Hey guys,
Wondering if anyone is familar with this.Mrs Rong has a small area on her face and needs to have it removed.
Anyone experience this before,what is she to expect?She has met with her
Dr.and he says its very common,
Thanks in advance

I think it is spelled "squamous"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squamous-cell_carcinoma

p/s I think they take them off with liquid nitrogen if they are small. best of luck to your wife and you.

If doc says not to worry, don't worry. by a hat and stay out of the sun!

Sycamore

Too much sunshine. Should be ok after excision and probably full skin thickness.

I had several removed from my face by freezing, my Dad had one that was bigger and required wide excision surgical removal. Outcome for both of us was fine because we caught it early. Can't say enough about the need for yearly dermatoligist exams especially as we get older.

It is the second most common skin cancer behind basal cell. I had one removed from my temple about 2 years ago. Most of these get caught early and have an almost 100% success rate. If it isn't caught early it is like any other type of cancer. The normal procedure is called Moh's surgery. They'll numb it up and cut a scallop from here face. They'll hopefully have a lab in the building to test the margins of the scallop. They'll keep cutting until they have clear margins. Clear margins usually means they've got it all. They stitch it up, let it heal, and life goes on. She really needs to stay out of the sun from this point forward. Neutragena spf 50+ is her best friend. I have dry skin and use a hand lotion with spf 15 in it everyday. I wear Neutragena at least spf 50 on my face and arms every time I'm in the sun. I also have an impressive collection of sun shirts and hats. A Tilley hat of some flavor is a good hat and also looks good.

If they caught it early, consider it a good warning sign that she needs to stay out of the sun.

Another word of caution, most skin damage occurs at an early age. Sun damage is cumulative which is why she needs to stay out of the sun - but the big take away is that she is very likely to get more spots - even if she never goes back into the sun. The future spots are the result of the cumulative lifetime damage. I've had 4-5 basal cells and 1 squamous cell removed in the past 5 years and I've been doing my sun routine for at least the last 7 years. I expect more. I'm really, really hoping to avoid melanoma. It doesn't run in my family, basal cell does, but melanoma is bad news. She'll also be on at least a 6 month check up schedule into the foreseeable future.

Good luck and tell her to pay attention to her skin.

I would also add that cloudy days are no guarantee of no sun damage as UV rays penetrate clouds.

This cancer is really slow growing and if you get it before it breaks through the skin and spreads it should be just like removing a wart.

The Ms will be ok. I had one removed from my right cheek and one removed from top of head. Did it my freezing. Scab falls off in about a week and leaves no scar.

And no it wasn't the cheek above my right hip.

I had two spots "cut off" (scraped, actually) recently. Just found out last week when the biopsies came back that they don't think they got it all, looks like it will require a more extensive "surgery", waiting to hear about that now. They told me also it was from sun, possibly all those years in the surf and offshore?

All good advice here. Catch it early and it is very likely not a big deal.

BUT these darn things can pop up here and there and again and again. Do not neglect having the skin checked ever year or so.

Seems that sometimes even what seems to be small little cancers can have a "root" on them that can go deep into your skin. The Moh's (?) surgery is required. I was fortunate and the doc recognized a problem when he saw it. Was a little thing on the surface but extended deep into the skin. If you get one froze off and a year later one comes back in the same spot, get to the doc quick.

I have had three surgeries and numerous basal and squamous cancers froze off and it seems I need some sort of treatment every year or so. Grew up in Arizona, life guard etc.... the skin damage was done and the things erupt again and again.

TF

btw, my wife can now tell the difference in the types and helps in the "inspection." However, this last time in, she did miss one on the top of my head.

have my head sprayed every month or so , keep ahead of it.

norm

Crap! The one they froze off last year (after freezing one off the year before) has returned within 6 months!
I'll need to check with the dermatologist. (Staying out of the sun isn't an option for this old cowboy!)

Squamous cell cancer can be readily treated but has to be treated aggressively. When you say on the face it sounds like a skin cancer. Is that what you mean?
Depending on a lot of things, like where it is, how big it is, how deep it is and so on it might be an easy deal or a very big deal. Maybe a simple freezing will do it if the thing is quite small. Or, it may require surgery or possibly radiation therapy.

Only the doctors who are seeing her can give good advice applicable to her situation but the general information you are getting here is good, just general and it can't be specific for her unless it's by a doctor who has examined her.

As noted above, it needs to be treated adequately or it can come back. And, and this is a very big 'and', squamous cell cancers have the potential of spreading or metastasizing and that is a truly big deal.

Like g5m said, it can spread so don't delay having it addressed. In May 2013 I was diagnosed with stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma that started in my tonsils and spread to my neck & lower jaw. By the grace of God, it went no further and after 7 weeks of chemo/rad I'm still clean.

Had one on my chest removed surgically and looks like Zorro got a hold of my azz. 3 others just zapped w/nitrogen. The curse of being a blond haired, blue eyed white boy that ran around half naked as a young'un.

I went to Dermatologist for years with basal cells that would crop up from time to time. One in particular on my lip that a Family Doc had cut off and a lab had called "pre-cancerous" never actually went away. The Dermatologist sliced it off, sent it to a lab, and they said margins were clear. But it stayed a little rough spot.

Then a different Family Doc happened to see it, and another one that had just come up on the other side of my lower lip.
She sent me to Head and Neck Surgeon who had an on-premise lab.

He wound up doing a "Lip Shave" on my lower lip. They basically just peel the skin all the way back and dig out the cancer. There were two of them, both Squamous Cell.

Forty some odd stitches in the lower lip are NOT a fun deal.

Piss on a bunch of Dermatologists as far as I'm concerned. The Surgeon freezes the ones he thinks he can remove that way, and cuts out the rest.

I've never had one come back that he has treated.

What was your surgeon's specialty (listing) curdog?
I believe I need to look one up, as my dermatologist appointment is in May - and can NOT be advanced, as he is overbooked, already.

I had a basal cell carcinoma several years ago that was removed with the Moh surgery. It seemed like they cut out a chunk of flesh the size of my finger from my shoulder. The lab said said the margins were clear and as far as I know they got it.

Get it cut out.

He is Dr. Prestridge. His clinic is "Head and Neck Surgical Associates." Basically, he treats any ailment from the neck up. He has a couple other Docs on staff as well.

I was originally referred to him by my family doctor for a sinus infection, and he put me on a regimen I still follow for it.

From what I was told by the Dr. who sent me to him for the lip cancer, an operation on the lip is really tricky. It's easy to wind up with a drool or a hanging lip.

What regimen for your sinus?

Irrigate with a salt/baking soda solution at the first sign of stuffiness. A Clariton [OTC], a Singulair[Prescription], and two sprays of Flonase [prescription] in each nostril every morning.

Thanks, curdog. Very similar to what I was told/instructed.

My two cents:

1. - Give your dermatologist a call and tell them you understand they are booked up, but you are worried and would they please recommend another dermatologist. They may squeeze you in. Require it to be soon as in the next two weeks.

2. - If you are unsuccessful with your own derma guy, remember that this is not rocket science. Find one somewhere and get in.

3. - I have had them removed with a simple "surgical" method where they cut out what they think is best and also the Mohs surgery. I had one come back very close if not the exact spot the regular "excision surgery" was done. Seems they did not get the root or it was another eruption just close by. I would prefer the Mohs on the next one. But as always, a competent doc is needed. But, it is not rocket science. The last Mohs I had done took about 15 minutes. I was in and out with a bandage on my face in about an hour.

TF

Why not see if your regular doc can get you an appointment with a Surgeon who specializes in skin cancers? Since it is a re-occurrence, he should be able to fast track you.

Sounds like the Dermatologist had a chance and blew it.

I have had 3 surgeries the last involved 17 stitches on my right cheek. I think I hung out in the sun too long when I was a kid and then moved to Florida. I had a plastic surgeon/skin cancer guy that cut sampled cut sampled some more until all the bad cells were removed. The stitch was 2 inches long and is impossible to see. I must have hit the lottery with that surgeon.

Thanks all,I figured some of you southern guys have dealt with this before,more so than us up in the ice belt.
Whenever the C word is thrown out it gets everybody concerned.
It sounds like she wants the MOH'S surgery and is looking into the Plastic Surgery that follows.Again thanks for the input..

Wifey just had the Moh's a couple few months ago on a spot on the side of her nose..

Experience is the key. She might have to do revision on about a MM of scar, but the rest looks great. This was on an incision from her nostril to between her eyes.

Her sun damage was from her youth. Make your kids wear sunscreen, people..

I had the Mohs procedure done on my nose a couple of years ago. My nostril was cut from just about the nostril opening about an inch upward on the side of my nose. Fortunately, the dermatologist who did it also does plastic surgery, so you have to use a magnifying glass to see the almost nonexistant scar.

Ask around about the plastic surgery skills of the dermatologist; you may not need a separate plastic surgery procedure to deal with the scar.

Had one removed from my left shoulder by my Family Practice doc. He cut deep and margins were clear. He said watch close, it's likely to return. It's been about twenty years now and hasn't returned yet.

Had a nodule removed from my thigh a few months ago by a plastic surgeon in the same group as my dermatologist. He took out a football shaped chunk about an inch long and a half inch deep. Both he and the dermatologist were really surprised when the biopsy came back and said it was a basal cell carcinoma.

Don't forget folks, skin cancer in its different forms doesn't necessarily show up in areas that have been exposed to the sun.

TF49 and other posters are right on.

Living in FL most of my adult life, and being outdoors a lot, I've had 'em froze or "burned" off my back, arms, legs, and areas of my head just about every year for years with liquid nitrogen.

Had one come along on my forehead a couple years ago that required Moh's. I had kept getting it burned, but the area was sore and changed colors a a lot. Got it scraped for a biopsy and came back positive.

Long story short, they sliced and dug out tissue approx. the size between a nickel and a quarter 3 layers deep. That's what it took for the in house testing lab to come back negative on the next layer.

Just gotta keep checking yourself every year, if you're gonna be out in the sun a lot. Even if you're not out there a lot now, your past habits count.