Anybody ever had to deal with skin cancer?

[Bill in San Jose]

Glad you're OK. My wife had 'one' on her arm, had it removed and she's OK now. Could have been bad. My recommendation is find the BEST Oncologic Dermatologist- specializes in skin cancer- you can go to, and tell the Dr. to cut an extra few mm's in all dimensions, you don't mind a slightly bigger scar as a result- get it all out.

[daytona_Knight]

I had a sore pop up on my ear. It would scab over, peel, scab over, peel, .... Dermatologist said it was Basal Cell Carcinoma. The Dermatologist did the all day cut, lab work, more cutting, more lab work thing. I lost quite a bit of the top of my ear.

When the Dermatologist said he 'got it all', two other doctors (plastic surgeons?) came in, 'butterflied' my ear, shifted some skin from the back of my ear, folded it over, and rebuilt the top. You can't even tell now unless you know where to look.

My wife loves TV medical shows and to my surprise, the doctors let her watch over their shoulders. She loved it. Most of the details of what they did, I got from her.

[StrykerDM]

Originally Posted by DanTheEldest

Quick update:

I appreciate the advice and support, but it ended up being nothing--literally. I must have scraped my face somehow without knowing it, because what I thought was a group of suspicious spots was actually just a scab that fell off this morning. False alarm, and I didn't even end up going to the doctor, but it got my attention. I'm going to wear a hat more from now on when I'm working.

+1 on the hat. I would say you should wear some sunscreen too. It may not be the most manly thing to be lathering on sunscreen every day for work, but it sure beats cancer later on down the road. Also, keep an eye on the area to see if the scab returns (or for any other weird looking changes).