I've just had cancer removed from my face

[elliollie]

As the title says, I had basal cell carcinoma on my nose and I had it removed last week and a skin graft used from my neck. I saw the wound for the first time the other day and it looks awful, much bigger than I thought and really not nice. I know it will get better but I'm sad.
I wish people would be honest rather than say it's not too bad or it will get better. I know they're only being nice but it makes me feel silly for being upset. (Not crying every minute but sad)
Please tell me I'm not unreasonable to wallow in self pity for a week or two!

@ShannonRockallMalin I would say it was about half a centimetre. I'll see if I can find a before photo.

Ouch. You must be properly tough OP, that looks like it would have hurt! I had a wide local excision for a pre-melanoma just under my armpit and towards my back - I always think of it as them getting out the big spoon since it's such a fleshy area (ahem) it didn't hurt much, which I felt was a blessing.

Another one saying that the face heals up much faster than other areas; maybe one way to think about the wound is that this is as angry as it will ever look.

I agree with the silicone recommendation. It's the only thing proven to help. I used it religiously twice a day for a year when I had a sebaceous cyst removed from my face. My plastic surgeon said bio oil etc don't help in themselves but the act of massaging them in might help to break down some scar tissue.

I used kelocote but there are other brands around.

I expect that will heal well and just leave a pale circle that can be toned down with foundation if you wish.

@ShannonRockallMalin Actually, probably less than half a centimetre. This is the best photo I can find. Pre op markings. It's in the centre of the smaller circle. Not the best photo, sorry.

@eurochick I've just been looking at Kelocote. Think I'll order some ready for when I can use it.

Completely off topic but dang you have lovely shaped nose Op! Very feminine . That will heal a treat. Take care of the wound and it will recover. The skin and body is a wonderful thing and has a great capacity to heal. You will see a huge difference in the next few weeks, be patient, eat well and follow your medical teams advice the the letter. all the best to it OP .
Thankyou for posting as I have learned about the silicone based products and ordering now!

It will heal fine. I'm sure you've already been advised but it is really important to use a high-factor sunblock on the area after it's healed.

ellieollie thank you. That actually looks smaller than what I’ve got so I guess I’ll probably be going down the same route. I don’t blame you for feeling fed up with it, I think I’ll probably be miserable too

It will get heal! It's going to feel terrible. Just think though the scar saved your life ❤️

My DD had open heart surgery at 14 and now at 16 her scar is very noticeable (she had a few op's so they went over the scar a few times if you know what I mean) and she wears tops that shows it. She's says it's part of her that can't be changed. She's very wise.

Big hugs

@ShannonRockallMalin Good luck! I'll keep posting the healing photos if you like, might make you feel a bit better if you see it healing

Sorry to compare you to an animal, but you know when cats get back from the vet they often hide under the bed to regroup themselves for a bit. That's all you are doing. It's normal and natural.

@Rattinghat that make sense and I do have a habit of retreating to lick my wounds, literal or metaphorical.

@ADastardlyThing

I think bsc come in lots of guises.

I had mine removed when I was 38 but, looking at photos l, it has started to develop at around 30. Colourful mole, bit crusty, always changing.

When pregnant decided to be a grown up and get it checked. Gp took one look at me and said impossible - I’ve v dark hair/eyes - Asian background (mixed) too young. On a second look they got me an emergency hospital referral. Same thing happened there. On second look they wanted to remove it immediately. I asked them to wait till my baby was born.

Follow up appointments - well a year later a consultant said that it was easy to misdiagnose a bsc and she felt it wasn’t (given my profile) so decided to recall the biopsy and examine it herself. She felt i could be discharged. She called me two weeks later to confirm that they had taken off a bsc.

I’m obsessed with this. So many people think they are not candidates because of darker skin. My v dark skinned Asian dm is having a biopsy.

I’m now paranoid about my skin. I don’t like facials - my view is keep skin care simple and don’t fiddle too much with skin. Don’t lie on a beach frying and don’t use sun beds. If on a hot beach wear fiplops (they keep checking my feet).

Op when I first had it cut out people assumed my plaster was because I’d had plastic surgery. Like you I work mainly from home so work wasn’t too much of a challenge re comments. It was mainly out and about.

You will heal but this has been a shock for you so be kind to yourself.

@FannyFanackerpants71 thanks, I've always quite liked my nose...until now 🙄
It's one of the only things about me that is small and delicate!😂

@SavageBeauty73 You must be very proud of your DD's positive attitude. I'll find me some of that in a couple of weeks!

It’s no fun is it, OP? Mine was on my forehead/temple - and extended quite far behind the hairline so my hair was shaved at the front, just when I wanted it to conceal the scar! I had done my “research” online, but I was still shocked at the size of the defect needed to get a clear margin.

Faces do heal well though. I”m a real scarrer (my abdomen looks like a bombsite following 2x surgery there) but 3 years on you’d have to be looking for my facial scar in order to notice anything unusual.

Best of luck with your recovery

Thanks @LarkDescending that's encouraging

Honestly, please don't worry. I had a Basel cell removed from my nose what seemed like a pimple. When the surgeon finished with the Mohs to remove the cells I was left with a hole on the side of my nose same size as yours. Within 2 weeks it healed beautifully, you will be amazed how quickly it diminishes. All I have now is a very small scar which is unnoticeable. The BSC I had removed from the rim of my left eye with MOhs was far more evasive, there I am left with a small dent and no eyelashes on the lower rim. Still better than if I had left it though!

Keep it clean. Follow the teams advice, it will be fine.

And it's better that they take a more generous margin than have to come back and do it again. I had to a resection with a dodgy mole on my leg, and sorry to be gross, it got infected both times, and seemed to drag on forever.

Here is after my removal, lots of bruising is common. Mine wasn't a mole it was melanoma. I think a mole is easier to remove.

Our 11 year old son had surgery on his face and neck almost a year ago. He had cancer, lymphoma that was in the parotid gland which is directly in front of the ear and had turned into a large hard tumor. The oncologist was concerned that there could be more involvement of his lymph glands in his neck so a lot of them were also removed. There was danger that his facial nerves could be damaged. After the surgery the lower corner of his mouth was droopy. The surgeon told us all through surgery they had been testing his facial nerves so they were undamaged. But the nerves in that area of the face had had their neighborhood disturbed and would take a while to heal.

He healed wonderfully and very quickly and now you would have no idea he had facial surgery. His scar was placed where they apparently put plastic surgery scars, in the fold in front of his ear, behind the ear and down into the fold of his neck. We all forgot he has the scar as it is unnoticeable.

Thankfully he didn't need chemo and he is monitored by the Children's Hospital but is in remission. Yay! He also has been very healthy and grew tremendously at 12 he is 5' 9".

I am sure once you heal it won't be noticable except by those who know you well. Good luck with your recovery.

OP I have a friend who has to wear something on her face which people query. She says she minded at first but she perfectly ok with it now (3 years on).

Thanks again everyone for taking the time to reply and share your stories. This thread has given me a much needed outlet today. I'll keep sharing the photos and hopefully it will help anyone else who might be going through it. You're a lovely nest of vipers!

All these lovely vipers and their lovely brave viper kids. Very inspiring and humbling.

OP it was indeed kelocote. Good luck to you and