Possible BCC on nose near eye

[Goatymum]

My GP suspects I may have a BCC on the side of my nose level with my eye. I'm not unduly worried as it hasn't been there for long and I know BCC is not a scary cancer, he even said due to where it is I may get on the 2WW pathway - his words were 'I will try!'.
I assume they will remove it and biopsy it - but is there a recovery time and what's the best option for removal - this Mohs thing I read about? GP just said the dermatologist will answer all questions.

I had a BCC removed from my cheek last year, close to my nose and just cutting into the thin skin below my eye.
saw the GP at the start of Dec, consultant in Jan then i had it biopsied in the Feb, BCC confirmed in the Mar and surgery in May.
Given where mine was there was only 1 treatment option and that was removal and a skin graft. Pretty awful at the time but it’s healed well, although a very obvious scar and loss of sensation.
i also had one removed from my chest at the same time as the biopsy on my face which was just an excision. I think the surgery very much depends on where it is and how elastic the skin is - if I hadn't have had a graft on my face my eyelid would have pulled down.

definitely the best type of cancer to have though and when it’s gone it’s gone.

the consultants I saw were brilliant and the scar management people exceptional.

best of luck!

Thanks @IamKA. That's really useful info - yes the skin is really thin there so it is a worry in that regard. What was the recovery like in terms of time off work etc.
I'm glad you;re OK now and you had great treatment - that's an important part of the whole experience I think. I am no stranger to having unwanted growths removed but nothing has been cancerous to date.

I had a week off work - the graft was sewn on then a dressing was sewn onto my face over and it was so uncomfortable, especially with swelling fluctuating (& to be honest it looked pretty grim too!). The dressing was removed after a week and I was back to work and ‘real life’ (I work in an office so fairly low risk) it was just a case of having to be careful. Then nurse after a couple of weeks. I had to apply a tonne of vaseline type stuff though so spent about 3 months just feeling greasy - but that wasn’t really a hardship.

The biggest issue I had was of the psychological thing of being petrified of my face falling off, especially when the stitches started dissolving 😂. However, it was fairly stuck within a month.

My graft site was the inside too of my arm and this didn’t heal well and is a bit of a mess now, but I’d rather that than my face. I was also offered scar makeup on the nhs which has been useful, although i’m not really a makeup person so haven’t used it!

For me the weirdest thing was looking in the mirror and seeing something different to what I was used to!

How are you getting on, @Goatymum and @IamKA ? I’m looking at Moh’s surgery on my nose following a biopsy in October. I’m really worried about a skin graft, especially around recovery (I’m a road cyclist and want to not lose too much fitness).

@Postchristmasblah My DH had MOHS surgery for a BCC on his forehead. They did a rotational flap repair. It's healed beautifully and it's barely noticeable.

Thank you @OrangeBlossom28 - how long did the rotational flap process take?

@Postchristmasblah It took a couple of hours to complete. I have got photos but they're quite graphic for non sporners corner!

I had MOHs for a suspected bcc last summer - they take off a thin layer at a time and test it while you wait. Then they stop when no more cancerous cells are found
I only had top layer taken off as no cancer was actually found
Dressing on for a week, then changed for a plaster which was changed every three days. Minimal scar visible after two months although I have a slight loss of sensation

Sounds like you lucked out - hope it’s not too much tissue lost for me! I’m sure I’ll feel better when I have a plan…

Forgot to update! All my appointments came through very quickly and thankfully it was a wart.

Ahhh great news @Goatymum - perspective is everything and sort of funny when a wart is good news! I have a confirmed bcc on my nose, and have had treatment on and off for 5 years. I was hoping the last chunk they took would have been the end of it but sadly not. Ho hum!