[Help] Experiences of Skin Cancer

[Gordon the Gopher]

I had a BCC removed a few years ago at Brighton General. Remember they kind of scraped it off but also remember being told it was cancer and although not serious that word is so powerful you do brick it.

 

[LamieRobertson]

It really depends which type it is… BCC, SCC, malignant melanoma, T-cell, etc…

The treatment is dependant on which one, the first three would be treated locally, anything more complex will go to a tertiary centre in London.

I have had one, which was just removed……

That first bit is my question

Not proud to say but I’ve had in excess of 25 ‘procedures’ ….i’m in the pipeline for another ..and I know I’ve potentially got another couple that I’ll be bringing to the dermatologist’s attention when I see them later in the month.

As well as what type, I guess it’s also where they are that might concern your wife, although I have to say they are very good with this stuff these days ….most scary moment for me was a mole that had turned to a malignant melanoma and I was referred to the MacMillan nurse at the hospital I went to …gulp I thought …anyway all early stage and all sorted …once the locals are given you don’t feel a thing….important bit is to get it all sorted ASAP

If you went to Southlands last time you might find yourself referred to the Worthing laser and skin clinic for the actual procedure…all good in my experience.

All the best

 

[Bombardier]

So been a pretty shitty week at WS Towers. Lost my job on Tuesday but then to cap it, Mrs WS comes back from the doctor with suspected skin cancer diagnosed. The real kicker is of course I no longer have access to my, now ex-employer's, private medical services.

Anyway, despite the doctor's assurances, Mrs WS is shitting it as most of us would having heard the big 'C' word. Currently waiting for an appointment with a consultant.

Does anyone have any experience of having skin cancer ? What's the process ? What's the treatment like ?

I have been previously treated for Basel cell carcinoma and it’s back. Awaiting treatment. Please don’t despair as they have been very good with their care for me. Shitty news on the job, I hope you get fixed up soon.

 

[cjd]

So been a pretty shitty week at WS Towers. Lost my job on Tuesday but then to cap it, Mrs WS comes back from the doctor with suspected skin cancer diagnosed. The real kicker is of course I no longer have access to my, now ex-employer's, private medical services.

Anyway, despite the doctor's assurances, Mrs WS is shitting it as most of us would having heard the big 'C' word. Currently waiting for an appointment with a consultant.

Does anyone have any experience of having skin cancer ? What's the process ? What's the treatment like ?

There are a couple of responses on this thread ( particularly One Teddy May bank and Lammie Robertson ) that are well worth reading again. Not for your wife to read but for you.

It's bloody scary the first time the suggestion of cancer is made to you. Nothing and no-one will alleviate those fears for your wife until she sees a consultant, which will hopefully be within 14 days. Your task is a difficult one of treading the fine line of supporting her, understanding her and being positive too. I don't envy either of you for the next fortnight....but it will pass.

Like so many on here have said ( almost without exception, of any self-pitying or glorification ), a positive outcome on this sort of thing is very very very very very very high !

Good luck to you both . I will lookout for good news from you.

PS: From personal experience ,locally, I think the NHS is f*****g brilliant on this subject.

 

[FatSuperman]

As per many of the other posts, it is usually not a complicated process - although this of course depends where it is and how long your wife has had it.

I had some cancer removed from my eye lid, which definitely upped the complexities as it needed a specialist surgeon (went to East Grinstead). But once down, heals well and pretty much not noticeable. I mean, I’m devastatingly handsome* anyway, so people are usually just stunned so much that they don’t notice.

Fingers crossed that it’s all very straightforward for Mrs WS. And good luck with the job hunt - what industry do you work in?

Fats x


*bald and flabby

 

[The Fits]

I've actually woken up today noticing something in a very hard to reach/see place on my thigh. I had very bad sun burn as a kid so it was always a possibility. Trying to get to see someone now.

 

[jcdenton08]

Just to wish everyone going through treatment a speedy recovery and positive vibes.

 

[Weststander]

Yes.

Ensure that your wife is on the fast track route to be dealt with at Brighton General, even now it’s fantastic at two weeks.

I discovered by chance that post pandemic there’s effectively a 12 months stream too, where a disbelieving or overly relaxed GP deems it low risk.

All the best.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Fingers crossed that it’s all very straightforward for Mrs WS. And good luck with the job hunt - what industry do you work in?

Fats x


*bald and flabby

Thank you handsome man ! Work in IT management - mainly networks and cloud.

 

[warmleyseagull]

I'll try not to repeat too much of what others have said. I had malignant melanoma in 2003; Our youngest son died of malignant melanoma aged 27 in 2017; my sister aged 55 in 2007. Since her death we have discovered we have Familial Acquired Malignant Melanoma Syndrome (FAMMS), very rare disposition to MM due to genetic defect but other sons are regularly checked. One has had 9 moles (some MM) removed.

Ours is about as bad as it gets, but don't panic! I'm fine as are our other sons as it was caught early. MM is a cancer of extremes: easy to spot early and treat because it is visible, but one of the deadliest if left. Your wife may have BCC, in which case it will be removed perhaps leaving a scar, but that will be that for that primary; BCC does not spread (but others can appear). MM is more serious. There are various thicknesses; treatment will always be surgery in first case. There are treatments thereafter, but not worth looking at those until more is known.

Best wishes.

 

[US Seagull]

A lot depends on the type. I had one removed a few years back and it really was no big deal. It wasn't melanoma which is the one that can get really out of hand if not caught early, but I don't remember exactly what they called it. I'd gone to the dermatologist for some something completely unrelated and he took a look at something on my temple and didn't like the look of it. It was biopsied and he came back to me a little later to say it was cancer and would need to be removed.

I had Mohs surgery and it wasn't bad at all. They divide up the lesion, cut it out then take it away to exam it. If the margins aren't clean, they come back and flay you some more until they are satisfied. I think they only took one, or maybe two goes to decided they got it. Then a little more trimming so they could close it up and I was done. Hardly and scar left. You really have to squint to see it. I've been having regular six month check ups ever since where they routinely mumble about something being "precancerous" and then freeze it off with liquid nitrogen. All good fun.

I was talking to a nurse at a different doctor a few month back and she said she'd had Mohs for a lesion on her eyelid which I'm sure was a lot more unpleasant than my experience.

Anyway, best wishes to you and your wife and I hope hers is one of the easy ones too.

 

[LamieRobertson]

A lot depends on the type. I had one removed a few years back and it really was no big deal. It wasn't melanoma which is the one that can get really out of hand if not caught early, but I don't remember exactly what they called it. I'd gone to the dermatologist for some something completely unrelated and he took a look at something on my temple and didn't like the look of it. It was biopsied and he came back to me a little later to say it was cancer and would need to be removed.

I had Mohs surgery and it wasn't bad at all. They divide up the lesion, cut it out then take it away to exam it. If the margins aren't clean, they come back and flay you some more until they are satisfied. I think they only took one, or maybe two goes to decided they got it. Then a little more trimming so they could close it up and I was done. Hardly and scar left. You really have to squint to see it. I've been having regular six month check ups ever since where they routinely mumble about something being "precancerous" and then freeze it off with liquid nitrogen. All good fun.

I was talking to a nurse at a different doctor a few month back and she said she'd had Mohs for a lesion on her eyelid which I'm sure was a lot more unpleasant than my experience.

Anyway, best wishes to you and your wife and I hope hers is one of the easy ones too.

Probably a basal cell carcinoma ..slow growing and they don’t spread thought the body …I went to MOHS last August for my latest ..first class treatment..mind you I laughed at the suggested 2 weeks off ..ain’t going to happen

 

[chip]

I've actually woken up today noticing something in a very hard to reach/see place on my thigh. I had very bad sun burn as a kid so it was always a possibility. Trying to get to see someone now.

I noticed an irritable mole type thing on my back in the bath on Friday night which I can't see and this thread was somewhat serendipitous. It took me less time to get a GP appointment than a motorbike MOT this morning which surprised me as I thought the NHS had fallen apart. Maybe receptionists are good at filtering things that need a timely intervention. I did think that a Spire/Nuffield/BUPA GP at aroung £90 would be worth paying but perhaps not. Good luck and I hope it's nothing.

 

[The Mole]

I noticed an irritable mole type thing on my back in the bath on Friday night which I can't see and this thread was somewhat serendipitous. It took me less time to get a GP appointment than a motorbike MOT this morning which surprised me as I thought the NHS had fallen apart. Maybe receptionists are good at filtering things that need a timely intervention. I did think that a Spire/Nuffield/BUPA GP at aroung £90 would be worth paying but perhaps not. Good luck and I hope it's nothing.

Hopefully it’s ok - I had a suspicious mole - got it checked by the dermatologist at the same time she was checking my SCC - that one turned out to be harmless

 

[Machiavelli]

So been a pretty shitty week at WS Towers. Lost my job on Tuesday but then to cap it, Mrs WS comes back from the doctor with suspected skin cancer diagnosed. The real kicker is of course I no longer have access to my, now ex-employer's, private medical services.

Anyway, despite the doctor's assurances, Mrs WS is shitting it as most of us would having heard the big 'C' word. Currently waiting for an appointment with a consultant.

Does anyone have any experience of having skin cancer ? What's the process ? What's the treatment like ?

So sorry to hear this. I hope the responses on this thread have helped with what to do. Stay strong.

 

[Zeberdi]

Probably a basal cell carcinoma ..slow growing and they don’t spread thought the body …I went to MOHS last August for my latest ..first class treatment..mind you I laughed at the suggested 2 weeks off ..ain’t going to happen

BCCs are very common (8 out of 10 skin cancers are BCCs) and as you say, don’t metastasise or at least extremely rarely and are very slow growing - often an appointment to get them removed can take up to 18 months - they are not a high risk cancer fortunately but should be removed because they can grow into surrounding tissue/bone and the larger it is the higher the risk of disfigurement. Often if you have had one though , they can keep popping up elsewhere.

However, apart from Melanomas, skin cancers also include squamous cell carcinoma which certainly can spread quickly depending on where it is (ie infiltrate blood vessel or lymph node) - after I had a melanoma removed, the next one was a fast growing SCC tumour a few months later very near to a major blood vessel next to my eye - it was removed within a few days of the biopsy in the 2 week referral. The NHS is pretty good at prioritising cancers I’ve found.

Most growths on skin are benign though so people shouldn’t panic if their skin/moles start changing or growths start appearing - just get it checked out by a GP. Be aware not all GPs are experienced in skin cancer recognition so should refer you to a dermatologist unless he/she is absolutely sure it is benign (I was given antibiotic cream for one squamous cell tumour until I went back a few weeks later and insisted on another appointment with a different GP)

What Are Basal and Squamous Cell Skin Cancers? | Types of Skin Cancer

Basal and squamous cell skin cancer are types of skin cancer that are found on the outer layer of the skin. Learn more about basal and squamous cell skin cancer here.

www.cancer.org

Please keep us updated @Westdene Seagull and let us know the outcome - these medical related threads are often very helpful for others too so thank you.

 

[Greenbag50]

From all the posts encouraging and providing positive news is a good thing.
All the best to you both and there are very few people who can’t say they haven’t been affected by cancer in their lifetime.
There’s a lot of positive news and treatments available. My Dad is one such recipient.
Keep your collective chin up x

 

[Peacehaven Wild Kids]

Mrs has had one removed in the last year within two months of diagnosis. The second one has taken over a year to be done but has been told to rest assured that the time frame is safe for the second one. (She’s going under the hammer on the day of the Roma home match)

The thing is they don’t just hack it off with a scalpel like removing blu tack from a window frame, they go in very deep which was a worry for the first one as it was below the eye where there isn’t much flesh between the skin and the top of the cheek bone. Anyhoo all was well with the first one (touch wood) so she’s not anticipating any long term drama with the second one, However like I said, they go in deep so she won’t be spotted out for a week or so.

Good luck to the OPs wife and indeed anyone else going through it.

 

[Petunia]

A lot of people here suffer, mostly for not putting protection on skin when playing out as kids.
Regularly see them at the bar with plasters on, or wearing dressings where growths have been removed.

It’s true, so many of my Aussie friends regularly have them removed.
One friend has just had his 52nd one removed. He lived in the outback as a child and spent the majority of his life outside without sunscreen.

 

[casbom]

My experience was quite weird really, as being a kid born in the Seventies, we didn't have sun cream to use and instead my Mum made a concoction of vinegar and olive oil to put onto my skin to help get a tan! Anyway when I was 27 I had just finished a game of Squash and was getting dressed in the changing room when this random guy says to me that I should get a mole checked out on my back, he said it looked ragged and he told me about his mole that he had checked out. I wasn't going to take is advice but felt compelled to do so. Once I saw the Dermatologist he said yes we should take out that mole and then he checked my arms and legs and said we should also take out a mole on my right arm.

Once the results were back in he said the mole on my back was fine, however the one he took out of my arm was a malignant melanoma! Also said the cut they made, it was dangerous up to the edge of it, so needed to take more off from my arm. Thankfully that worked.

I've had a few moles removed over the years but all clear, I do think back though and wonder whether I would still be here today if that bloke didn't say anything to me. So please people, check your moles for any irregularity and check your loved ones. Also use sun screen (not home made stuff!).