Anyone had Mohs surgery for skin cancer?

[lofwyr]

Hey folks. Been a while since I have wandered back here. Of late I was diagnosed with a basal cell cancer in my nose. I am awaiting an appointment for mohs surgery.

I made the dumb mistake of googling it and of course I really thought I was doing genuine research. All I managed to do is catastrophize worst case scenarios from horrific pictures.

Anyone here who lives with this condition of health anxiety have mohs surgery? It feels like a time bomb of uncertainty. Will they find it to be more aggressive and disfiguring than I expect? The scenarios just run on because I fueled it with what I genuinely thought was research. I should have known better.

[BlueIris]

Haven't had it, but have read about it extensively owing to my own experience with BCC.

The whole point of Moh's is to cause the minimum disfigurement and loss of healthy tissue whilst ensuring the entire tumour is removed. It's the absolute gold standard.

Stay away from Google because the pictures are terrifying, especially with forehead flap repair. It makes for a more cosmetically appealing end result.

I know the overwhelming likelihood is that I'll be diagnosed with another BCC sooner or later, so you have my sympathy. Feel free to message me if you want to chat.

[lofwyr]

I guess what it really comes down to is the fear of the unknown. Had I gone through this process, I probably would be in a better place, but it is what it is, and I will work on acceptance. Seems to be the key to getting g through any of these things. Get lucky enough to live long enough and stuff is gonna break down. And yeah, I am looking at a lot of lesions that have been ignored by both me and my doctors and thinking I am going to probably be a repeat customer too

[lofwyr]

Always good to come back and tell how it went.

It went smoothly, the anticipation far worse than the surgery itself. I have some healing to do, but in a few weeks, I should be more or less back to normal.

Was it fun? No, obviously. But it wasn't that bad either.

So if you are here doing a search about mohs surgery, take some solace that it is amazing how skilled they are.

Back to my regularly scheduled healing, be well!

[nicole97]

I'm so glad you came back with a followup. i am terrified. Not really of the procedure itself (though I am a little anxious since it's on my forehead), but more terrified that it might end up being even deeper or more serious than they think.