Diagnosed with BCC yesterday and I'm scared to death

DeeDeeMarie

I have had this spot for more than 10 years on my forehead. When I went to see a plastic surgeon/dermatologist for another issue, as soon as he saw it, he asked to biopsy. Yesterday he told me what it was and that his concern was how long it has been there. He made me an consult appointment with a dermatologist that does Mohs. Of course I came right home and googled BCC, to which horrible images of Mohs surgeries popped up. Along with a few comments that went with the pictures that so much damage was done to their faces and scalps due to having it for so long undiagnosed. Can anyone who may have had BCC for awhile please tell me what your experiences were? I am still in a fog, and so scared yet so grateful I stumbled upon this website. What a wonderful site this is. Somehow I don't feel so in the dark. Thank you all for sharing.

tltoms

I'll Do my best my dear
Dear DeeDee i found out this past Nov. that after 10 years a patch of skin i had never had diagnosed near my left eye,cheek & nose was BCC. My heart is with you at this time and i'll have you on my mind. Please first off has the doctors put your mind at ease by telling you BCC is not life threatening ? I have surgical experiences (i have more coming up on 3/14/11) i can talk to you about if you'd like but my first concern is your peace of mind. I know this is a frightening time but please know your not alone. Ask me anything and i'll do my best to answer. And i will check back often to see how your doing. ~Tim~

Old Guy

tltoms said:

I'll Do my best my dear
Dear DeeDee i found out this past Nov. that after 10 years a patch of skin i had never had diagnosed near my left eye,cheek & nose was BCC. My heart is with you at this time and i'll have you on my mind. Please first off has the doctors put your mind at ease by telling you BCC is not life threatening ? I have surgical experiences (i have more coming up on 3/14/11) i can talk to you about if you'd like but my first concern is your peace of mind. I know this is a frightening time but please know your not alone. Ask me anything and i'll do my best to answer. And i will check back often to see how your doing. ~Tim~

Don't be scared
You ought to sue your doctor for scaring you to death. I have had skin Cancers for the last 30 years, probably as a result of serving in the South Pacific in World War II. I have had many many Basil Cell Carcinomas removed (most recently one on my nose three weeks ago) and four Squamous Cell carcinomas and I have had Mohs surgery four different times. It is NOT a horrible procedure. I don't know what the pictures looked like but I can tell you that all four of mine were on my face (two on forehead and two on cheeks) and because my dermatologist was also a good plastic surgeon, it is very hard to tell that anything happened. I tell my friends that I am having my face lifted just a few fractions of an inch..... and in fact I have very few wrinkles.....and I'm 87 years old!

Don't be afraid. Just have it done and I'll bet you'll be pleased wit the result!
Old Guy

Old Guy

tltoms said:

I'll Do my best my dear
Dear DeeDee i found out this past Nov. that after 10 years a patch of skin i had never had diagnosed near my left eye,cheek & nose was BCC. My heart is with you at this time and i'll have you on my mind. Please first off has the doctors put your mind at ease by telling you BCC is not life threatening ? I have surgical experiences (i have more coming up on 3/14/11) i can talk to you about if you'd like but my first concern is your peace of mind. I know this is a frightening time but please know your not alone. Ask me anything and i'll do my best to answer. And i will check back often to see how your doing. ~Tim~

Don't be scared
You ought to sue your doctor for scaring you to death. I have had skin Cancers for the last 30 years, probably as a result of serving in the South Pacific in World War II. I have had many many Basil Cell Carcinomas removed (most recently one on my nose three weeks ago) and four Squamous Cell carcinomas and I have had Mohs surgery four different times. It is NOT a horrible procedure. I don't know what the pictures looked like but I can tell you that all four of mine were on my face (two on forehead and two on cheeks) and because my dermatologist was also a good plastic surgeon, it is very hard to tell that anything happened. I tell my friends that I am having my face lifted just a few fractions of an inch..... and in fact I have very few wrinkles.....and I'm 87 years old!

Don't be afraid. Just have it done and I'll bet you'll be pleased wit the result!
Old Guy