Hi.
I have recently been diagnosed with a BCC lacrimal. It started as a wart between my eye and bridge of the nose. It is quite near the eye. It was diagnosed by my optician whom I saw after about a year's gap. (we all know why) The wart has been present for about 2 years and for the last 6 months has developed the classic signs of BCC, ( a crusty trough in the middle)
Yesterday I saw a consultant who told me about the procedures and how surgery was the best option and I might need reconstruction etc. All this is fine as it is what I expected.
What I did not expect is him telling me sometimes it can grow into the eye or the brain but this is very rare and then went on to say the wait would be about a year because there is only one dermatologist doing this surgery in East Kent.
So now I have gone from being quite philosophical to being freaked.
I can try a different health authority but it would probably mean travel and I am 70 and not in the best of health. Also I think waiting lists are likely to be the same everywhere.
I wondered if anyone has experience like this and I understand BCC is slow growing but a year seems a very long time.
Grateful for any advice or experiences.
Sue
Hi Sue and a very warm welcome to the skin cancer group
I'm sorry to read how long a wait there might be for surgery to remove a BCC that involves the lacrimal. I have no personal experience with BCC there but have just had a suspected BCC removed from my chest so do understand the emotions you're probably going through.
It sounds like it needs a specialist to perform the type of surgery you need but a year does sound like a long time to have to wait. I don't know what your finances are like but you could investigate how much it might cost to have it removed privately if you feel uncomfortable about waiting for a year. Sometimes these types of operations aren't as expensive as we think they might be.
If it's possible for you to take a cancellation at short notice you could tell your hospital this and they might be able to put you on a waiting list for cancellations.
I have only found one previous post which mentions lacrimal involvement. If you click on the link it'll take you straight to it. You could reply to the post if you wanted to ask the posters any more questions but they might no longer be members of the community as the post is over 4 years old.
It would be great if you could update your profile with your diagnosis and proposed treatment plan as it really helps others when answering or looking for someone with a similar diagnosis. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Profile'. You can amend it at any time and if you're not sure what to write you can take a look at mine by clicking on my username.
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"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
