To be scared that having a bcc makes you more at risk of other cancers

[Fightingtobepositive]

has anyone ever been told that having a bcc makes them more at risk of other cancers.

my partner is having a biopsy on a suspected bcc. It’s a spot that hasn’t gone away. He’s very sure that it is one. His mum died of pancreatic cancer recently and I think he’s petrified that he has the gene 😢 i feel so helpless. He’s 42 we have a 4 year old and i can see he’s struggling with this news.

Having a bcc makes you no more at risk for other cancers (apart from bccs/sccs on your skin and that’s only due to the sun exposure you’ve had being all over your skin).
BCcs are so common and unproblematic that they aren’t even included in cancer statistics, they just need removing even though they won’t go anywhere else in the body

Honestly OP, please listen to the pp @CMOTDibbler.

My consultant dermatologist doesn’t even classify BCCs as a cancer. They are a non event as far as she’s concerned, with an easy in/out treatment procedure.

BCCs are removed and biopsied to be double-double-sure, and patients should also be vigilant for signs of actual skin cancer, especially if they’ve had a lot of sun in their lives, but BCCs really shouldn’t cause this level of anxiety in a family.

Thank you for this reply x

In my Australian opinion, BCC’s are often mechanical damage ie sun on the skin. The genetic component would be in the skin type you have, I rather think, over the actual cancer. (As I look at my beautiful Irish skin and think of my DGF whose death cert said skin cancer).

Thank you for replying x

He did used to work outdoors 13 hours a day for over 10 years and no suncream.

In that case, over here, people would be shrugging their shoulders and saying “well, what else did you expect after behaving that way?”

Gosh, it’s hard for me to believe that this ad is 45 years old now. But it did its job. We Australians are well trained now.

Well this is just it. Until recently the advice in the uk isn’t there. The weather is very different too, but no excuse I know. Don’t get me wrong he’s been more sensible over the last 10 years but yes he worked on site for a very long time and didn’t think twice about suncream. He just keeps comparing himself to all the other lads that also did the same.

Tell him to stop comparing himself to others. It does no good. DH’s grandfather lives to 100 but smoked for 85 of those years. It’s luck of the draw, sometimes.

I suspect this is in part grief and shock at his mother's death? That will remind him we are all mortal.

I have never heard that a BCC makes you more likely to get other cancers .. though, as others have said, it is an indicator of sun exposure which is a risk in itself.

I'm sorry for your loss, hopefully dermatology have given him advice about what to watch out for on his skin. So many members of my family and extended family (in laws) have had BCCs, SCCs and Melanomas I suspect due to the lack of sun awareness back in the 60s/70s/80s.

I hope he can put it in perspective and find some peace. As far as I understand a BCC is one of the least worrying diagnosis he could have got.

Thank you for this reply xx

YABU

@TheAutumnCrow
thank you for this reply. Really need these responses. He does need to be aware of his skin. Which he is, especially now. It’s crazy how long it takes to get these dermatology apts.