Dealing With the Scar after BCC removal

Hi Nikki

Bit late and tired so may not give all info but briefly want to agree with Amy and say it is a shock to your system and it all catches up with you It did for me post op too. it is i  ok to feel angry etc as seems part of course I did and was taking it out on myself " if ONLY I had gone to GP sooner etc etc" Once stitches out I was on my own and didn't know what to do as nobody gave any advice other than rub E45 on scar and last thing I wanted to do was THAT as it was still 'raw' tho officially healed ie stitches out, so I didn't start scar treatment til week four and then gently.

re FEEELINGS my GP suggested I contact NHS 24 for CBT as  can get it straight away whereas 14-16/52 wait for face to face con. You could try that You don't need a GP referral.

I also went to local Mac place and got ex makeup girls experienced in skin cancer too who helped me twice  to apply line filler  and camouflage then make up etc which does help and others tell me it is not as bad as I feel [ tho I still feel it IS bad!] as its right on end of my nose [ pale skin of graft from inner upper arm so quite diff to rest of nose and face which makes it worse ]. I am practising putting it on and it's getting better..

I am going to get proper camouflage make up base which can get on ebay Amazon etc to try Just google it But I think you need to be a bit furtherhr on scar recovery -wise before you use it. I anyway even now at 11/52 remove make up form nose area as soon as I get in house [ use gentle facial wipes] and apply moisturising cream.

SunSense factor 50 is main sun cream rec [ or similar] as has UVA & UVB protection You can get it in John Lewis £15 or so a tube though some folk on here get it prescribed so ask GP. Need apply 1teasoonful to head and neck.

I tell people I have a skin graft repair due to skin cancer and feel it helps me come to terms with it and mebbe educates others to take sun protective measures!

Hope this helps. Be kind to yourself . It is getting  a bit easier for me now but I ma not there yet at all.I symapthise!

x femdo

Hi Amy & Femdo,

Thank you for all your advise, im dreading going back to work, I work in a busy office, many of my close friends at work know about my skin cancer , but its now letting them see the scar!!  my husband has said its not that bad at all, but of course he will say this as his my hubby and he loves me :)  my boys haven't really said that much after we sat them down and just said mummy has to have a mole removed from her face and will have to have an operation and will have black eyes and stitches for a little while, when I came home from hospital they looked at me and said " oh mummy, are you ok " lol , bless them. xx

Did you find that you got pangs of panic, " OH NO I HAVE ANOTHER ONE" Im going through this atm, the one under my left eye is starting to drive me mental ! I also await the biopsy results from the punch biopsy on my nose, if that's positive that's another surgery ill have to have .

Femdo, what's  NHS 24 - CBT ? not sure what this is ?

Would yous know if I can have any other treatments instead of surgery all the time , I've heard of radiotherapy or a cream?

Stitches are due out on Thursday, then shall I start my scar treatment ?  I hope it heals nicely as its right on my face under my eye, on my cheek bone area.

Thank you again for all your help & support .

Nikki R  xxx

Hi Nikki

Sorry thought should have spelt out CBT but I was tired as had folks around for drinks [ one of my coping strategies after about week 3-4 is to try to do normal pre-op things]CBT is a form of talking /behavioural therapy which  helps you to talk to a professional and feel free to  express your feelings which family and friends you [ or I anyway] don't want to hear or  /and cant cope with themselves. I found that anyway. Reassurances company and so on from them is great but CBT can help you professionally. I filled in an on line form on NHS 24 website The cbt  is by phone. See how you feel about it as it's not for everyone.  Ask your GP for any other help available.

I felt and still do that I didn't want to face [ literally!] anyone either. In first four weeks I opted out of any social things I could. AT early stage of post stitches nurse gave me nice gel based sterile dressings I used to  cut to size [ mine is a round 10 p piece size so tricky] and stick lightly with flesh coloured micropore and this helped me when I was out as I had a dressing rather than a scar on view.  You aren't supposed to have a dressing on after sutures out so I took the dressing off once home,phew what a relief and then went to the Mac make up folk for help as mentioned earlier.

I also found this site helpful as i t made me feel less alone and that what I was going through was normal even though I felt it was really not a major  op. It was /is much more than I bargained for as everyone here also seems to experience.

I DID try to go to things after 4 weeks but felt very self conscious  so I do empathise with you. All I can say is as always time heals and so be patient with yourself and just do what you feel up to etc

Sorry I can't say anything about possible other BCC sites as at mo anyway I am not aware of any thankfully however can well understand your distress at your possible lesions so again see GP

I know other treatments are creams and radiotherapy and for small early lesions creams or a kind of photo light treatment may be used, but you will need to see what your GP/Dermatologist /others treating you rec.

always happy to say more if it helps but have to get on now Enjoy your day!

x femdor

Hi Lucy,

I hope you get your op date soon Sorry to hear your going through this too :(  its crap isn't it !  

The operation wasn't that bad tbh, I had a great team of surgeons working with me, I had a local , so was awake the whole time , eeekkk , but honestly I thought it would have been a lot worse than it was. Just kept focused and kept saying to my self , " it will be cut out soon " and that got me through the op.

I do think the word " Cancer " is sooo scary, and I just go into melt down when I think about it !!

Have you had yours long ? I had mine about a yr, so im hoping they have taken a good margin around it so they have got it all, as I have heard, sometimes they have to go in again :( if margins are not clear.

Its hard with the children isn't it, my boys are 12 & 6 , they are very clever boys too !! ( im praying the 12 yrs old hasn't clocked on ) .

I was lucky in 1 respect as my Dermatologist took one look under the dermoscope and told me straight away its a BCC, I also have on my nose possible SCC, this has had punch biopsy on , if so more surgery. 

I be honest I think id cope better if it wasn't on my face !

Anyway, thank you for your reply, its great to talk to people who are going through this too,

im here for you too xxx

god bless,

Take Care

Nikki R xxx

Hi

I know its not nice to have a scar anywhere but especially on your face. I have a big one and lost alot of my top lip due to emergency removal off scc on xmas eve. 7 months on scar looking better even though its very tight still on and above my lip, surgeon stretched it last week which was uncomfotrable and has to be stretched each time on my 3 month check ups. But hey !! We are all fortunate to be here. I look at my scar even though its not what I like but I hold my shoulders high and say to myself " it's a scar of survival" chin up and be posative xx love and strength to all.

Hi Kerry,

               You have come a long way since last Christmas. It hasn't been a picnic, I'm sure - but you're still here, and still got plenty of attitude, and that's great to hear!

As you say, a scar isn't what you want to see, but you are still here to see it.

You should be proud of the way you've faced (and beaten) your cancer. Good on yer!

With Very Best Wishes,

LuckyBoy.

I have been using dermalmd scar serum on my three year old daughter's forehead scar for about a month and a half. The scar hasn't completely disappears as yet but as the days progress, it is becoming less and less visible. I am still using my first tube..but I needed share my story. I thought that there may not have been an option for making the scar go away without surgery.