Please help, skin cancer

[silver_shoes]

My dad, who is in his early 70s, has been diagnosed with a squamous cell carcinoma on his cheek and I’m terrified for him :(

He first noticed it maybe 3 months ago, if that, and at first the GP treated it with some cream as they thought it was an infection of a hair follicle, but that did not work, they then gave him some oral antibiotics, but unsurprisingly they did not work either. He was then sent to the two week wait dermatology clinic which is where the diagnosis came from.

He’s now waiting for surgery to have it removed, I’m absolutely terrified that it might spread. Or have done already.

I have a very legitimate reasons for anxiety around health issues, having been misdiagnosed repeatedly last year, and eventually getting a diagnosis of a long-term, lifelong medical condition.

Please.. are there any positive stories about people overcoming squamous cell carcinoma?

Thank you

[BlueIris]

I haven't had it personally, but I did a ton of research around non melanoma skin cancer when I was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma.

In the vast, vast majority of cases, it's not a big deal, and is almost always curable. Any deaths that occur tend to be among people who've neglected it for a long time, as in years, not months.

Of course it's worrying, but relatively speaking, it's highly unlikely to be as big a deal as many other cancers.

[silver_shoes]

Thank you for replying to me BlueIris ..

The positive is definitely that he saw the GP fairly quickly after noticing it , I just hope that the delay when they insisted on trying this cream, and then the antibiotics, has not made things worse..