BCC diagnosis and MOHS

Hi Magz and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.

It sounds like you've been through a great deal with lots of surgeries for suspicious lesions.

I haven't had Mohs surgery, so don't know if you can ask to be sedated, but your hospital team will be able to advise you. I know it's the weekend now but you could phone and speak to your SCNS (skin cancer nurse specialist), if you've been allocated one on Monday or wait to speak to your consultant during the week.

While you're waiting for replies, it would be great if you could pop something about your diagnosis and treatment to date into your profile as it really helps others when replying to you and also when looking for someone on a similar pathway. 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.

Thank you for your most appreciated support. I have given  background to my cancer as suggested and hopefully can interact with others who have been on a similar journey.

Thank you xxx 

Hi, so sorry you are having such a tough time.  I have had a 4 cm infiltrating basal cell cancer removed from my forehead/stroke scalp a week ago.  I had to pay privately for Mohs because the waiting list on the NHS was from end of November.  The lesion was aggressive and had gone right to the bottom layer next to the bone and to the bone in places so if I had not had it removed I might’ve been in serious trouble fairly shortly.  From what you have said I am sure they will give you priority in the waiting list for your surgery.  I can understand  you’re very frightened. I was absolutely terrified and I’m still traumatized by the extent of the wound and the permanent loss of my hair.   Looking at the state of the NHS dermatology in some areas even if you could get someone to agree for you to have a full anesthetic I feel sure that it would increase your waiting time..  if you think about it, people like myself had to wait too long to get any treatment and had to find a large sum of money to pay for it, although it was not easy for me to get that sum of money.  If people who are very frightened, including myself, all wanted an anesthetic, can you imagine the chaos it would call caused to the waiting list in an already chaotic NHS, which is crumbling in many areas.  I have had such a large excision, and I am taking paracetamol three times a day and it is controlling nearly all the discomfort.  I have had worse blood tests than the pricks from  the anaesthetic that was put in.  I had to have two passes and wait two hours between each pass  and then wait another two hours to have a skin graft done and again the graft put in the scalp.  It was a very long day with lots of injections.  If I had waited doing  nothing then the lesion would’ve destroyed my hair follicles anyway and carried on growing possibly into the nerves and the bone on my scalp.  They will always say that the skin cancer will not kill you  but it can start to damage your health and disfigure you when it becomes extensive. I just wish I hadn’t had to find 7000 pounds when I am on a small income and the NHS had been  there for me because it has not been and I feel very let down by it.

I wish you the very best I do hope you can find a way of coping as it is very hard.

I do hope if there are any questions you want to ask then you ask them on here as people are very kind and supportive.  There are a number of people on here that had nose MOHS surgery.

Love to you. I am hoping you are feeling better as time passes and thank you for taking the time to 'chat' to me.

 The added stress of the entire process doesn't help. 

I have my consultation tomorrow so will see what they say. I am anxious  

Hugs and lots of good luck to you.  Do let us know how you get on. 

Update..

I had  my Mohs consultation this morning. I have now got a referral to the plastic surgeon to discuss what they recommend. 
Based on this I will make a decision on whether to proceed. As it’s not life threatening and slow growth Bcc I may postpone everything until the new year. My daughter whom I haven’t seen for a few years and who lives in Australia has very generously booked me a flight to spend two months with her leaving uk in November returning in January.

Meantime the suspect Scc on top right of nose next to corner of my eye is going to be removed very soon as she has put it forward as an urgent procedure. This one has grown rapidly over last couple months. The Mohs surgeon did at first say she would refer me to the ophthalmologist but then changed her mind and she would personally do it which I am very thankful for. She was a really lovely person and made me feel a lot better.