Hi sunshinecity. 

My wife had what looked like a coldsaw on her top lip nearly in the ctr about 9 years ago we treated it as you do and it went down then came up again we kept this up for couple of months then noticed it'd changed so went to Dr straight away he said cancer basal cell carcinoma. So she was booked in to a specialist.. So couple of weeks, saw him straight away he said do you want me to take it off now my wife said yes so we went to a different room with a nurse and some medical gear. Sat her down put a cloth round her shoulders, gave her some injections to deaden the area, (I'm sat near by watching all this) then gets a scalpel and starts cutting it away, i hear him say this has gone right through, anyway he cuts it completely out and stitches up very tidily and says he'll send it for checking. And to book in Dr for stitches out in couple of weeks. It'd healed up lovely no scar and been OK since.

Good luck with your operation. 

Please don't worry about it. 

Billy 

Hi sunshinecity

Welcome to the forum.  I should mention that I'm not a doctor and I have no medical qualifications.

Although BCC is technically cancer,  it really is very easy to cure by simple excision.  It is very very rare for them to spread, so once cut out that's an end to the matter. 

I know two people who've had this surgery, and both are doing just fine - one of them was over 30 years ago!  

Hi,

Billygoat & Telemando have given you great advice. As explained, BCC is one of the non melanoma skin cancers & it's very easily treatable. Because it doesn't grow downwards into the skin's layers it can't spread within the body but if left too long it can spread on the skin so it looks worse. My dad has had two BCC over the last 10 years. The first was removed surgically (as explained in Billygoats reply) and the other was caught quickly so was treated with a cream. My sister-in-law has also recently had one removed & the biopsy showed it was BCC.

You ask about lesions referred straight for surgery without a biopsy? The surgery is actually the biopsy! They remove it to get rid of it but the tissue is the sample used for biopsy. They didn't remove yours on the day perhaps because of time/staff/equipment constraints but on 6th August it will be a quick & painless routine removal under a local anaesthetic & you will receive the results a few weeks later.

The only thing to bear in mind is that, once you have suffered a BCC there is every chance that another will appear in years to come. This is because they are caused by sun damage so the rest of that area will have the same damage! My dad's were on his forehead & his temple! So keep checking for any new lesions over the coming years & see your GP straight away as the earlier they are found they may respond to topical treatment rather than needing surgery.

Good luck and please let us know how you get on,

Angie (melanoma patient)

Hi Billy, 

could I please ask a few questions re your comment on your wife Bcc removal. I also had bc removal by incision on my lower lip, which was around 8 weeks ago and worried about the healing of my scar. You say your wife has a very little or no scar, can I kindly ask how long this took to heal as I am not sure what to expect as far as the healing process is concerned. I have got an appointment in a few weeks to review my scar but am really anxious as I thought it would have healed by now. Thank you in advance 

Pauline