Myself, husband and father have all had BCCs removed, we all spent a lot of time outdoors for work and pleasure, so probably was the cause.

Husband and father have had several BCCs removed, father two last week.

The surgeons are usually very good and try to hide the surgery as much as possible and will use a skin crease if they can.

im sure if you tell your surgeon about your concerns they will do their best to try and minimise the appearance. They also advise about aftercare to minimise the scarring, which is usually very small.

Hope you get sorted out soon

Hi JA60, thanks for sharing your experience. I’m glad it’s worked out well for you and your family. There’s been skin cancer in my family too, like yours probably linked to the sun - I grew up in a sunnier climate than the UK. Have any of you had Mohs surgery? That is potentially what I’m having for at least one of my areas.

Hi Dawn I dont know about 'fine looking gentleman' but thank you for your kind comment it has lifted my spirits. Yes its worthwhile taking a daily high dose 4000IU vitamin D3 tablet If you are keeping oit of the sun.  A years supply costs about £8 do check with your GP or the hospital that this is ok and will not react with any other medicine you may be taking. If you suffer with winter blues D3 can help. In the Scandinavian countries where there is little daylight in winter  everyone takes Vit D3 to help with mood.

Ed

Hi Farmer_Ed Thank you for sharing your experience and insight into life after surgery. I know it’s helped me a great deal and I’m sure it will be helping many others too.

Wishing you a very merry Christmas and a happy and healthy new year. 

Hi Dawntreader thank you for your good wishes. I know there are other scenarios where I could be much more worse off and I need to remind myself of that from time to time.
I’m pleased to hear your biopsy areas have caused you no problems. You can put that stage behind you now. Wishing you a wonderful Christmas. 

Thank you Ed, that’s very useful to know. I will make sure I obtain D3, not just plain vitamin D. Worth it for the mood boosting effect as well as bone health. Look after yourself and be well. 

Hi Lou, I hope you had a good Christmas and that the graft is improving,  or at least that you have been able to put aside any worries and enjoy the holiday. 

Hi Ed, just wanted to say I hope you had a good Christmas. I’ve seen some other posts of yours on the forum and know how many challenges you face. Wishing you well in 2026.

Thanks Dawn hope that the year ahead brings you lots of joy and wish you the strength to overcome your own challenges. 

Ed

Hi Dawn, thank you, I had a lovely Christmas with my family. It’s also been good getting back to work and keeping my mind busy. I hope you managed to have a good break too.

I’ve got my follow up appointment with the surgeon in a couple of weeks. I’m hoping he might be able to offer some kind of treatment or advice on how to help the scar flatten more evenly. I know it’s still early days but I wouldn’t want to miss a window of opportunity to help improve any recovery.

How are things with you? 

Lou, I’m glad you had a good Christmas and are happy back at work. Really hope your surgeon can give you some effective tips for evening out the scar. Do you feel that it’s improving at all, albeit slowly?

Ok here, a new granddaughter arrived just before Christmas, so happy days ️

I had my biopsy 9 December and about a week ago I finally got f/u - the spot on the side of my nose is a benign mole (hooray) but the eyelid spot is bcc, not a surprise. Unfortunately the next step is seemingly a telephone appointment with a practice nurse to discuss the Mohs surgery, this is on 9 March and no idea how long the waiting list will be after that. I called the hospital to try to get some insight into the process but the phone person was kind of unpleasant and not helpful at all, so I guess I just need to wait. Please keep me posted on your progress, I think of you and Ed often.

Hi Dawn, congratulations on the birth of your Granddaughter, what a lovely piece of news and a fantastic way to start the new year.

I’m pleased to hear that the mole on the side of your nose is benign, what a relief! You know exactly what you’re dealing with now. I found the phase that you are in now (waiting for surgery) the hardest part. There was so much worry, anxiety and uncertainty going round in my head. I found it hard to focus and concentrate on anything. I also lost my appetite for about 6 months and couldn’t sleep at night. This made doing the day to day stuff really hard. I just couldn’t get my head round the idea of having a skin graft on my face. I want you to know that although I’m still going through a roller coaster ride of emotions, the current not so good days are nothing like they were before I had surgery. There is light at the end of the tunnel! 
I’m sorry to hear you’ve had unhelpful staff on the other end of the phone, I think they forget what an anxious time this is for the patient. Fingers crossed you don’t have to wait too long before you get a surgery date and then you can put all this behind you. 

Hi Dawn, congratulations on the birth of your Granddaughter, what a lovely piece of news and a fantastic way to start the new year.

I’m pleased to hear that the mole on the side of your nose is benign, what a relief! You know exactly what you’re dealing with now. I found the phase that you are in now (waiting for surgery) the hardest part. There was so much worry, anxiety and uncertainty going round in my head. I found it hard to focus and concentrate on anything. I also lost my appetite for about 6 months and couldn’t sleep at night. This made doing the day to day stuff really hard. I just couldn’t get my head round the idea of having a skin graft on my face. I want you to know that although I’m still going through a roller coaster ride of emotions, the current not so good days are nothing like they were before I had surgery. There is light at the end of the tunnel! 
I’m sorry to hear you’ve had unhelpful staff on the other end of the phone, I think they forget what an anxious time this is for the patient. Fingers crossed you don’t have to wait too long before you get a surgery date and then you can put all this behind you. 

Hi Lou, I really appreciate your frankness in going through your sequence of emotions, and your encouragement that this is the hardest part. You’re a real guiding light for me, you and Ed both.
I still don’t actually know what I’m facing, in terms of what type of scar or graft I may need. My phone appointment with a practice nurse, to discuss the Mohs surgery, was scheduled for early March -  but this morning they suddenly texted me that the appointment will now be tomorrow at 2 pm. Not much advance notice!! But I’m glad not to have to wait. Hopefully I’ll know a lot more about what I’m facing by tomorrow night.

Hi Dawn, been thinking of you today. Hope the phone call went well and you got some answers. 

Thank you Lou, it’s very strengthening to get you and Ed’s good wishes. As I said to him just now, I did get some answers though not necessarily what I wanted to hear. But she did confirm Mohs is the right option. (My local team had only offered me basic excision surgery so I went further afield but wondered if I did the right thing. I feel reassured on that now.)

Hi Dawn, I’m sorry to hear you’ve got quite a wait until surgery. You never know, you might get a cancellation appointment. I’m pleased to hear they are offering MOHs surgery, this will cause as little disruption to the surrounding area as possible. Just remember, these specialist surgeons are doing this surgery all the time. I’m sure you’re going to be in good hands. It’s amazing how resilient we can be when we need to but equally it’s ok to acknowledge how this experience is making us feel. It’s exhausting being brave about it all the time. I’m here if you need to chat.
Also thanks Ed, your advice and experience is very reassuring. 

Hi Lou, thanks as always for your kind encouragement. You’ve been through an emotional ride with bcc but you’ve made it through so I hope I can do the same. When is your follow up appointment with the surgeon, is it soon now? I really hope you come away from the appointment feeling reassured about your scar’s ultimate appearance. Once I get mine done I hope to get more advice from you and Ed about scar massage, creams, etc. You will know what actually works.
Can I ask, what was the ‘type’ of your bcc? The six month wait worries me because my bcc is part infiltrative, which is classed as aggressive in terms of growing long roots. I did ask the nurse about cancellations but she said they don’t really get many. 

1. Hi Dawn, I was never told what type of bcc I had. Out of curiosity I’ll ask next time.
   It’s February this weekend, this year is going pretty fast. I’m sure the surgery date will come round fairly quickly. I do appreciate the level of worry you’re going through whilst waiting for surgery. It’s unbelievable the amount of people with skin cancer. Makes you wonder why that is?
   I’ve just had a follow up appointment with my surgeon. I popped along after work just expecting a chat but instead I had several steroid injections and some laser treatment.  I’m sitting down now at home with a cuppa just getting my head round it all. My surgeon was surprised how lumpy my graft was even though I have been massaging it twice a day. Hopefully today’s treatment will make a difference. It’s put the appearance of the graft back a few weeks though as it’s currently weeping and then it will scab over again. Hopefully it will be worth it in the long run. My next appointment is at the end of March. 
   I have my fingers crossed for you that you get a miracle new appointment in the not so distant future. 

Hi Lou, it sounds like your instinct about your graft was spot on - that it wasn’t quite right. Really hoping it will show meaningful improvement now, once the new scabbing heals. It’s reassuring the surgeon is taking it seriously and I’m sure he’s doing whatever is best. I wouldn’t hesitate to contact him again before March if your instinct tells you to, though. Please let us know how it progresses. 

As for me, I’ve decided to look into maybe going private, to bring the date forward if that’s possible. I have reservations but I’ll see what my options are anyway.

Hi Dawn, although my scar is a bit scabby and very red at the moment, I’ve definitely noticed an improvement with it flattening already. It’s been encouraging to see and just what I needed after a difficult few weeks. 

It’s definitely worth looking in to going private. You’ll have more control over dates and perhaps they can offer other treatments afterwards, if it’s needed like mine has been.
I just want to add though, the NHS are brilliant. They were amazing when I had a mole cut out a few years ago. 
Let me know how you get on.  

I’m so glad you’re seeing improvement already Lou! That’s such good news. Do you use any special cream on it? Thanks for the encouragement about going private, I’ve got an appointment in about two weeks, I’ll let you know how I get on. 

Hi Dawn, just wondering how you’re getting on.