I had/have a small squamous cell skin cancer on my face between and to the side of my nose and lip. My dermatologist has removed it surgically twice but the biopsy showed there were still skin cancer cells on the edges so I've decided to go to Toronto and have the Mohs surgery done by one of 3 cosmetic surgeons there who do that type of surgery. I'm not happy about the situation but I'm completely fed up with getting sliced and diced and it still didn't get rid of it.
Apparently they do only Mohs surgery in the U.S. for skin cancers and don't waste time on what I've been having my dermatologist do since last November. My dermatologist told me we only have 3 surgeons in Toronto who handle all Mohs patients in southern Ontario compared to 300 in southern Florida. I think I've made the right choice here instead of losing myself chunk by chunk.
I was also told that anyone who has had radiation treatment has a higher incidence of getting skin cancers for some reason. I had radiation on my lip a few years ago to kill off a squamous cell cancer lesion so that may be what set it all in motion. Great!
I actually feel a little better now that I made my decision to have Mohs. It was something I'd been terrified of before but my sweet family doctor explained my fears away. It won't be fun but hopefully it will be the end of it. There is a long waiting list so I might not be able to get it done for 3-4 months, though. I'll post photos...as long as they're not gory.
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