Glad you had it relatively easy. I had the same done 2 months ago, the surgery taking off the size of a penny off the tip of my nose, followed by a forehead skin flap graft cutting off the skin from the nose bridge to the top of the forehead 1/2 in wide. Amazing! Next surgery in 6 months to thin the graft out.
Thank you for your videos. They’re bringing me some comfort. I just had a spot removed yesterday and sent for a biopsy. The dermatologist is quite certain it’s basal cell. I now wait about a week to hear if it’s cancer or not. I’m just sick about this. When the dermatologist said the words “basal cell carcinoma” it took the air right out of my lungs. I left the office just sobbing. I’m going nuts thinking there are possibly more cancer cells in the area they biopsied. And of course I’m playing the “what if it’s worse than basal cell?” game. Waiting and worrying will really put you in a dark place. Thanks for the videos. They helped me today. Wishing you all the best.
Oh Eleanor, I'm so sorry to hear that you're going through this! I completely understand what a scary time it is, and especially when you're in that waiting period with a mind that's filled with "what ifs". I also understand the feeling of wondering if other cancer cells are lingering. I had a complete skin check right after my surgery, where the doctor found several pre-cancerous spots that he froze off, and also found three other spots to surgically remove. Since then, I've switched to a different dermatologist (I kind of wanted a second opinion, and I didn't love the first doctor...I felt that he didn't take time to make me feel comfortable and informed). I had another complete skin check a couple weeks ago with the new doctor, and she was great. She showed me what kinds of things to look for, showed me what kinds of things are nothing to worry about, and she was up front about the fact that since I've had this happen once at a relatively young age, it's likely to happen again, so I need to know what to watch for. I felt a lot more informed and empowered after that visit (and she froze a few more spots.) So from now on I'll have skin checks every 6-12 months or so, to make sure I catch any future problems as soon as possible. I also had a regular physical with blood work, to ease my mind and be sure there was nothing else going on to worry about! I'll be sending prayers that everything works out well for you! It's scary right now, I know!
Holy crap, treatment obviously varies widely! I'm in Canada and I had squamous cell carcinoma on my ear two years ago, but my treatment is hugely different than yours. A repeatedly bleeding sore on my ear got me referred to a dermatologist, who froze my ear and removed the bleeding tissue, including "the root". Biopsy came back positive for squamous cell cancer, so there was a high-priority visit back to the dermatologist to assess things, but that's been it. No turning a small sore into a dime-sized skin removal. No skin grafts. No follow-up treatments or assessments. Not sure if your treatment was overdone, or mine was underdone, or if both were reasonable given the specific circumstances. But it sure was two different treatments! That was two years ago for me...
Yes, I think the treatments definitely vary case by case. My cancerous cells turned out to extend further and deeper than they could see on the surface, so the wound ended up being much bigger than the visible spot. And from what I understand, the skin grafting was because of the tip of my nose location. In other areas of the body, they can sometimes just pinch the skin together and stitch it shut, but there isn't any extra skin on the nose to do that with. :) I'm glad that my process, which was a relatively big deal for a little spot on the nose, turned out well and healed up nicely. Always interesting to hear about others' experiences!
@Who63 I must agree unfortunately! Because I would have had to wait over a year for surgery in BC, I had to fly 3 times to Alberta at my own expense. Several thousand dollars later, I struggled to get anyone in BC to remove my stitches!
Glad you had it relatively easy. I had the same done 2 months ago, the surgery taking off the size of a penny off the tip of my nose, followed by a forehead skin flap graft cutting off the skin from the nose bridge to the top of the forehead 1/2 in wide. Amazing! Next surgery in 6 months to thin the graft out.
Thank you for your videos. They’re bringing me some comfort. I just had a spot removed yesterday and sent for a biopsy. The dermatologist is quite certain it’s basal cell. I now wait about a week to hear if it’s cancer or not. I’m just sick about this. When the dermatologist said the words “basal cell carcinoma” it took the air right out of my lungs. I left the office just sobbing. I’m going nuts thinking there are possibly more cancer cells in the area they biopsied. And of course I’m playing the “what if it’s worse than basal cell?” game. Waiting and worrying will really put you in a dark place.
Thanks for the videos. They helped me today. Wishing you all the best.
Oh Eleanor, I'm so sorry to hear that you're going through this! I completely understand what a scary time it is, and especially when you're in that waiting period with a mind that's filled with "what ifs". I also understand the feeling of wondering if other cancer cells are lingering.
I had a complete skin check right after my surgery, where the doctor found several pre-cancerous spots that he froze off, and also found three other spots to surgically remove. Since then, I've switched to a different dermatologist (I kind of wanted a second opinion, and I didn't love the first doctor...I felt that he didn't take time to make me feel comfortable and informed). I had another complete skin check a couple weeks ago with the new doctor, and she was great. She showed me what kinds of things to look for, showed me what kinds of things are nothing to worry about, and she was up front about the fact that since I've had this happen once at a relatively young age, it's likely to happen again, so I need to know what to watch for. I felt a lot more informed and empowered after that visit (and she froze a few more spots.) So from now on I'll have skin checks every 6-12 months or so, to make sure I catch any future problems as soon as possible.
I also had a regular physical with blood work, to ease my mind and be sure there was nothing else going on to worry about! I'll be sending prayers that everything works out well for you! It's scary right now, I know!
Holy crap, treatment obviously varies widely! I'm in Canada and I had squamous cell carcinoma on my ear two years ago, but my treatment is hugely different than yours. A repeatedly bleeding sore on my ear got me referred to a dermatologist, who froze my ear and removed the bleeding tissue, including "the root". Biopsy came back positive for squamous cell cancer, so there was a high-priority visit back to the dermatologist to assess things, but that's been it. No turning a small sore into a dime-sized skin removal. No skin grafts. No follow-up treatments or assessments. Not sure if your treatment was overdone, or mine was underdone, or if both were reasonable given the specific circumstances. But it sure was two different treatments! That was two years ago for me...
Yes, I think the treatments definitely vary case by case. My cancerous cells turned out to extend further and deeper than they could see on the surface, so the wound ended up being much bigger than the visible spot. And from what I understand, the skin grafting was because of the tip of my nose location. In other areas of the body, they can sometimes just pinch the skin together and stitch it shut, but there isn't any extra skin on the nose to do that with. :) I'm glad that my process, which was a relatively big deal for a little spot on the nose, turned out well and healed up nicely. Always interesting to hear about others' experiences!
Canada has the worst health care.
I suppose the only real way to compare would be outcome. Mohs surgery in the US has a 97-100% cure rate in the U.S.
@Who63 I must agree unfortunately! Because I would have had to wait over a year for surgery in BC, I had to fly 3 times to Alberta at my own expense. Several thousand dollars later, I struggled to get anyone in BC to remove my stitches!
@@jazzcats1000Sorry you had such crap treatment. I'm in Europe and where I am sounds like the same don't give a sh#t doctors. I prayed for you.
Just had my done last week
I had it 8 different times on my face.scc
She pretty 😍