Fear about Basal Cell Carcinoma

[BritinSA]

Hey everyone, I should preface this and say, I had crippling health anxiety about 6 years ago and managed to get back from it. Every now and again I’ll have a flare up and then it’ll settle down again, but lately I’ve been really struggling.

I have had a little spot (I assumed a small mole) just below my lip for as long as I can remember. I was pregnant a few years ago and since then I noticed it was a little darker and more prominent, but I never paid it much attention. I have many moles and had a full body check with my dermatologist (who is also treating a scar with laser therapy for me, so I’ve probably seen him 3 times since August 2022) when I had two moles removed from my foot, which came back as “dysplastic”. He reminded me that I needed to stay on top of checking my moles but said that an annual visit would catch anything if I stayed on top of it.

However, lately I have spiralled as I had a bad cold (thanks to my toddler) and with the cold weather my lips and nose have been chapped and sore from rubbing. For the first time the area below my lip hurt so I called and made an appointment to see my dermatologist last week, but they can’t get me in til 14th Feb. Since then I’ve petrified myself looking at pictures and convinced myself I have a basal cell carcinoma that I’ve left untouched for years and years (at least 9, from looking at old photos). I know this is a treatable cancer, but equally I fear needing to have MOHs surgery or being disfigured because the cancer is deep.

I feel so alone in dealing with this. I’ve worked so hard to get away from HA fears (mostly centred around my lymph nodes) and yet I’ve slipped right back 😞

Does anyone have any reassurance for me? Have you had a diagnosis and been fine? What else could it be?

[PennyP123]

I'm so sorry you are going through this and I completely understand. If you read my posts around here you'll see that skin issues are one of my biggest worries. I say "one" because...who am I kidding, right? I can go cray cray about any number of health issues. Anyhow, here's what I do know. Just because you think you've got "something" whatever it may be doesn't mean that you do. That spot on your skin could be any number of things the vast majority of which are benign....and I mean they can be all kinds of things benign things that Dr. Google doesn't even bring up because Dr. Google prefers to scare all of us.

It could indeed be a mole...and if it is that's not a big deal at all....or it could be any number of other inconveniences...

In all likelihood you irritated your skin (from the cold) and here we are.

I think you're wise in getting it checked out...not because I think it's anything bad but because that's my personal policy for me. I see something, I say something.

I'm just sorry you have to wait so long to get in. Here's what I do... ('cause the waiting is the hardest part) I call in the mornings and ask if there are any cancellations. Sometimes there are cancellations and if you can get their the same day, you might just get seen that day.

Hang in there and keep us posted.

[BlueIris]

I let a BCC sit and grow on my forehead in an ulcerated, bleeding state for well over 5 years. It wasn't a small spot, it was a big, weird shaped lump with raised edges and a sore in the middle. It was about half an inch by a third of an inch.

It didn't require Moh's surgery, just a wide local excision with a skin flap repair that took about 45 minutes under local anaesthetic. No further recurrences, and no complications. Yes, I have a scar, but people tend not to notice it unless I point it out.

I get that you're scared, but I promise you'll be fine.

[BritinSA]

Hi Penny, just to follow up and say that I saw my dermatologist yesterday. He looked with a dermatoscope and said he wasn’t overly concerned about it, but given it had reached the point of getting irritated, he’d advise removal. Because of where it is it was painful having it numbed and taken off, and I hope it heals well. I’m just waiting for his follow up call to give me the lab results now, but I’m trying to be positive that he is wasn’t too concerned.