I want to tell you my journey with Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC), Skin Cancer, on the side of my nose. There were questions I had that I didn't really understand going into surgery, hopefully this will help you, a loved one, or a friend to be prepared.
- What did I see that made me have it looked at
- what did I not know and wish I had
- and what happened during and after my surgery
My video below had all the details followed by some highlights and photos
Below is my video and some more photos that might help you
Please share your thoughts and share this with others that have questions
What I had
- BCC Basel Cell Carcinoma, Which has multiple types. Many of you will experience the ‘what you see is what you get’ type. They just remove what can be seen, close it up and off you go
- Others will have what I have .. a smaller surface area and it has tendrils the go deep and wide that all need removed.
When did it start, how did I notice it
My spot in 2017 that I had checked
- 2017 i went in for a spot on my nose that didn’t seem right.
- 2019 had the treatment to kill the top layer of cells to kill off some pre cancer
- 2021 decided that ‘scar’ just did not look right, called in to have it checked.
What I was worried about prior - My biggest concerns going into this
this photo is my nose in August of 2021 when I decided that 'scar' just didn't seem right.
- would i lose most of my nose to the cancer
- Will I be put out or wake? It was a bit confusing - nurses said i would be put out, Surgeon said no, I didn’t even think about the Mohs .. i didn’t know anyone personally that had what Ihad done to answer my questions
- how would I survive without food or water all those hours .. then
- what if I needed to go to the bathroom during the 2nd surgery?
What Happened
Photo is when i just got home from surgery
- I did not lose most of my nose
- Local to numb the nose, the Dr. was very good and it did not hurt as bad as the biopsy, she was tapping my nose as she put in the needle that helped
- Could be 1 to 1 ½ hours for the biopsy of the MOHS to be done, first one was about an hour
- Needed a 2nd removal. Dr told me it was about what she expected.
- The hole was pretty big but I did not look in the mirror at it until I was with the next Dr.
- I would definitely take my phone next time.
- One nurse tested me about eating, out of the blue she asked what I'd had for breakfast… i wondered for a second why she would ask me that when I couldn’t eat.. I told her she was pulling a WWII GI tactic asking who your favorite baseball player was to try to catch Nazis
- About 1 ½ hours for the DR to finish the other surgery he was doing.
- He showed me the hole in my nose, talked about the options we had discussed at our visit a few weeks prior, then he drew on my face what he would be doing.
- Taking a flap of skin by the side of my nose and that was pulled up over the hole. He told me there was dissolvable stitches in the under layer, then the top stitches to hold that layer together
- I had anesthesia that didn’t put me out but during the most of what he was doing i was very out of it, later they must back it off and then i could chat some with them while he was doing the stitching.
- Since I was not totally out, i didn’t have to wait long to leave.
After the Surgery & Lessons Learned
- If you surgeon tells you what he will be doing, that IS what he will be doing. No matter that your friend’s Uncle Jim just a spot removed.. Or that my own dad, brother and mom’s husband did, that is not what I was having done.
- Follow your surgeons advice to the letter. If it is to be cleaned 4 times a day, do it 4 times a day
- My face was pretty swollen. I took lots of photos to document how it progressed
- Pain… i was shocked at how little pain this caused.
- Stitches out 1 week after
2 1/2 Months later
- I’m now 2 ½ months after surgery
- At 2 months I had my followup .. it was a bit redder than he liked but he said that will go down
- I will be watching for spots that don’t heal, moles that change color, and skin texture that is odd that I didn’t have before
- Swelling of side nose is less, but still there. I can’t wear my glasses the whole day yet
Be sure to see your own doctor for any type of sore that does not heal, moles that change, or weird spots that just appear. Better to have it checked than not.
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