Last
June 15, 2013, I went to my dermatologist to have my mole removed. I’ve been planning to have this surgery for a
long time but due to many reasons It has never become my priority. I eventually decided to have it done because
this mole was painful sometimes, especially if it does not like the soap I’m
using or anything that touches it. So there I was on the table fully conscious as
the doctor injected anaesthesia on it after which she prick it with a needle to
test if it still hurts. She kept on asking
me if I feel anything when she did it, I kept telling her that it hurts a bit
but it is tolerable. So she did her thing, performing the incision to remove the
mole and we decided to have a skin biopsy on the skin sample. Then she stitches
it with a thick strong surgical thread just to ensure that it will not break
open, by the way it’s three stitches. My
mole is located on my upper trunk (on my back). She have prescribed that I take 500 mg. Cephalexin
three times a day for one week to aid in the healing of the wound. She told me that she will just call me if the
result of the skin biopsy is already available. After eight days I went back to the clinic to
have the surgical thread removed. After
that I forget about it but then last July 12, 2013 her secretary text me and
told me that my doctor ask for me to visit her in her clinic because of the
result of the skin biopsy. I became
worried because she told me before in her clinic during the incision that she
will just call or text me if there is something to worry about with the result.
I did not get there right away because during that time my son got admitted in
the hospital because of Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever. Life sometimes tests you…but of course you
just have to be strong. So I finally got there the day after my son got
discharge from the hospital on July 16, 2013 and got the news.
My
dermatologist explained that the mole that was removed is consistent with Basal
Cell Carcinoma, a type of skin cancer but there is nothing to worry about. She inspected the scar and prescribed
Imiquimod cream to be applied every other night for three months. She said that skin cancer is different from
other cancer because usually when it is removed it is already cured but there
is also a possibility of recurrence. She
advised me to visit her clinic every six months so that she can inspect my skin
if ever it will reoccur.
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| close up picture of the scar |
I had this mole for more than fifteen years and I only found out
now that it was cancerous, but of course I had my doubts because unlike my
other moles it’s colour is more like flesh and sometime it forms a crust over
it and got easily irritated. I read on
the internet about this type of skin cancer and here are some of the facts.
Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common form of skin
cancer. More than two million cases of this skin cancer are diagnosed in the
United States each year.
This skin cancer usually develops on skin that gets sun
exposure, such as on the head, neck, and back of the hands. BCC is especially
common on the face, often forming on the nose. It is possible to get BCC on any
part of the body, including the trunk, legs, and arms.
People who use tanning beds have a much
higher risk of getting BCC. They also tend to get BCC earlier in life.
This type of skin cancer grows slowly. It
rarely spreads to other parts of the body. Treatment is important because BCC
can grow wide and deep, destroying skin tissue and bone.
Basal cell
carcinoma: Diagnosis, treatment, and outcome
The only way to
diagnose any type of skin cancer, including basal cell carcinoma (BCC), is with
a skin biopsy. Your dermatologist can perform this procedure during an office
visit.
A skin biopsy should not cause anxiety. To perform a skin biopsy, your
dermatologist will remove the entire growth or part of it. Your dermatologist
may send this to a laboratory or look at it under a microscope. The findings
will be communicated in a biopsy report.
If the biopsy report states that you have BCC, your dermatologist will consider
many factors to determine which treatment will be best for you. There are
several ways to treat BCC:
Excision:
This is a surgical procedure that your dermatologist often can perform during
an office visit. It involves numbing the area to be treated and cutting out any
remaining tumor plus some normal-looking skin around the tumor.
Like the skin biopsy, this removed skin is examined under the microscope. This
may be done at a laboratory or by your dermatologist. The doctor who looks at
the removed skin needs to see whether the normal-looking skin is free of cancer
cells. If not, more skin will need to be removed. This is a common way to treat
BCC.
Curettage and
electrodessication: This treatment consists of two steps.
First, your dermatologist scrapes away the tumor. Then electricity is used to
destroy any remaining cancer cells. The two steps are then repeated.
Mohs surgery: Named for the doctor who developed
this surgery, Mohs (pronounced "moes") is a specialized surgery used
to remove some skin cancers. It offers the highest cure rate for
difficult-to-treat basal cell cancers. Your dermatologist will tell you if Mohs
is right for you.
If Mohs is recommended, this is what you can expect. The surgeon will cut out
the tumor plus a very small amount of normal-looking skin surrounding the
tumor. While the patient waits, the Mohs surgeon uses a microscope to look at
what was removed. The surgeon is looking for cancer cells.
If necessary, the Mohs surgeon will continue to remove a very small amount of
skin and look at it under the microscope. This continues until the surgeon no
longer sees cancer cells.
Cryosurgery:
This treatment uses liquid nitrogen to freeze cancer cells, causing the cells
to die.
Radiation: This treatment usually is reserved for
BCCs that cannot be cut out, or when surgery may not be the best choice. A
patient may need 15 to 30 radiation treatments.
Photodynamic therapy (PDT): This treatment uses light to remove
early skin cancers. PDT is a two-step process. First, a chemical is applied to
the skin. The chemical remains on the skin for some time so that it can be absorbed.
Then the skin is exposed to a special light to kill the cancer cells.
Medicated creams: Creams that contain a drug, such as
imiquimod or 5-fluorouracil, can be used to treat early BCC. A patient applies
the medicated cream at home as directed by his or her dermatologist.
Pills: While
extremely rare, there are reports of BCC spreading to other parts of the body.
Patients who have BCC that spreads may be prescribed vismodegib. This
medication also may be prescribed for patients who have advanced BCC that
cannot be cut out or treated with radiation.
Outcome
Nearly every basal cell cancer can be cured, especially when the cancer is
found early and treated.
BCCs are
abnormal, uncontrolled growths or lesions that arise in the skin’s basal cells,
which line the deepest layer of the epidermis (the outermost layer of the
skin). BCCs often look like open sores, red patches, pink growths, shiny bumps,
or scars. Usually caused by a combination of cumulative UV exposure and
intense, occasional UV exposure, BCC can be highly disfiguring if allowed to
grow, but almost never spreads (metastasizes) beyond the original tumor site.
Only in exceedingly rare cases can BCC spread to other parts of the body and
become life-threatening. BCCs are easily
treated in their early stages. The larger the tumor has grown, however, the
more extensive the treatment needed. Although this skin cancer seldom spreads,
or metastasizes, to vital organs, it can damage surrounding tissue, sometimes
causing considerable destruction and disfigurement — and some BCCs are more
aggressive than others.
When small skin cancers are removed, the scars are usually
cosmetically acceptable. If the tumors are very large, a skin graft or flap may
be used to repair the wound in order to achieve the best cosmetic result and
facilitate healing
People
who have had one BCC are at risk for developing others over the years, either
in the same area or elsewhere on the body. Therefore, regular visits to a
dermatologist should be routine so that not only the site(s) previously
treated, but the entire skin surface can be examined.
BCCs on the scalp and nose are especially troublesome, with
recurrences typically taking place within the first two years following
surgery.
Should a cancer recur, the physician might recommend a different
type of treatment. Some methods, such as Mohs micrographic surgery, may be
highly effective for recurrences. BCCs and other
skin cancers are almost always curable when detected and treated early
