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, 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 from me too on the birth of your grandaughter, there is nothing brings more joy and hope for the future than a new baby in the family. You seem to have been waiting a very long time for your surgery so hopefully it happens soon after the nurses phone call. Wishing you a good outcome for your surgery.

Ed

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 Ed, thanks for your kind congratulations. The wee one is lovely, though there’s been a bit of medical drama around the birth and baby’s been a bit unwell. But hopefully all ok now! Yes my case has dragged on, but might be building up some speed now. My phone appointment to discuss Mohs surgery, which was the next stage of the process, has suddenly been rescheduled to tomorrow afternoon, which is a little nerve wracking but I’m grateful. How are you managing these days? These cold dark winter days can be a bit dispiriting.

hello Dawn

After you phone call today you will have a better idea of what lies ahead and possibly a date for your procedure. Hope baby is doing well its a big trauma at the beginning of life coming into the world and again at the other end. Yes I'm getting on ok, apparently yesterday was the lowest point of the winter for peoples mood, so it is all up from here, happy days ahead. 

Ed 

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

Hi Ed, yes that’s true about the trauma at both ends of life. Little ‘un seems to be coming along, thanks - she’ll get weighed tomorrow so that will be some indication.

My phone appointment was good, in that I did get a date - but bad in that it’s not until July. Also, the nurse practitioner mentioned that in theory I could end up with nerve damage to the eye area, causing a drooping eyelid and/or weepy eye. But she confirmed that despite that, Mohs is the best option, said standard excision surgery would not be suitable due to the location. So, it just has to be braved. I’ve got you and Lou as good examples, which helps a lot.

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.)

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. 

Hi Lou, thanks for remembering! Yes I saw the surgeon this Wednesday, the one who was assigned to my case on my NHS paperwork, I paid to see him privately to ask if my bcc was safe to leave until my surgery date in July.

He said he thought it was, and not worth going private to bring the date forward. He didn’t think it would spread much before then despite the biopsy classing it as infiltrative. It was pretty reassuring. Worth paying for I think.

How are things going with you, how are you feeling and how is your scar, I hope it’s more level?

Hi Dawn, sounds like the appointment was definitely worth paying for. Those chats with the surgeon pre surgery really help with coming to terms with what’s about to happen. It’s also reassuring to hear of their confidence whilst talking about the surgery you are about to have. We are one of many patients.

3 weeks after steroid injections and laser treatment I have noticed great improvement. One area is still a little bumpy but it’s nothing like it was previously. I’m hoping I might be able to have another round of steroid injections and laser treatment and then I think that’s probably going to be the best it will get. I’m still massaging Bio Oil on the graft twice a day, I’m not sure if it’s helped much or not, but I’m willing to give anything a go. It’s still very red/purple ish and I’ve tried a variety of makeup to cover it but to be honest I think it looks worse. I’ve been told over time the redness will reduce so I just need to be patient.

My next appointment is at the end of March, I’ll let you know how it goes. 
Hope you have a lovely spring, keep in touch. 

Hi Lou, I’m so pleased to hear your scar has improved, and I really hope and trust another round of laser & steroid will bring more improvement. As for the redness, I’ve seen many people report that their redness took a long time but eventually faded so I’m betting yours will too. 
My next appointment is in early March, a meeting with the plastic surgery department so they can assess if they’ll likely be needed - though the surgeon on Wednesday said he doubted they would be. Time will tell. Please do let us know what happens at your March appointment.

On another subject, I’m going to suggest the Bio Oil to my daughter for her c-section scar, worth a try anyway. No doctor or midwife has given her any advice about it.