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General health

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Original poster

small patches of skin cancer, 3 so far

18 replies

MascaraOHara · 22/07/2008 20:57

and the intelligent person that they belong to doesn't want to get them cut out as they will be 'covered in scars'

my response was 'oh as opposed to having skin cancer'

FFS I feel like crying with frustration but is it really that serious?

GP doesn't even seem that fussed about cutting them out, person is to go back in October.. apparently one is much more serious than the other and the third only came up the other week

what, if anything, should I do?

OP posts:

Anna8888 · 22/07/2008 20:58

Pay for the person to see a consultant dermatologist.

WendyWeber · 22/07/2008 21:00

From cancerbackup

It's not going to go away. Print this off and smack them around the head with it.

Blondie79 · 22/07/2008 21:03

Are they maliganant melanoma or the slower spreading squamous or basal cell carcinomas?

I was diagnosed with malignant melanoma 2 years ago and have quite a large scar on my arm but it is not as noticeable. I can only suggest that you tell her what she probably already knows - it could spread and kill her. sorry to be blunt but I've been there.

Doesn't surprise me about the GP - it took me a year of pestering to get mine removed and even then they weren't going to send it off for testing.

cmotdibbler · 22/07/2008 21:03

Up to them really. If GP is unfussed, then they are almost certainly Squamous Cell Carcinomas or Basal cell carcinomas, which don't spread to other areas. They often do form patches as they are very directly linked to sun exposure.
Very easy to treat with radiotherapy, which won't leave a scar and for patches like this has no side effects.

WendyWeber · 22/07/2008 21:06

Is the GP a skin cancer expert?

Original poster

MascaraOHara · 22/07/2008 21:06

I don't know what sort it is/they are, as none have been cut out yet. they went to have the first one done when GP noticed 2nd one and said that was more serious and to come back later in the year..

GP used term 'skin cancer'

OP posts:

Original poster

MascaraOHara · 22/07/2008 21:07

no not an expert WW, just GP.

OP posts:

WendyWeber · 22/07/2008 21:08

Sorry, MOH, that was to cmot re the GP being unfussed.

cmotdibbler · 22/07/2008 21:17

They look very different from MMs, so I'd be very suprised if they confused the two.

What does the patch look like Mascara?

BCCs look like these and SCCs like this

Original poster

MascaraOHara · 22/07/2008 22:38

the one I've seen doesn't look lik either of those

OP posts:

umberella · 22/07/2008 22:55

The person must go and have these seen to.

seriously.

ThingOne · 23/07/2008 00:36

I would be very unhappy about leaving it myself.

Califrau · 23/07/2008 00:49

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

thumbwitch · 23/07/2008 02:10

funny, I was just talking to my GP about this today as I have an interesting small patch on the side of my face - he thinks it might be a rodent ulcer, which is another name for basal cell carcinoma, but it's too small to tell just yet. He said it is possible to get them frozen out (like with warts only more harsh treatment) and the scarring is minimal (an obvious concern when it's on the side of my face!). So if it is a BCC then tell the person about the freezing option.

Skin cancer of the BCC and SCC varieties are so common that they are excluded from the cancer statistics in this country (and probably everywhere) as including them would make the cancer rates enormously much higher than they are already.

ladytophamhatt · 23/07/2008 07:08

MO, what you do is go to B&Q buy some rope, and gaffer tape then take it to their house tie them up and gag them. Then chuck them over your shoulder in a fireman carry and take them to the doctors.

No seriously...

Tell them that if there would prefer skin cancer then being "covered in scars" they are being ridiculous.
Say "would you prefer a few scars to......ummmm.......death??"

Sorry, I I know that sounds abit flippant but you have to make them go.

Fauve · 23/07/2008 07:46

You can also get BCCs removed by a new surgical technique which leaves minimal scarring - tthey remove a piece, then test to see if any cancerous cells remain at the site, if so, remove a bit more, then a bit more, until it's all gone. So the surgery lasts the best part of a day but is less destructive than other kinds. There is a skin cancer trust that has info on it. It's available in Oxford and a few other places.

I think there is something about skin cancer which causes ostrich behaviour - and maybe the medics collude with that because it's a 'less serious' kind of cancer than others.

Also if you think about the amount of cosmetic surgery done nowadays, fixing a face shouldn't be beyond the wit of man or woman.

Original poster

MascaraOHara · 23/07/2008 08:01

LTH, that's exactly what I did say... almost word for word lol

OP posts:

amazonianwoman · 23/07/2008 13:35

Don't know much about the "less serious" SCC or BCC cancers, but if they are malignant melanomas, then this person is beyond vain.

I've had malignant melanoma - have a 3-4 inch scar on my thigh. Also have around 8 other smaller scars from removal of moles which ended up being benign. I look like a knife throwing act gone wrong.

But then I'd rather be covered in scars than be dead, like the two other people I've known who had malignant melanoma...

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