RoadLife
New Mexico
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We are at home getting ready to head west and then to Alaska in 2-3 weeks. I had a minor surgery - went great.
I had noticed a few bumps and went to my regular doctor to have them checked out. He said they did not look "cancerous" but sent me to a dermatologist for confirmation.
The dermatologist froze off a couple of spots for me, and took a biopsy of the spot on my elbow. Then I said "By the Way, while I am here would you take a look at these."
I have some darker spots on my shin that I had showed my doc late last year. He said no problem with those - just old age spots. Well, she (the dermatologist) said one of those looks like cancer and took a biopsy.
Today I got my stitches out from the biopsies and got the results. The arm - ok. The leg - basal cell carcinoma. They will call and schedule surgery Monday, so am now waiting to find out when.
Sorry for the long story. The Question is has anyone else had surgery for basal cell carcinoma and what can I expect for recovery? The spot is about the size of a nickel.
ROADLIFE
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brirene
midwest
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I had a cancerous mole removed many years ago which turned out to be melanoma. At that time I didn't even know what that was. The procedure for that was, after removal of the entire mole and subsequent biopsy, they then did a "wide excision", the idea of which was to check to make sure that there were no cancer cells or "tentacles" within that section. It was probably 3x3 inches, and maybe 1/2" deep. Recovery was tough due to the site; lower back, so it was constantly being stretched. This was in the early '80's, and no doubt the process has changed since that time. As it's on your leg, you may not have as difficult a time recovering. I wish you the best. One result is that you will become very familiar with any skin issues on your body. I've had several removed since that time, "just to be safe". Moral of the story is: If anyone has a mole that changes color, size, or shape, get it checked by a dermatologist.
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D.E.Bishop
Eagle Rock, CA
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To answer your question, YES, several. The one that concerned me the most was on my eyelid, which turns out is fairly common. None of the BBCs have returned and I get checked every six months or so by our dermatologist. I lived outdoors as a child and lived in Hawaii for a couple years and tanned heavily, the Dr. said that was most likely the cause. There is great concern about any cancer even a benign BCC. You should not have any problem. Good luck.
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Gezzer
Where ever the road takes us
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DH had a basal cell removed from his back in 2009, it was done in the office, as the doc felt it was small enough that he could excise all of it.
DH had some discomfort for a couple of days, just needed a bandaid. He hasn't had another Basal cell, but did have to have a Squamaus cell removed from his ear, that one required several sessions of radiation.
He does pay attention to spots and brings them to the doc's attention quite promptly.
If the cancer cell is still pretty small and you don't have to have any radiation, you should be good to go within a day or so.
Good luck,
Judy
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LadyRVer
Florida
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My DH is a walking billboard for skin cancer. Cannot even begin to remember all the surgeries and on occassion 2 series of radiation for two different areas.He is a slow healer but the latest surgery done in January 2012 healed real nice,
with minimal problems. He has had melanoma, squamous, basel cell.
I had basel cell on my back in May 2011 and surgery went good, not really any discomfort, about 6 stitches to close it up. The worst was trying to clean/apply whatever the Dr tells you to use and rebandage it. It turned out I was allergic to the adhesive tape. Was supposed to take it fairly easy the first day so stitches would not tear out, but had "work" to do...I did fine.
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dbond21201
Jackson, TN
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My DH has BCC removed at least once a year. Usually heals really quick. Just be glad it's not Melanoma....and remember to keep a closer eye out in the future.
Dianne & Wilmot Bond
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naturist
Lynchburg, VA
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Basal Cell Carcinoma is one of those cancers that people very rarely die from, although folks get it all the time. I had one removed from my chest a few years ago. It was quite small, the incision was only about an inch long, and it healed fairly quickly. Sounds like yours was a bit bigger than mine, but still, not much to worry about, just get it removed and pay attention to anything vaguely similar looking. Good luck, heal fast.
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ljr
Pennsylvania
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RoadLife wrote:The Question is has anyone else had surgery for basal cell carcinoma and what can I expect for recovery? The spot is about the size of a nickel.
Mine was probably 1/4 of that size. Surgery took a few minutes in the office and recovery consisted of a new band aid and some ointment once a day for a week or so. I've had bee stings that were worse.
Larry
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sdianel
Tampa, FL
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They will probably do a wide incision as brirene stated and test all the tissue to make sure they get it all. I had pre-melanoma removed from my upper forehead. Since the tissue in the area wasn't thick, the doctor was prepared to take skin from somewhere else if they couldn't close the incision without doing so. Good news is that the way they did the incision they didn't have to do a skin graft. A few stitches and no problems. Ask the doctor about the procedure so you'll know and won't worry. I had skin checks every 6 months, then every year. So important. Since then, they found one more pre-melanoma and removed it. Good luck with the surgery, get well quick!
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RoadLife
New Mexico
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Thanks y'all, knowing about what to expect makes me feel better.
It sounds like with stitches I will have a minimum of a week recovery time. Which probably means another delay in our out west/Alaska trip which had already shrunk from 11 months down to 6 months due to minor surgery. Dang. I am past ready to go.
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