Basal Cell Carcinoma - Has anyone here had any experience dealing with it?

[Snatch Catch]

A family member just got diagnosed with a spot of it, but they were told it wasn't serious, and that it was the most common type of skin cancer.

Has anyone had any dealings with it themselves or by people they know?

[ny]

A family member just got diagnosed with a spot of it, but they were told it wasn't serious, and that it was the most common type of skin cancer.

Has anyone had any dealings with it themselves or by people they know?

my buddy just had his removed a few weeks ago, not a big deal but he still has a nasty looking scar.

[Barb51850]

A family member just got diagnosed with a spot of it, but they were told it wasn't serious, and that it was the most common type of skin cancer.

Has anyone had any dealings with it themselves or by people they know?

Someone I know had three of those removed from her face. She is fine, but the doctor told her she has to be very careful and protect herself from the sun. She uses sunscreen, and never goes out on a sunny day without a wide brimmed hat.

[Octoberbaby]

A family member just got diagnosed with a spot of it, but they were told it wasn't serious, and that it was the most common type of skin cancer.

Has anyone had any dealings with it themselves or by people they know?

My BF just had a nasty case of it on his nose. They did what they call Mohs Surgery which is they take one layer of skin off the affected area and then they test it to see if it is malignant. If so, they take a second layer and test it. They keep doing this until they get a negative reading. As you can imagine, this can take all day. My BF had to get three layers taken off. Then, because so much was taken off, the doctor grafted skin from the back of his neck onto the area that was removed. It looks pretty nasty at first but improves with time and also the doctor can do laser to even it out and improve the appearance of it. Other than that it is not generally life threatening and, once removed, has a low rate of recurrance.

Good luck to your family member.

[CptCrunch]

Usually has a very good prognosis and doesn't metastasize. After they cut it out, get 'em to wear a hat and sunscreen with UVA AND UVB protection (SPF only measures UVB protection).

[Snatch Catch]

Thanks, everybody, for your responses.

[Tribefan]

A family member just got diagnosed with a spot of it, but they were told it wasn't serious, and that it was the most common type of skin cancer.

Has anyone had any dealings with it themselves or by people they know?

Yep--that's what I had 2 years ago this past June (when I was 40): one between my lip and nose and two very small ones on my shoulder. It's is the most common and easily treatable form of skin cancer.

The ones on my shoulder were removed in my dermotologist's office in a matter of minutes. The one on my face required a special surgery (Moh's Surgery it's called) because it was on my face and due to its size and location. Have to say, you cannot tell in any of the areas that anything was wrong.

Even though it's not "serious" you still have to be careful. I always wear sunscreen with an spf of 45 or 50 and wear it on my face everyday. I also wear big hats when I'm going to be out in the sun for long periods of time. I also get my skin checked every year now.