermatologist. The dermatologist will probably examine your lesion using a dermatoscope which allows them to see it close up. If they think it is a BCC or, as in my case, they're not sure what it is it'll be removed under a local anaesthetic and sent off to the path labs. Usually this happens at another appointment a short time later.

Assuming that it is a BCC and it's all removed with the biopsy excision then you shouldn't need any further treatment. 

You haven't said how old you are but BCCs are generally found in older people as they are usually the result of spending many years in the sun. It is important that you are careful in the sun in future. I was given the following advice when diagnosed with melanoma:

• wear close weave cotton clothing in the sun
• wear long sleeves and trousers/skirts
• wear a hat with a wide brim that shades your face and neck
• wear sunglasses that give 100% UV protection
• use a high factor sunscreen on any bits of exposed skin (SPF 30 or 50 ideally)
• spend time in the shade when the sun is at it's strongest (usually between 11am and 3pm in the UK)
• never sunbathe (or as the Australians say sunbake)

I realised that I needed to overhaul my wardrobe and went on a shopping spree so every cloud has a silver lining!

x

Aw thank you. I am 45 ....I think I'm pretty young to be experiencing this....

I had a dysplastic mole removed several years ago so I am always careful in the sun. It's worrying. X

Yes you are young for a BCC but I understand more young people now get them as we have access to cheap foreign holidays!

Ah, so I was trying to teach you something you're already well aware of in being safe in the sun. 

If you need some help getting to sleep tonight click on my username to read my story.

x

Latchbrook, I know your message was not directed at me but I wanted to respond. I am 41 so am even younger but with blue eyes, red hair, freckles and very pale skin I am extremely high risk. I never went on foreign holidays as a child because my mother has been ill my whole life, I am also very careful in the sun. I always cover up, have a bottle of factor 50 and a hat with me. I have burnt badly on occasion and I think I was 13 or 14 the time I got badly burned where my cancer is now. I have also struggled with anxiety and already feel bad enough at how my husband and young daughter have been impacted. I am not trying to be argumentative and appreciate the advice might be useful for some but the term 'done wrong' and the associated implication that we have brought this on ourselves is upsetting. 

Poppytowers, I know, I am really worried too. But, we know now and we will get anything in the future checked early. Your appointment is a long way off because they are not concerned it is growing or changing at the moment. Try to take it as a good sign even though the wait is terrible. I am being rushed through with everything on two week referrals and I can assure you, it is just as scary and anxiety inducing for different reasons! 

Hi

I'm very sorry that my reply to PoppyTowers upset you. It was never my intention to cause anyone any distress.

I was trying to reassure PoppyTowers that she was not stupid, as she had said, and had done the right thing. However, I can see that my comment about being in the sun could have been misconstrued as having "brought this on ourselves". As someone who was diagnosed with malignant melanoma myself, I'd like to think that I'm the last person to suggest that having cancer is our fault.

I have altered the wording in my reply and hope that the original intended message of not having done any thing wrong is still conveyed.

All the best with your treatment

x

Thanks Latchbrook, I have a lot of 'mum guilt' right now so am probably over sensitive but I appreciate you changing it. 

How are you doing ? I have looked back through your posts and can see that you had an excision to remove a BCC from your forehead, I think. You described it as very tight and uncomfortable a couple of days ago so I'm hoping it's eased since.

Hi PoppyTowers,

It is a horrible shock when they say those words to you. I was diagnosed about 13 months ago and I still remember the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, so I went home and did some reading up. Once I realised that it would remain localised I was able to rationalise things a bit, the downside is that it won't be treated with the same degree of urgency that other cancers will but I found that reassuring while others around me were freaking out about how long things were taking.

My BCC was on the end of my nose and I ignored it because the location it started growing in was somewhere that I'd had a nasty scratch on my nose and when the 'white patch' developed I assumed it was scar tissue, when it kept going scabby I assumed it was because the scar tissue was dry or something from blowing my nose etc....... It was only one evening when I was putting make up on (not something I do every day) and turned towards the light so saw it from a different angle that alarm bells started to ring, even then I didn't think it would be cancer. The strange thing is that once I told my family that I was going to make a Drs appt they all said 'we didn't like to say anything'.

You say you felt stupid, well so did I. I have very fair skin, blue eyes and only need to look at the sun to burn so for the most part have been pretty careful all my life, but do you know why I felt stupid? If I was on holiday, or sitting out in the garden then I would make sure I was either in the shade or had applied copious amounts of sun screen, but I forgot about the every day exposure, the walking round the shops, the walking the dog etc, and it was always my nose that would be red and it didn't even occur to me that I should be putting sun screen on my face every day - well I certainly do now.

So, the road ahead. Well after being diagnosed in October last year, it was decided that the most appropriate option for me would be for the lesion to be removed by MOHS followed by reconstruction. I had my first appt with the Plastic Surgeon in February who explained that because of the location of the lesion and the fact that any graft would probably need to go over the end of my nose I was likely to need a forehead flap reconstruction, which, I was told, is pretty much the worst case scenario for BCC reconstruction. He thought it would take place in March / April but of course we then had lockdown!!! Anyway, after a few ups and downs I had my MOHS surgery on 2nd November and they got all the cancer first go. I then had the reconstruction the following day and will go back next week for the flap separation. 

Reconstruction is a bit of a long game, depending on what type of repair you need (if any) you need to be looking at least 6 months to a year down the road.

This group has been a great help when I've had questions or just want to off load so come back here on a regular basis and you will find others who are going through exactly the same thing as you.

Just take care of yourself and remember that whatever you feel on any given day is fine, it is your minds way of processing what you are going through xxx