Coping with 'disfigurement' after skin cancer treatment - any words of advice?

Hi GML, I am 2 weeks post MOHs surgery for x2 infiltrative BCC’s on my face; one on my nose and one on my upper lip. Both were 3 years or so old and one is the morphoeic type. My nose currently has a concave appearance where the Bcc was removed and I am already worried about it; my face looks different. There is this sense I feel that the specialists don’t understand the mental impact of one’s face/body being changed for the worse, and that we must just be grateful the cancer is gone. So yes we feel guilty and don’t know where to put our feelings. I don’t really have an answer for you but I do totally empathise. And you are definitely not being shallow.

• I hope you've come to terms with the disfigurement. My husband has a pronounced 'dent ' on the front top of his (bald) head after SCell cancer removal. He's very self conscious about it and mostly wears a hat. He was also given Covermark foundation and setting powder, which disguises it to a degree. You can get it on Amazon (not cheap), but worth a try.

You have put this perfectly , iv had two bcc removal from my face , you can’t help but feel surgeons are thinking practically but not preparing us for what to expect after . It’s left me feeling horrendous . They say they are slow growing  . Could it have been left for another 10 years if that’s the case … I’m completely besides myself with my appearance. No info given prior to surgery .

Hi jbk, I will be having MOHs surgery on my nose this year and wondered how your recovery is going, now 8 months on? Like everyone else, I am very scared of what I am going to look like post surgery, after the flap procedure. 

Hi Midday58.

8 months on I am pretty satisfied with the outcome of the MOH’s surgery. I still have a slight indent on my nose but the scar is neat and with light foundation nobody can see it. My upper lip was the more tricky and once again very slight change in the lip shape but the scarring barely there. I did put on silicone gel morning and night for three months. Also massaging the lip was key (bit more difficult to massage the nose!).

I was scared too but feel so much happier now.

Thank you for the quick reply. I’m glad to hear that your recovery is going well. I am having my procedure in September and was pretty much writing off the rest of the year to hibernate and recover. Reading your response has given me hope that I might not need to do that.