Sharing my story for awareness - skin cancer / bcc / skin graft / mohs surgery

[DustyJigsaw]

Hi, I was diagnosed with having a type of skin cancer (BCC - basal cell carcinoma) last year on my nose. I have just had Mohs surgery to have this removed and a skin graft from my cheek/ear area to cover the hole. It was fairly traumatic, but I am so happy and relieved to have it removed and be on the road to recovery 😊

The reason for the post is that I wanted to look at anything informative/research whilst I was waiting for surgery as I was very worried. Apart from a couple of ladies in the US sharing their stories, I could not find anyone that had done so in the UK (using the NHS). There are skin cancer forums, but I felt they jumped all over the place and, albeit correctly, would only focus on answering a question rather than a whole story with pictures.

So, I decided to be brave, put myself out there and briefly write my story on Instagram this week. I have a wound appointment this afternoon which will introduce me visually to my nose skin graft 😧 so I will also put a picture of that on later and thought I would do a monthly progress picture thereafter. This is not a norm for me but I just wanted to not only raise awareness but also share my story for those that may be going through a similar process.

Therefore, anyone wanting to see my journey in pictures from when I first noticed my freckle/spot, or to pass onto anyone that you feel may be interested - my story Instagram account is @mybcc.story - link below:

instagram.com/mybcc.story?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

I hope in a small way this helps with awareness. Have a good day all.

PS - if you do not have Instagram, I cannot recommend it enough should you want to follow friends, celebrities or if you have a hobby to see other's ideas ie #knitting #gardening #houseinterior etc. the list is endless, and it is great!

Wow OP - very brave thing to do and very useful to see your pictures

Thank you for posting this.
I am currently waiting for a biopsy for something on my nose.
Everything seems to take such a long time!

Thanks for your comments - I hope so 😊

My skin biopsy was probably 2/3 weeks after seeing the dermatologist at my GP's referral, but they were 99% certain it was a BCC at that appt.

It was the wait after the skin biopsy that seemed to take an age but got there in the end 😌

I recently had cryotherapy on a solar keratosis on my nose, which should see the end of it. I was worried it was a BCC as I was a real sun worshipper in my ignorant younger days. I'm factor 50 all the way now.

Thanks for sharing the link. I have just been through mohs today and it was helpful to read your story. I was lucky and only needed stitches after the procedure but I am armed with my pot of vaseline and feel very relieved its all done.

Just want to add that Australia and New Zealand clinical guidelines suggest taking nicotinamide after basal cell carcinoma - google for more info. My very subjective experience of taking it, stopping and then taking it again is that it reduces the 'crustiness' of actinic keratoses, so hopefully it is slowing the development of further skin cancers.

Hi @DustyJigsaw thanks for sharing.
I'm just recovering from a WLE& graft and SNLB for a melanoma and it was really upsetting to see my wound for the first time today, one week in at my dressings change appt. It's not on my face but it's much larger and deeper than I imagined it would be.

It's totally knocked me and I feel very fragile mentally now.

I wish there had been more info/ pics of early grafts available to prepare myself mentally as the ones I'd been looking at on google were much more healed and further down the line than mine current is.

So well done for sharing your story and photos, it will come in very useful for others I'm sure. If you use all of the hashtags on your insta posts it will help people find your pics.

Thanks for your replies 😇

@Freysimo - glad it is all sorted for you - my friend had the same and that is all cleared up. I'm pleased to say that she got it checked out after she knew what I had.

@TheDuchess01 - pleased you have read my story and it helped - and I hope you make a good recovery. My skin graft area was closed (like yours) and it has really improved in the past week - so I am really pleased.

@zebette - thanks for recommending nicotinamide - I'll take a look.

@catfunk - I totally understand. The lady that I was in touch with that also had similar surgery said the most important thing is to stay positive - it was hard at times, but it kept ringing in the back of my mind when I was feeling fragile. People that saw me a week ago to now have really seen an improvement, although I don't know if they are saying that to be kind 😅. I am just relieved the blooming cancer is out and I am on the road to recovery 🤗- take care and I hope you make a speedy recovery x

@DustyJigsaw thank you for this thread and sharing your story on instagram! I am waiting for my surgery date at the moment, I had a BCC removed from the side of my nose in 2018 but unfortunately it has returned. The 2018 surgery was very minor (no stitches) but this time the consultant has referred me to the plastic surgeon and said I may need a skin graft. I didn’t really have any idea of what this would actually look like so seeing your pictures on Instagram has been really helpful. Hope you are doing well now 8 (?) months on.

I had a BCC removed from my nose but went private as the wait just to be seen on the NHS was months and then even more months for treatment. As it was I'm left with minimal scarring and no more worry - thank you Bupa.

@crankyhousewife the NHS waiting lists are crazy aren’t they 🙄 I was waiting almost a year from my referral and it would probably have been longer if I hadn’t pushed to get myself seen. But now that I have been seen, I’ve been told that my surgery date will be 4-6 weeks away which isn’t too much longer to wait at all. Glad to hear you have had minimal scarring - did you have to have a skin graft? I’m wondering if I might get away without one because mine is on the side of my nose, already in the sort of indented bit of you know what I mean so I don’t really mind if I’m left with more of an indent.

No I didn't need a skin graft, it was literally cut out and stitched up. It was right on the front of my nose just down from where my specs sit but honestly the scar is barely noticeable.

Thank you, Nikki

Hi @Airdustmoon thank you for your message and so pleased you saw my story on Instagram - I really hope it helps. I have just added my 6-month post surgery photo. And I am sorry to hear your BCC has returned 😔- it is such a trauma to go through it all again.

I was also waiting for my surgery appt for a while, but I phoned the surgeon's secretary and she gave me a surgery date for 2/3 weeks later. In my opinion, I think I just happened to phone when she had received a cancellation 🙌

I was originally told I needed a skin flap - so to cut beside my nose, inside of my eye socket, then an upside-down 'V' in my forehead - then that was to be rotated down to cover my nose wound. As it happened, when they dug deeper, the BCC was bigger under the surface and they said they could not do the skin/face flap and I would need a skin graft. My DH said that I actually lucked out, as the skin flap would have caused quite a bit of scaring for 1 year.

Please do contact me on Insta messages if you want someone to talk to 😊

Hi @crankyhousewife that was really fortunate that you were covered. My DH has BUPA cover to include me, but the policy said that as soon as the word 'cancer' is mentioned, the policy would not cover me and that I needed to revert to the NHS, as it will be just as quick. But I doubt that somehow!

Hi @Footle you are welcome 🤗