Waiting 5 months for Mohs surgery for BCC

@mimi59
From my Mayo dermatology department (Jacksonville) Mohs surgeons are specialty trained. May Jacksonville does not have a lot of them so delay is common. I had to wait 2 months for my last one. I have had about 6 MOHS surgeries.

Five months seems like a long time and I sure emphasize with you as I felt same even for 2 months. Have you asked to be put on a cancellation list?

Basal Cell Carcinoma (per my dermatologist) are slow growing cancers. The biggest threat (again per Dermatology) is growing into other skin areas, muscles, bones, etc. But remember it is slow growing.

Depending on the your clinical situation there are
multiple factors to consider. Basal cells are very slow
growing and not usually aggressive or likely to spread.
The location of the growth is most relevant in the decision for Mohs surgery treatment. It is usually the
best curative approach on the head and neck to limit
the amount of tissue removal and scarring. The experience and skill of the Mohs surgeon with repairing
the wound can make the wait worthwhile.
If you check with their practice from time to time
they do have patients cancel in advance and will sometimes put you in sooner.

@mimi59 Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I'm sure you are anxious. Heck, anyone would, being told to wait that long!

As @jc76 and @seniormed have mentioned, call the office and ask to be put on a waiting/cancellation list. Tell them you're able to take anything. Until you're able to get in, remember your sunscreen, and watch the area. If there is any change, I suggest you contact the dermatologist office and tell them.
Ginger

I suggest that you ask your Dr. if a different procedure may be used, and if the Mohs is just for appearance--- if that is important to you?

Thank you, and yes I am on a waiting list.

Thank you

mimi59. My cancers have all been squamous. I've had so many Mohs surgeries (one involved plastic surgery) that I quit counting. If they try and schedule me for over two weeks out, I begin contacting them asking to try a different doctor/practice that does that type surgery. Once when a site that had open wound surgery began to grow the cancer back as it healed I even pressured them to get someone even if I had to travel. They found someone in a town an hour away. He was great and I would go to him again if needed. The scar is large and ugly but I understand due to what had to be done to "fix" what the first doctor did not. Best of luck to you and hope this is your one and only experience.

There are many options for BCC.

Why did I pick MOHS for all mine.
Being 77 was not cosmetic. It was the procedure. From the biopsie results they take the minimal amount of tissue around biopsied cancer. They then have pathologist determine if the amount removed shows no cancer in the outmost and/or deepest tissue removed.

If no signs on cancer on the margins surgery over. If there is still and sign of cancer in the margins then they remove the tissues and go through the same pathologist determination. This continues until all signs of the cancer are gone.

My surgeion and dermatologist told me allows them to take the minimal amount of tissue to remove all the cancer during one session.

To me that was the reason I wanted MOHS. Out of all the MOHS surgeries I had only one required additional tissues to be removed to show clear margins.

A few years ago I had a BCC on my lower right eyelid and had to wait two months for the MOHS surgery. I had to travel an hour to get it. The worst part was they removed most of the eyelid and I had to travel another 20 minutes to a plastic surgeon, who kept me in a very uncomfortable chair for another two hours and then told me my eyelid would be sewn shut for six weeks. I was a bloody mess for a few days. It was a miserable few days but it turned out to be just fine and most people can't tell there was any surgery at all. Since then, I've had a large one on a shin that got infected and took 12 weeks to heal and a smaller one last week that seems to be fine, so far. I'm not sure what my point is here, but I got to vent a little. Good luck.

I have had several MOHS surgery's on my shins.
I have SCC on my legs and had several open wounds and was in great pain.
MAYO recommend "Wound care" it has been the greatest thing ever!!!! Thank you.
I am under the care of an oncologist and receive Immunotherapy every 3 weeks and will have another PET scan end of this month. I will have had 6 infusions.
Let's see if it's working!