Anyone here ever have skin cancer? I need advice and support

[chookie]

I am a "woman of pallor" -- blonde, very white skin, blue eyes. For 99% of my life, I've taken really good care of my skin as regards the sun, which has had the long-term benefit of maintaining a youthful appearance.

I lived for almost 20 years in Florida and was very careful about the sun -- but gee, someone with my complexion -- just a few melatonin secretions shy of an albino -- can only safely live in caves or very dense forests, and need sunblock even there!

I am now living in Pittsburgh, which is so dark and gloomy that I figured my cancer risk was going to plummet, and that i would have to start to worry about things like rickets, black lung and year-round Seasonal Affective Disorder, and then I found a lesion on my face. Bummer.

I saw my doctor, who said he thought it was a carcinoma, and referred me to a dermatologist to get am authoritative diagnosis. I will not be seen until end of March, and frankly, I am a bit apprehensive -- particularly because I do not have medical insurance.

I did know people in Florida who had had various skin cancers, but I never found out about what it was all about and what the treatment had been like, except that they would tease me that I should wear a burkha and carry an umbrella.

What can I expect to happen? I don't know anyone here who has had this problem, and no one to talk to about it. I would be most grateful if someone here could kind of fill me in on what I can expect.

[SoCalDem]

1. I have known several people who have had skin cancer

They are all very well and other than the actual removal (a little discomfort) and the anxiety, there have been no problems for them EXCEPT for ONE..

Life insurance and health insurance.. If you had planned on getting some, DO IT BEFORE you get an actual diagnosis..

Once you seen the specialist, and IF it is skin cancer, you will have a HORRIBLE time finding insurance..

If you had not planned to buy any, you might want to call the specialist's office and bug them to see you sooner.. You might also call a university medical center near you.. You might be able to get into a study..(Those are usually free and they sometimes even PAY YOU ).. They will not compromise your treatment, so don't worry about that..

I hope that it's nothing, and you are ok.:)

[SoCalDem]

2. Found some trial information for Pittsburgh

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=skin+cancer+trials+pittsburgh

[chookie]

8. Thank you

That's the sort of stuff I knew I needed information about!

You are so kind for giving me this excellent advice.

[radwriter0555]

3. The good news is that if it's ok with them that you wait until March you

are most likely not directly in harms way. No matter how crappy our insurance cos are, if a doc knows you're in jeopardy, he will make sure you know this and find a way to get treated on an urgent basis.

So use the net here, do your research and take care of it. Chances are real real good you will be just fine.

[Melsky]

4. Many family members have had it

We are pale too!

There has been a lot of improvement and research in the proceedures in recent years. My uncle just had one removed in layers with a laser. They take off thin layers, and test each one until they get one that's not cancerous. Supposedly this is much less invasive and heals faster.

Due to the fact that I grew up in So Cal and had my share of the sun, I imagine that I will get skin cancer some day too. It's just something you need to be aware of.

[chookie]

15. I am the "Johnny Winter" of the family

Presumably, an ancestor of mine mated with a Viking long ago, and this gene has been recessive until I came along, because the rest of my family all have beige skin and dark hair. If I did not resemble my father as much as I do, I would be wondering about my mother's fidelity to her husband, because I really look different from *everyone* else.

What is kind of scaring me is that my father's sister had a mole removed, and then developed a rapidily progressing cancer that killed her in short order. Years ago, my dad said, "Yeah, she was okay until she had that mole removed."

Oh well, ignorance is not always bliss, so I will research the matter further, and will assume that I am going to be just peachy, and won't think otherwise until someone authoritatively tells me otherwise.

[Wwagsthedog]

5. First of all, try to calm yourself down.

Yes, the word cancer is certainly scary but most skin cancers can be treated in a doctor's office by "burning" them off with an application of cryogenics (liquid nitrogen). I've had several skin cancers treated that way and I've got friends who have had similar treatments. No, I'm not a doctor and don't want to be confused with one but when you do see a dermatologist, have that person give you a full check-up for any lesions including those called keratosis (pre-cancerous indications). To set your mind at ease, check out some of the associated terminology using google or a medical site such as http://www.mayoclinic.com/index.cfm Good luck!

Ed. sp.

[chookie]

14. Thanks

it has been invaluable to me to get information from people who have had experience with these kinds of problems. You have not only allayed my fears, but given me a very deep appreciation for how lucky I am that this is a situation that can be readily dealt with.

My GP thought he saw some keratosis, also on the face (all in the temple/cheekbone area near the hairline), but it is a good idea to get the rest of my bod checked for them too.

All I have to do now is find out where I can buy a burkha!!

[Elanor]

6. "fair" skin isn't fair

I'm seriously pale too, and have been diagnosed with skin cancer half a dozen times by gp's. So far the dermatologists have always disagreed. I have terrible sun damage (though I have never tanned) and now see a dermatologist annually, just so I don't have to worry when other doctors say they think I have skin cancer.

Do go to the dermatologist, but try not to worry. What treatment you get depends very much on what the diagnosis is. My friends who have had skin cancer had surgery to remove the lesions and nothing else; or no treatment at all for the really slow-growing lesions; but it really depends on what kind of cancer and so on. I've had a number of moles and lesions removed and so far it's always been in the doctor's office, quick and painless. It's probably expensive though. Any hope you can get insurance?

I'm a big coward, and I'd try to get in to a dermatologist sooner. It's easier to deal with knowns than unknowns.

[chookie]

11. Thanks for sharing this personal info

This is the sort of stuff I needed to find out about, and you have been very generous to share your experiences with me, as we are "lotus fleshed skin sisters". I just wanted to get an idea about what to expect, and you have helped so much. Really, as you have said, it could be anything, and it is likely it is not a serious thing.

Thanks for being upfront about the potential high cost of treatment -- I needed to have some ballpark about what to expect. I am going to get insurance, and luckily have time to do so. I am otherwise in excellent health. If they demand a physical, I'll just have to get the old "dark circles" coverup from the bottom of my makeup bag! Luckily, it is in a pretty inconspicuous place -- I am so fortunate in that!!

[Snow]

7. "Cancer" is really too broad a term....

and covers everything from some really nasty stuff, like pancreatic cancer and multiple myeloma, down to stuff that's so mild that we don't even try to include it in the cancer registries, namely the squamous cell carcinomas and the basal cell carcinomas - those two are the commonest skin cancers. I did my doctoral work on the only nasty skin cancer, malignant melanoma - even sounds nasty, doesn't it - but it sounds like that's not what you've got. SCC and BCC can be kinda ugly, even disfiguring if you don't catch them in time, but it's very rare that they're even close to life-threatening. You'll be okay. Very good choice of a cancer.

[chookie]

13. I appreciate the reality check

Thanks for your authoritative remarks. It may sound stupid, but I wondered how worried I should be about this.

It sounds as though that -- in the scheme of things -- I am one lucky duck that I just have a small lesion in an inconspicuous part of my face that is most likely merely a nuisance that is easily taken care of.

My heart goes out to people who are *really* facing serious illness.

Thank you for the work you have done to advance knowledge about these serious disorders. You have made the world a better place.

[PsN2Wind]

9. I've had Basal cell carcinomas

removed, one from my nose, another from my ear lobe. Other than my nose showing obvious signs of having been cut on, I've had no other problems. I was told that cancers of this kind do NOT mean that you are susceptible to other types of cancer. I was told to avoid excess exposure to the sun and to do careful examinations of any skin lesions or other abnormalities.
As other posters have said the words "you have cancer" are frightening, regardless of the type. But this type is non-fatal and also advances quite slow so the time frame until your treatment does not likely mean there will be much change.
Good luck to you.

[HereSince1628]

10. My SO had basal cell carcinoma and it was shaved off nicely

more than 3 years ago. The C word was frightening, but close observation since then has revealled nothing new.

Only downside I can tell is that the area about the size of a dime seems a wee bit paler than the rest of her face (the area was on her temple).

[RebelOne]

12. Well, having lived in South Florida most of my life

and also being a fair-haired blonde, I learned early on the wisdom of sunscreen. My mother had skin cancer on her face. She was a bathing suit model in the late 1940s and would bake in the sun on Miami Beach to keep up her tan. But the cancer only appeared when she was in her '70s. Go figure. Anyway, I also have had a few friends in South Florida that had skin cancer. But they were not aware that sun screen could have helped prevent it. I now live in North Georgia, but still use a sun screen year 'round.

As to what to expect. I know that my mother had a simple procedure to remove the lesion on her face and everything was OK. She just had to wear a band-aid for a while and then had a very small scar from the operation.

Hope everything works out for you. Please keep us updated.

[trof]

16. malignant melanoma here

Miz t. (blonde, blue-eyed, age 59) had a little red spot on the side of her neck over 2 years ago. Just looked like a bug bite or a zit about to form, except it stayed. A doctor friend looked at it and said it was probably nothing, but she should get a dermatologist to check it out.
She kept putting it off.

Several months later, our friend saw it again and INSISTED that she get it looked at NOW.

The dermatologist said he was "99% sure it was nothing", but took a scraping and had it biopsied. It was melanoma.

She had it removed, together with the affected lymph nodes. Although it was a traumatic and frightening time for us, the surgery was relatively minor. In and out in one day. The cancer surgeon did a great job. The scar just looks like another little crease in her neck. She is squeaky clean and goes in for a checkup every quarter.

I have just read a study that says sun-blockers may keep you from burning, but may NOT prevent skin cancers. They studied groups who regularly used sun-blocker and those who didn't. There seemed to be no significant statistical difference in skin cancer occurrence.

Good luck, and YES, I'd get it checked out as soon as possible.

[Snow]

18. Good move....

and to emphasize my previous point, even within cancers, there are nasties and not-so-nasties. For example, the real nasty malignant melanoma is a nodular melanoma, whereas Mrs. T's affliction was most likely the relatively benign superficial spreading melanoma. Just get the moles looked at once a year or so, don't give any of them zaps of strong sun, and you should be okay.

[spinbaby]

17. You'll be okay

A lesion on your face tends to be a bit more expensive to remove because scarring is a concern, but it's still very minor surgery. A friend of mine had skin cancer on her forehead just above the left eyebrow--the dermatologist did such a good job removing it ,you can't even tell.