Comments on: Skin Cancer

By: Marc

Marc — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 05:15:01 +0000

Can you say, “basal cell carcinoma”? I’ve had a number of them; I have red hair, green eyes, light complexion… and one of my cars has a sunroof and the other is a convertible. Do I remember my sunscreen? Not always.
I must! Resolution: keep SPF 45 t the 113th power—nearby—and use it!

Once a year—find a great dermatologist and see her or him.
Meantime, if you see something that looks odd, see the doc asap.

Use sunscreen. And, as Auntie Vida said in Too Wong Foo (movie)...
“believe in yourself, think good thoughts, and MOISTURIZE!”
Yeah, I know… I need to get some moisturizer… even if it is a lot
of trouble to use!

I will start using the high spf sunscreen, though!
—30—

By: Bill

Bill — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 19:09:33 +0000

Hi Mark,

Good luck with your site at http://www.skincancersolution.com.

I see you use a cream called Aldara. How does it work compared to Effudex 40?

Your site is very informative. So many people may have skin cancer and never realize it. I hope that they’ll find their way to your site.
—Bill

By: mark

mark — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 01:36:28 +0000

I’ve put up my site dealing with skin cancer and my personal treatment with Aldara. I hope this can help others.

http://www.skincancersolution.com

By: Kim

Kim — Fri, 12 May 2006 22:49:21 +0000

I wanted to thank you for the information that you have provided here about skin cancer. I’m a 43 year old white female that has had 3 basal cell carcinomas removed in the last 3 years. I don’t know if Tommie will check back to see this, but I definitely recommend that she get the stitched area that she is concerned about biopsied, since that is how my 2nd BCC was discovered (it was along the scar line of my first Mohs procedure and looked like it was part of the scar). I wouldn’t be overly concerned about it invading the bone unless it had spread deeply enough to be in contact with the bone. If there’s normal tissue between the tumor and the bone, it’s a pretty sure bet they got it all.

You’re performing a valuable service by talking about your skin cancer experiences. Keep up the good work!

By: Tommie

Tommie — Fri, 24 Mar 2006 17:36:00 +0000

I am a 36 yrs. old white female. I was told by 3 different doctors for 7 years that a spot on the shin of my leg was eczema. It felt like it itched down to the bone. Last fall, at my request, I had a biopsy. It came back as squamous cell. I also had a biopsy done of a bicycle scar that I had on my knee. It was less than a year old and never was exposed to the sun. It came back as squamous cell. The bicycle scar never healed correctly and always itched. I had both removed. Now, the spot on my shin is looking “bumpy” and itching. The lab report said they got clear margins. But, now I am wondering if I need to get the stitched spot biopsied??? And I am wondering how do they know if it has gone pass the skin layer and invading the bone, etc.

By: Jeff Miller

Jeff Miller — Tue, 13 Sep 2005 21:20:05 +0000

Hi Bill,

LOL…

“I don’t think that we can expect the Bush administration to act…(period). At least not in our best interests. Kinda like the dark ages to me.

Do you think it will be cool to be seen wearing “SPF 86 suntan cream fromMobil/Exxon”, or will be have to wear designer brands?

Thanks for the positive thoughts on my blog…this is a new world to me.

“See what you started?”

I have been called a gadfly (had to look it up).

I’ll be popping off from time to time.

By: Bill

Bill — Sun, 11 Sep 2005 16:34:18 +0000

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for posting! I’ll post a link to your blog also, as I feel it could be of interest to the folks that read this one.

I don’t think that we can expect the Bush administration to act on the number of Americans developing skin cancer until perhaps the oil industry starts to produce sunblock products.

Then the new (oil product) sun blocker may be promoted as the cure. New scientists may be drawn in to debunk the theory of ozone depletion, or weather changes due to warming of the atmosphere from burning oil-related products. Oil will be our friend—again. And we’ll be protected, provided that we slather our bodies with SPF 86 suntan cream from Mobil/Exxon on everytime we venture outdoors.

Of course, we’ll have to blame the Chinese for global warming and the climate changes, and the ozone depletion.
—See what you started?

By: Jeff Miller

Jeff Miller — Sun, 11 Sep 2005 14:35:55 +0000

Bill, what a detailed informative post.

I think I will reference this post on my blog about senior safety and health issues.

Your advice is sage; however, do you think the younger folk are getting the message?

Do you think George Bush’s administration will ever get what global warming is doing to these alarming increases in skin cancer?

I too remember the days of deep tanning…of baby oil and iodine to get the darkest tan. How fun it was to cut high school in the early days of spring in Philadelphia…to head with the crowd down to the Jersey shore to play football on the sand. We would arrive the next day in school wearing our great early tan…and of course, we always wore white that next day to show off our tans better.

Oh my, what we didn’t know then.

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 08 Sep 2005 02:25:11 +0000

Thank you Laura!

For explaining the mohs procedure and contributing the information above. You are exactly right!

I just went to the dermotologist today. After looking at what was left of my squamous cell skin cancer the doc advised instead of the Mohs procedure that I might want to try applying Efudex to the area for two weeks and then return for an evaluation and another biopsy.

According to the doc, Efudex is like chemotherapy in a tube. You apply it twice a day until you start to look really ugly as it peels off the keratoses on your skin. After two weeks your skin is (according to the doc) “as smooth as a baby’s butt.” But according the the pictures on the promotional literature I’ll be looking about 20 years older in a few days. I guess you could call it “ugliness in a tube”. But I guess it beats slowly cutting a quarter-sized hole out of my forehead.

I don’t look good enough for anyone to be able to tell the difference anyway. A little bit uglier no one would notice.

By: Laura

Laura — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 20:35:10 +0000

Bill, sounds like you are having the Mohs procedure.
I work for a group of skin cancer surgeons who perform the Mohs micrographic procedure. With the Mohs procedure, the tissue is processed in a lab in our office immediately following an “pancake layer” (flat, thin) type of excision. While the patient remains in our waiting room, our physicians, who are also certified dermatopathologists, examine the tissue under the microscope. If cancer cells remain, you are brought back for another excision immediately. The process goes on until no cancer cells remain. Mohs micrographic surgery has the higest cure rate when it comes to skin cancer removal. You also achieve the best cosmetic result because the surgeons are only removing the affected tissue and not guessing at where the cancer cells are located. I recommend this method of removal for anyone diagnosed with a squamous cell carcinoma or basal cell carcinoma (Mohs is not appropriate for treatment of melanoma). If you are looking for a Mohs surgeon, be sure to find one who is a fellow of the American College of Mohs Micrographic Surgery and Cutaneous Oncology (ACMMSCO). These surgeons have received extensive, 1-2 year training in nothing but Mohs surgery and reconstruction of the area. Be weary of surgeons who are trained by the American Society for Mohs Surgery (ASMS) as many of these physicians have received nothing more than a weekend course with no training in reconstruction. You can search for a Mohs College trained physician at http://www.mohs.net/surgeon_finder.html.
Best wishes to you !