Basal Cell Carcinoma

[Oldbabe]

I have had two basel cells removed. The first was a red dot surrounded by a faint red circle on the back of my calf. Didn't look like any picture of a basel cell I've ever seen. It was tiny and easily removed.

The second was a pink bump on my chest. Easily removed and left a hardly noticeable scar.

Follow up was a full body check every six months for a year then with no further problems, a check every year. The problem became my paranoia because every weird looking skin thing prompted me to go back to the dermatologist! The first year was very expensive indeed.

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

It is VERY treatable, and it's likely that the removal is the only treatment you'll need. However, you're now considered higher risk for all skin cancers (including melanoma), as are your parents, siblings and children (at least, according to the skin cancer society's web page).

Thanks, Urchin. I did not know that.

I had a basal cell thingy chopped off my ear. My barber brought it to my attention. He said that they are trained to notice such things. (And we thought licensing barbers was hocum!)

[Buckeye]

I received the test results today when I got my stitches out. The mole was actually an age spot and the bumpy thing next to the age spot (looked wart-ish to me) was a nevus. Nothing abnormal but I am very glad they are both gone! They made me paranoid. They were at my hairline at my temple and I saw them whenever I looked in the mirror.

[DangerMouse]

Buckeye, glad to hear that your bumps came back as negative. It is always better to be safe than sorry.

I had my Mohs surgery earlier this week. I am the proud owner of 8 stitches on my forehead. I feel fortunate with the location of my boo-boo, as the other patients getting treated at the same time as myself seemed to be having parts of their noses and around their mouths hacked off.

All I can say is everyone should remain vigilant and never be too scared to haul yourself off to a dermatologist to get those suspicious spots out. I am sure that my case was so easily treated because I was quick to find it.

[A854321]

Now that you've had one basal cell, you should be vigilant for more basal cells or other small skin cancers crop up as time goes on. It seems like once the skin's defenses fail to get rid of a basal cell, the field effect allows other skin growths to continue.

Best thing to do is to make sure and wear serious sun protective lotion faithfully - including sun protective lip balms, start covering up in the sun ( arms, ears, neck) and wear a hat.

[Khan]

Originally Posted by A854321

Now that you've had one basal cell, you should be vigilant for more basal cells or other small skin cancers crop up as time goes on. It seems like once the skin's defenses fail to get rid of a basal cell, the field effect allows other skin growths to continue.

Best thing to do is to make sure and wear serious sun protective lotion faithfully - including sun protective lip balms, start covering up in the sun ( arms, ears, neck) and wear a hat.

Slip-Slop-Slap - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Rich_in_Tampa]

The current mystery is whether sun blocking simply does not reduce the incidence of melanoma, or whether using them gives people a false sense of safety, so they allow themselves to stay in the sun longer, thereby negating the protective benefits of the various sun blocking efforts.

[Buckeye]

The sun can't have anything to do with the "between the toes" moles becoming cancerous. I know there is virtually no sun getting in there! What kind of cancers are those? Different than the ones on the tips of the ears?

Isn't the incidence of skin cancer increasing as we are increasing our use of sunblocks? I think Rich has a good point about feeling "safe" and spending too much time in the sun.

[Rich_in_Tampa]

Originally Posted by Buckeye

The sun can't have anything to do with the "between the toes" moles becoming cancerous. I know there is virtually no sun getting in there! What kind of cancers are those? Different than the ones on the tips of the ears?

Isn't the incidence of skin cancer increasing as we are increasing our use of sunblocks? I think Rich has a good point about feeling "safe" and spending too much time in the sun.

I see lots of melanoma patients at work, unfortunately. Skin cancer is commonly described among oncologists as melanoma or non-melanoma (basal cell, squamous cell and a few other rare birds). The relationship with UV is not as clear with melanoma as it is with the others. If I had a pigmented lesion between my toes I'd have it checked. They can also occur under the nail, and sometimes they present as badly metastatic disease elsewhere in the body, with the primary skin melanoma never identified.

Sitting in the shade near sunny locations still exposes you, so I recommend both sunscreen and shade. These clothes andn similar brands are good, too.

[DangerMouse]

I've refrained from baking myself for years, have always slathered myself with sunblock. However, this latest little nasty was actually in my hairline on my temple, a place where I would never apply sunblock due to it messing up my hair. Makes me realise how vulnerable my scalp and the rest of my head is.

[TromboneAl]

A few minutes ago DW got the test results showing the same thing on her nose. She'll go in for surgery tomorrow.

[DangerMouse]

T-Al, all the best to your wife, hope they manage to get the little buggar first time around so she doesn't have to waste all day waiting around. Does the Dr think that he got it early? Was it something your wife found or was it an annual check?

[TromboneAl]

I'll know more after today.

Was it something your wife found or was it an annual check?

I suggested that she mention it to our GP when visiting him for something else. He didn't think it warranted further investigation (this may be last strike for him). I then convinced DW to go to a dermatologist.

Should our GP have caught it? I have to admit that it didn't look that unusual -- just like a normal little skin bump.

[Rich_in_Tampa]

Originally Posted by TromboneAl

I'll know more after today.
Should our GP have caught it? I have to admit that it didn't look that unusual -- just like a normal little skin bump.

Tough call, Al. It's a balance between sending every patient with any dot to a dermatologist for expensive and unpleasant biopsies, versus missing the one here and there that does really need attention.

However, if your GP chose to watch and wait (not unreasonable in many cases) it is imperative to instruct the patient that there is a small chance that this is an easily treated early skin cancer, so watch it closely and if there is any change of any sort, call me for a referral. That's what I do; it is usually nothing, and patients do indeed call from time to time -- it's a little bigger, redder, tender, itchy, whatever -- and I refer. I have yet to have any serious problems with that approach.

Note that I am not referring to possible melanomas or aggresive squamous cell cancer, just to those that look like pre-cancers of the "actinic" type (basal cell, small squamous cell) and are quite small. I also refer faster if they are near the eyelids, and for a few other specific issues.