Wellness

[depglass]

If this dinner is causing you stress, cancel it if you can't find someone else to do it, and don't feel guilty. You should be as serene as possible for the sake of your blood pressure, etc. I have a friend that had this and she only had a minor scar, easily covered with makeup. I also had a friend who had one near her eye, and by the time they were done there were 200 tiny stitches under her skin. My point is there are extremes in every type of surgery. Best of luck to you.

[wonderfulworld]

On 12/8/2014 depglass said:

If this dinner is causing you stress, cancel it if you can't find someone else to do it, and don't feel guilty. You should be as serene as possible for the sake of your blood pressure, etc. I have a friend that had this and she only had a minor scar, easily covered with makeup. I also had a friend who had one near her eye, and by the time they were done there were 200 tiny stitches under her skin. My point is there are extremes in every type of surgery. Best of luck to you.

Thanks...I do have back up hosts, just in case.

[wonderfulworld]

I wanted to report back in to all of you who were kind enough to respond to my post. Went to the MOHS surgeon yesterday and like so many things in life you are really concerned about it turned out to be not a big deal. Very early cancer ( like maybe 6 months he said). The biopsy had really taken care of most of it. Borders were already mostly clean. No stitches even.

I feel like such a wimp.

He said this is a relatively rare but very superficial skin cancer ( 10% of basal cells) found only in people who can never tan but had bad sunburns as a child. He told me what to look for as I will probably get more of them. Anything that bleeds, which mine had or a sore that seems to heal and comes back etc.

The good news is he said I have little sun damage to my skin which is why I made it to 60 without skin cancer considering how fair I am. I have always stayed in or covered up because I am so sun sensitive and also I live in the north.

Thanks guys!!!! I really appreciate your help.

[jubilant]

Your not a wimp. Anything with the C word is scary. I am glad things worked out well for you.

[onlyshopsonline]

Wonderfulworld, I've been following your post and was just checking back to see how you did with your surgery. I'm so glad everything went well for you.

My husband got almost the exact same diagnosis right about the time you first posted, so I've been particularly interested in how you are doing.

He is 59, and has blond hair and blue eyes. This summer, he noticed a tiny scab on his forearm and assumed he had brushed up against something while doing yard work. In a couple of weeks it was gone and he didn't give it another thought until it appeared again about two months ago. So he made an appointment with our dermatologist.

A biopsy was done. Our dermatologist really thought it was nothing more than a broken blood vessel. However it came back as a superficial basal cell skin cancer. Because it's on his arm, he won't be having Moh's surgery. But, he will go back on Thursday to have a little more tissue removed. Our doc thinks he may have gotten it all with just the biopsy, but wants to make totally sure. It's not a very aggressive thing because he was told he could wait until after the first of the year to come back. But, when you hear the "C" word, why wait. I've actually been more nervous about this than he has.

He was never a sunbather, and never had a job working outside. But he did play outdoors a lot as a child....as most of our generation did. And, he did say he got a lot of sunburns.

Like you, he doesn't have much visible sun damage to his skin, and really only has one or two moles. It's a combination of being fair and having had too much sun exposure as a child. Our doctor isn't concerned, based on the biopsy report, and has just said that he needs to step up his dermatologist visits from once a year to twice a year.

Like I said, he's not giving it a second thought. I'm the worry wart in the family, and I'll be very relieved when that thing is totally gone on Thursday.

Have a great holiday!

[wonderfulworld]

Thanks to you all. I wanted to add a little bit since we are sharing info. The MOHS surgeon said once you start with one you will likely have more and have a slightly increased risks of other skin cancers...hence the whole body checks, mine suggested every 6 months.

He said the damage was done as a child before the days of sunscreen but now they want me in a SPF 50...Cerave.

only shops, I thought mine was a broken blood vessel too and when it bled I thought, oh good won't have to have that one lasered. But I have to say it bled quite a bit and made me quite suspicious when the red spot persisted.

My MOHS surgeon has coloring much like your husband and he said he has had five superficials removed. I would guess he is in his late 40's and showed me all the sun damage he has on his arms. Like your husband his were mostly on his body. I have dark brown hair and blue eyes and could never tan a bit...always burned, sometimes blistering burns. Irish.

He also said he thought it ( mine) was quite new but I am not so sure...many months at least unless the redness was rosacea and not the skin cancer. I also had some flaky skin there.

I do not have many moles either and the derm said that does reduce my chances of melanoma but they will check anyway.

Many, many thanks for all of your concern and advice and sharing of experiences. Happy holidays to all of you as well!

[Another new name Sue]

Fantastic, wonderfulworld! Obviously, you are not a wimp, just wanted to be fully informed and prepared for what was to come. We all learn by sharing here.

[onlyshopsonline]

Wonderfulworld, my husband was told the same thing about increased risk for other skin cancers, not only by our dermatologist but by a friend of his who is a doctor. They also said he would, most likely, have more of these pop up in the future.

I'm going to have to police him where sunscreen is concerned. He does usually wear long sleeves and a hat when he mows the lawn. And, I also just bought him several NorthFace long sleeve shirts the have an ultraviolet protection level of 50.

The strange thing is that he had some sunburns as a child. But, even though he is blond, he tans easily. I, on the other hand, have very dark brown hair and dark brown eyes, but my skin is more fair than his. I just get red in the sun and have tried to stay out of it most of my life...except for a few times as a teenager when I wanted a tan.

I already go to the derm. twice a year, ever since I had a small atypical mole removed. I'm always having things biopsied because melanoma runs in my family. Thankfully, everything else he as tested as come back as benign...not even atypical.

So, even though my husband has the blue eye risk, I actually thought I would get this diagnosis before he did.

[wonderfulworld]

On 12/17/2014 only shops online said:

Wonderfulworld, my husband was told the same thing about increased risk for other skin cancers, not only by our dermatologist but by a friend of his who is a doctor. They also said he would, most likely, have more of these pop up in the future.

I'm going to have to police him where sunscreen is concerned. He does usually wear long sleeves and a hat when he mows the lawn. And, I also just bought him several NorthFace long sleeve shirts the have an ultraviolet protection level of 50.

The strange thing is that he had some sunburns as a child. But, even though he is blond, he tans easily. I, on the other hand, have very dark brown hair and dark brown eyes, but my skin is more fair than his. I just get red in the sun and have tried to stay out of it most of my life...except for a few times as a teenager when I wanted a tan.

I already go to the derm. twice a year, ever since I had a small atypical mole removed. I'm always having things biopsied because melanoma runs in my family. Thankfully, everything else he as tested as come back as benign...not even atypical.

So, even though my husband has the blue eye risk, I actually thought I would get this diagnosis before he did.

How interesting...because I thought us non tanables(for lack of a better term) were the only ones who were susceptible to Superficial multi focal skin cancer. Obviously not true.

I wonder then why it is so comparatively rare?

[onlyshopsonline]

Wonderfulworld, I have no idea. I'm going to the appointment tomorrow with my husband and I will ask this question. In fact, I have a few questions that I want to ask. My husband will just ask the basics and be satisfied. I'm the worrier, and have already read half of the internet in search of information. This is why my husband is sound asleep and I'm online and watching TV...because my head never stops thinking, lol.

Also, thanks for the information on the sunscreen. I'm going to check that out also...for both of us...if I ever venture outside again!