Hi All,

Well, I haven't had the surgery, yet.

I was misinformed.... When I orginally had my "bump" removed, I had it done by a Plastic Surgeon, the same Plastic Surgeon was who I was scheduled with yesterday to have the remaining diseased skin removed which was not done the first time since he didn't reallize it was actually basal cell carnioma.

Anyway, when I called his office last week to find out if what he was going to be doing was indeed "Mohs Surgery" I was told that "yes, that is what you have". Well, I'm laying on the bed in the hospital ready to be wheeled in when the Dr. comes out to talk to my husband and myself and I asked him, "so, what you are doing is Mohs, correct?" His reply was, "no" he does not perform Mohs surgery. Basically he was just going to start hacking away at my nose in hopes that he got it all. I just couldn't have that. He was perfectly okay with that though and gave me the name of a "Mohs surgeon" that I now have an appt. with this coming Monday.

On the one hand I believe I did the right thing, I mean I didn't want him just slicing away, even though he is a very respected Plastic Surgeon. I wanted to have Mohs surgery cuz that is all you hear about when searching treatment for basal cell carcinoma. On the other hand, I'm bummed that it is still just not over with yet....

My husbands cousin who is a derm will be coming in town this week as well and she offered to look at it and the report. She orginally suggested I use Aldara but I am skeptical of that. I don't know that that would get all the cancer cells out.

Sorry I didn't post yesterday, since my husband and I both had the day off and our son is on Spring Break this week we decided to make it "fun" day. So we called some friends of ours and we all went out to lunch at a nice restaurant and then we pub crawled our way back home.

I will not have computer access again until this evening. I'm working at an off-site location today and won't have my laptop with me. I'm anxious to see if you all think I made the right decision.

Later,

Mary

Hi, Mary,

You absolutely made the right decision. You did your homework and you will be glad you did. Your nose will look a lot better, and you will not run the risk of having to have another surgery to remove anything the dr. missed the 1st time.

I understand that Moh's requires a very specialized training, and not all dr.'s have the time and patience to go thru with it.

You are doing exactly the right thing: get the Moh's appt. It's worth it even if
you have to be on a waiting list to get an appt. (I thought your fast surgery appt.was too good to be true!).

I think I was lucky - my bcc was diagnosed in Arizona, when skin cancers caused by the sun are very common. The derma. knew immediately I'd need Moh's because it was on my nose. He told me that in many places it's still done the "old-fashioned" way.

Thinking about your surgery, I decided to call my own dermatologist, to make
sure I was following up correctly on my own surgery. (I live outside the U.S.)
One of his medical assts. spoke with me, and explained that once you heve
Moh's, the cancer is gone in that place. Not much follow up is really needed.
She explained that I need to have a full body skin check in 3 mos. by a dermatologist and every 6 mos. thereafter. When I complained that
my nose was still red, she said that it's because when they do Moh's, they do
inside stitches that they leave in. The body has to absorb them, and break
them down. This takes time, and also the skin has to regrow. She said at least 3 months before the skin color returns to normal.

I agree with you about the Aldara. If the Aldara doesn't work, you've wasted
precious time allowing the bcc to progress. My feeling is that you're better off
just removing it once and for all with the Moh's.

I'm glad that you took some time to spend with your family. Very important!
I hope that you're feeling relaxed and not too worried now. You made the right decision. Proceed with confidence that you are taking absolutely the
right steps to take good care of yourself.

Best wishes,

Ruth Ann