Repetitive Mohs Surgery
I am not new to having BCC. I am fair skinned and grew up in Florida (61 years).
I more recently moved to a different part of Florida and been seeing a well respected and credentialed dermatologist for 3 years, and have undergone 5 mohs surgeries. In all my visits to previous dermatologist(s) over the decades, I had only undergone one other mohs procedure. Mostly freezing and scraping was the first-line treatment.
Since my first surgery with this doctor I/we decided to increase my examination frequency to every three months. So far this has NOT helped in avoiding surgery. I asked today if I increase my frequency of examination to once a month, would that help me possibly avoiding surgery, the answer was no. I was told by the time BCC is visible it must be removed.
I understand I am more susceptible to BCC as time goes on, but it seems that if I am going every three months any BCC should be caught before requiring surgery. So I am just wondering if I might be seeing someone who is cut happy, and possibly I should seek another provider?
Thank you for any guidance/advice!
I’m currently going in every four months. In the past year I had one Moh’s surgery on my face for bcc and the scrape & burn on my back for scc. I had one really fast growing scc on my arm that had Moh’s surgery.
If you’re not worried about the scar you could ask the dermatologist for a quicker option. Last time I had Moh’s it took 6 hours to get it all. Good Luck!
Hi
. It seems like your doctor is being extra cautious. Moh's surgery is the standard treatment for the most serious basal cell carcinoma, but doctors often take other treatment approaches first if the BCC is caught early. Here is an article about BCC treatment that might interest you: https://skincancer.net/treatment/treating-basal-cell-carcinoma.
That doesn't mean your doctor is wrong to do Moh's surgery so often. It's just a more aggressive approach.
Has your BCC recurred in any of the places where it has been frozen and scraped? If so, that might explain this doctor's approach. Regardless, it sounds like you would be more at peace if you got a second opinion. Wishing you the best. - Lori (Team Member)Thank you for the responses.
I have contacted both Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa Florida and Shands Hospital at the University of Florida trying to set up a consultation, in order to go over latest treatment and possible preventative options. No luck setting up a consultation, as neither is accepting new patients for strictly consultations.
By chance, does anyone have any recommendations for dermatologists in Florida who work in the preventative end of skin cancers?
Thank you,
SteveHi Steve (
). I hope someone has a good recommendation for you. Have you tried the US News and World Report database? If not, here are the results for Florida dermatologists: https://health.usnews.com/doctors/dermatologists/florida. I'm not sure how up-to-date it is, but you can at least see how doctors are ranked and who is taking new patients. - Lori (Team Member)
