Mum has squamous cell carcinoma

Hi , I've been looking over different forums and wanted to post just to speak to and hear from others in my situation or similar . My mum had a mole on her face that grew slightly so we went to the doctors and then the hospital where she had a punch biopsy . Results came back it is squamous cell only on the top layer of skin . She has been prescribed a chemotherapy cream called efudix which will apparently get rid of the remaining part within around 4 weeks . I am just worried as this is my mum I know people have said don't worry it can be worse but that brings little comfort unfortunately . I am just super worried it will spread as there's always that chance with anything . I'm hoping to hear from others who have experienced this or had a family/friend use this method and whether it was effective or not .

  • Hello Chlo12 and a warm welcome to Cancer Chat, 

    I am sorry to hear about your mum's diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma. I hope that the chemotherapy cream works wonders for her and we have information on our our website on chemotherapy cream for skin cancer

    There is information on our website on SCC on this page and it mentions that "SCCs don't often spread. If they do, it's most often to the deeper layers of the skin. They can spread to nearby lymph nodes and other parts of the body, but this is unusual."

    I hope this will reassure you a little but feel free to give our cancer nurses a call and talk to them about your worries. You can call our nurses on this free number 0808 800 4040 - their line is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. 

    Hopefully you will hear from others who have had a similar diagnosis before and received treatment with the chemotherapy cream and they will be along to share their experience with you. I hope your mum recovers well and fully soon!

    Best wishes, 

    Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator