[Help] Experiences of Skin Cancer

[Swimboy64]

My mum showed me and Mrs swim a nasty looking lump on her leg when away with her just before Christmas. She said she had been to the Drs,seen a nurse who said it was an infection and gave antibiotics.We both said we thought she should go back which she did and saw a doctor who arranged for her to go for biopsy in early Jan. At that appointment it was diagnosed as a Basel cell Carcinoma which is caused by exposure to the Sun and arranged for it to be removed which happened in early feb at Queen Victoria in East Grinstead. Cut out and a skin graft from the thigh to the removal wound. She is doing fine after a few weeks doing nothing.All clear of any cancer and back to normal
She is 82

 

[Swimboy64]

Wish Mrs WG and you well and try not to worry

 

[kemptown kid]

Adding my best wishes to you and your wife.

 

[LamieRobertson]

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.

As you pointed out BCC’s are quite common and as the OP hadn’t mentioned which one I was /am hoping it’s one of those and if it is then it hopefully will calm the nerves after the word cancer is mentioned …as I’d mentioned in a previous post I’ve had in excess of 25 ‘procedures’ relating to skin cancers including squamous and melanoma…my experiences re waiting times has been more positive than yourself and because of my history I’m in the system to see dermatology at my local hospital for checkups…this helps as I get to see experts rather than a GP …..against that i have had recent and ( currently experiencing)experience of a lengthy waiting time to see MOHS …the ‘system’ itself unnecessarily adding to it.