Skin Cancer Support Group

Oh shoot! I titled my topic and forgot to ask the question -- how often does SCC invade internal organs? I am so new to this type of cancer. I work in Urology...prostate and bladder cancers...no experience with skin cancers.

Well, I have obviously joined a group that knows when to go to bed...and that one should sleep in on the weekends, LOL!

I am really beginning to worry. I found a web site that has a "Full Body Checklist" and a chart for marking your moles and the proper way to diagram changes in them...or at least the way to remember where it was you noticed them. So, I plan to do my own body search before I go back to the surgeon. My surgeon who found this is a General Surgeon, not a Dermatologist -- does anyone think thati is bad? I have mixed feelings about it. On one hand, a Dermatologist is more accustomed to the look of a cancerous mole or skin chages that are suspicious. On the other hand, a General Surgeon who knows he isn't the paramount expert will typically be very cognizant of any changes...and will possibly listen to you since first time you were there he found cancer neither of you thought was there. I think that is rambling and may be incoherant...sorry.

The way this all happened was a fluke. I wasn't suspicious at all, not one bit. I was simply trying to take a thing off that was annoying to my husband. I let a GP...a regular old Internist take them off by doing a simple office slice....then they used silver nitrate to stop the bleeding and probably had to use it a bit more aggressively because I am on Plavix and Aspirin for cardiac stents...I seriously don't look or feel as old as this makes me sound, lol. The things the PCP took off, he THREW AWAY.....NO PATHOLOGY WAS EVEN ORDERED he was so sure they were benign skin changes from the sun. Well, maybe hindsight is 20/20...and I am equally to blame here, because I never suggested I would prefer them to be checked. But, only because the wound ended up sooooooo bad, and wasn't even attempting to heal two weeks later, that is the only reason I had it looked at while I was at the surgeon's for a different thing altogether.

Sorry, I tend to ramble when I am nervous, and I am really concerned after all I read last night. I have to admit, I always thought of any skin cancer aside from melanoma...well, kind of the "cold" of cancers -- totally inconsequential. Then I read here and all you all have gone through, and I feel like I have been ignorant and snooty about cancers of the skin. I know that sounds totally selfish of me to come here where you each share your fears and experiences, and I wander along and admit I would have thought most of you were whining about nothing just a week ago. I am so sorry. This has opened my eyes and allowed me to realize how serious this cancer can be. I suppose if I had acknowledged how bad it is...or can be...then I would have to admit I do everything wrong in regard to the care and protection of my skin. I am 52. I have never felt it...never acted it...love AC/DC and Nickelback....wear lowrise jeans...still fit and wear a two piece swim suit to the beach (I live on the Gulf Coast in FL)...every Saturday from April through Labor Day...and then some if the weather stays warm. I bake in the sun using an accellerator oil product with zero SPF! I do everything wrong...everything. My tan looked great this year, but it is the first year I noticed the aging it has done to my skin. I have a itchy...notoriously scaling bumpy mole on my left calf on the front of my leg...the area I had removed was basically under my left arm on the ribcage...but the areas I didn't show the surgeon, but now believe fully will be the exact same cancer....they are on my left breast just cms from the cancerous lesions that were removed.

I PUSHED MY SURGERY DATE BACK TO DECEMBER BECAUSE I WAS SO TOTALLY UNAFFECTED BY THE WORD -- "CANCER". Am I an idiot? Should I call back and beg then to take them off now?

Sorry. I am just nervous about this now. I don't mean to be so....I don't mean to bombard you all with so many questions. I just have no one to ask on a Saturday morning. I appreciate any responses you might be able to offer....thanks!

OOOppss. It appears this is a not-so-active site. I was very uspet by this diagnosis after reading about it...I have researched it til I can't stand to read it anymore. I will look around and see if there are groups who are perhaps here on weekends too.

Hi, I am very sorry about your diagnosis. It is a blessing that the doctor sent the speciman for pathology. I have a friend who had a large squamous cell removed fom her leg a few years ago. She has no reoccurance. She does see the dermatologist every three months for skin checks. You will probably have to change your sun habits and be good with the sunscreen. Good luck and take care, Mary Anne

Thank you so much for the response. I had hoped to find someone who knew more about this from the 'patient perspective'. I am used to medical terminology and doctors and researching information - I understand from the medical side of this. But I don't believe every sentence written describes every person. So, what you have written has helped me. They talk about "five year survival rates", and immediately I began to count off how long I remember the growts being there.....and, you know - letting my mind take me places I don't have to go. At least not if I have enough information to refute the medical journal articles. Thank you!

I highly recommend that you go see a dermatologist that specializes in skin cancer. They will treat you efficiently and effectively without all the mistakes the non specialists make. The best quality care is what you need.

Please consider my recommendation. I only wish the best for your care.

Hugs!
Debbie

Here are some helpful links:

http://www.skincancer.org/
http://www.skincarephysicians.com/...
http://www.skincancerguide.com/ind...

Please read the section about MOHS surgery on the Skin Cancer Foundation website. (the 1st link)