29th March 2007
Hi, I was diagnosed with a basal cell on my lip last year and have gone through two treatments to completely remove it. I though I would just summarize my treatments to help anyone who may have a basal cell on the lip or other complicated area of the face.
My first treatment was Aldara, applied directly to the lip twice a day for 2 weeks. This was a very extreme treatment, my entire upper lip and part of my lower lip swelled and would bleed occasionally. The first week was very rough, eventually a scab formed which was removed. It looked fine, as bad as treatment was it seemed very effective, my skin was clear and there was no sign of cancer.
About 6 months later I noticed a red mark starting to form in the same spot. I was nervous and got a biopsy done, which confirmed it was basal cell. This time around my Dr. recommended MOHS surgery. I just had the MOHS done 2 weeks ago and was immediately sent to a plastic surgeon to rebuild my lip. As far as the MOHS goes, aside from the initally numbing shots it was not painful. I had to go in for 3 rounds and they ended up taking a good portion of my upper lip. The plastic surgeon did a "lip advancement" borrowing healthy tissue from an area below the wound and advancing it forward to fill in the hole. Again, just the shots hurt a little , the procedure itself was not painful. The recovery itself was not too painful either, the first 48 hours where a little rough, but I only needed the pain killers twice it was just more uncomfortable than anything. I looked like hell for 4 days, my lip was huge, 40 stitches, but the swelling went down within a week. All the stitches are out now and you really need to stand close to me to tell I had any type of surgery.
For anyone considering Aldara or another topical treatment over MOHS, I would recommend MOHS 100%. For me the surgery was the only way to know for sure they cancer would be completely removed and it turned out to be a faster recovery than I anticipated. I would recommend doing your research to find a good plastic surgeon, but it is amazing what they can do. I was basically missing 1/2 my upper lip and 2 weeks later you can hardly tell anything was wrong.
Good luck to anyone diagnosed, if I can answer any questions on my treatment please let me know. Bye,.
My first treatment was Aldara, applied directly to the lip twice a day for 2 weeks. This was a very extreme treatment, my entire upper lip and part of my lower lip swelled and would bleed occasionally. The first week was very rough, eventually a scab formed which was removed. It looked fine, as bad as treatment was it seemed very effective, my skin was clear and there was no sign of cancer.
About 6 months later I noticed a red mark starting to form in the same spot. I was nervous and got a biopsy done, which confirmed it was basal cell. This time around my Dr. recommended MOHS surgery. I just had the MOHS done 2 weeks ago and was immediately sent to a plastic surgeon to rebuild my lip. As far as the MOHS goes, aside from the initally numbing shots it was not painful. I had to go in for 3 rounds and they ended up taking a good portion of my upper lip. The plastic surgeon did a "lip advancement" borrowing healthy tissue from an area below the wound and advancing it forward to fill in the hole. Again, just the shots hurt a little , the procedure itself was not painful. The recovery itself was not too painful either, the first 48 hours where a little rough, but I only needed the pain killers twice it was just more uncomfortable than anything. I looked like hell for 4 days, my lip was huge, 40 stitches, but the swelling went down within a week. All the stitches are out now and you really need to stand close to me to tell I had any type of surgery.
For anyone considering Aldara or another topical treatment over MOHS, I would recommend MOHS 100%. For me the surgery was the only way to know for sure they cancer would be completely removed and it turned out to be a faster recovery than I anticipated. I would recommend doing your research to find a good plastic surgeon, but it is amazing what they can do. I was basically missing 1/2 my upper lip and 2 weeks later you can hardly tell anything was wrong.
Good luck to anyone diagnosed, if I can answer any questions on my treatment please let me know. Bye,.