As i could'nt find much on scalp cancer and pdt treatment online i would like to share my experience .
As a child i spent lots of time playing outside , but i've never really laid in the sun , and for the last 15 years avoided sun and didnt leave to house without sunscreen ,but i have worked outside for several hours a day but honestly i never really wore a hat .
In 2021 i had an eye problem (epiescleritis)that got quite severe and as this is often related to autoimune problem i was under observation by various departments at the hospital .
I had gone for regular check ups at the dermatologist and several actinic quera sprayed over the years , but until they were asking me if i hadanything i thought shouldnt be there i never thought to mention a flaky patch on my scalp .
They looked at it gave me a special shampoo and was told to go back in 2 months if it didnt clear up , as far as i remember it had been there maybe 5 years . If anything it seemed to get worse so when i went back they booked me for a biopsy , that on paper said it was to rule out lupus , when the results came through it was Basel Cell .
I was then reffered to the melanoma department , though not melanoma one of my doctors must of thought i would benefit from a more specialised consultant .
He shaved a large area on scalp and decided the best treatment would be photodynamic therapy , so i had 3 sessions, Metvix cream applied and left for a few hours then the red lamp treatment.
I didnt really know what to expect and yes it was painful but i managed to deal with it . After the second blast i had 4 additional puncture biopsies , and after the 3rd another 3 on the areas that lit up most with the PDT.
I must say at times it was very difficult to deal with , having my hair shaved, the pain of the treatment it's really life changing .
Now 9 months on after last treatment i was concerned about a very hard crusty 3 mm area so at my check up on thursday they kept me in and i had a puncture biopsy, now its the wait again for the results.
If anyone has anything similar and would like to contact me i have loads of photos of the different stages of treatment.
I must say as well as the treatment i have found how some people around me have let me down with a lack of support and others have been really great !! also i think i've been lucky with the doctors and nurses that have treated me.
but yes skin cancer is a life changing thing , and i dont really think it's ever going to fully go away.