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Skin squamous cell carcinoma (recurring)

Posted by annabach @annabach, Jul 2, 2023

Anyone else battled on-going outbreaks of squamous cell cancers? I have had dozens on my legs in the last two years. One required a swim graft. Three were MOHS procedures. A dozen were excisions with sutures. The rest were small and frozen. I just had an aggressive one removed the had quickly extended all the way to muscle. Who did you see? Are there other treatment options besides continued surgeries? I have at least six more that have popped up in the last week. It feels as though this will never end!

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jodes1984 | @jodes1984 | 1 day ago
In reply to @grammato3 "@jodes1984: I’m so sorry to hear this was confirmed as what your original provider suspected but..." + (show)
Profile picture for Susan, Volunteer Mentor @grammato3

@jodes1984: I’m so sorry to hear this was confirmed as what your original provider suspected but thank goodness they sent you for this follow up care.

Like @gingerw, I’ve also had all three types of skin cancers and had also undergone testing of my lymph nodes as well as several and ongoing PET scans so I well understand the “scanxiety” as many of us refer to these procedures. I’ve found this article which I’ve shared in the past, let me know if you find some of the suggestions helpful: https://melanoma.org.au/news/coping-with-scanxiety/

Please keep up with the updates when you can.

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@grammato3 Thank you for your reply, and I'm so sorry sorry you have been through all this.

I've had a CT scan recently and it is showing low value lymph nodes, I think it means my lymph nodes are up near where my high risk SCC was. I think it's probably spread, as I now have an appointment with my consultant in 6 days, and another scan in 2 weeks, where they'll do a biopsy of it looks unusual.

I'm so frightened it's a death sentence. Has anyone ever been through an SCC that has spread to the local lymph nodes and survived?

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jodes1984 | @jodes1984 | 1 day ago
In reply to @gingerw "@jodes1984 I accept my maladies. I advocate for myself the best ways possible, for the health..." + (show)
Profile picture for Ginger, Volunteer Mentor @gingerw

@jodes1984 I accept my maladies. I advocate for myself the best ways possible, for the health conditions present at any given time. This gives me a sense of having sayso in decisions. Remembering that my medical team also includes me!

How was your scan, and the results? Thinking about you today...
Ginger

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I've had a CT scan recently and it is showing low value lymph nodes, I think it means my lymph nodes are up near where my high risk SCC was. I think it's probably spread, as I now have an appointment with my consultant in 6 days, and another scan in 2 weeks, where they'll do a biopsy of it looks unusual.

I'm so frightened it's a death sentence. Has anyone ever been through an SCC that has spread to the local lymph nodes and survived?

REPLY
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Mentor
Susan, Volunteer Mentor | @grammato3 | 16 hours ago
In reply to @jodes1984 "@grammato3 Thank you for your reply, and I'm so sorry sorry you have been through all..." + (show)
Profile picture for jodes1984 @jodes1984

@grammato3 Thank you for your reply, and I'm so sorry sorry you have been through all this.

I've had a CT scan recently and it is showing low value lymph nodes, I think it means my lymph nodes are up near where my high risk SCC was. I think it's probably spread, as I now have an appointment with my consultant in 6 days, and another scan in 2 weeks, where they'll do a biopsy of it looks unusual.

I'm so frightened it's a death sentence. Has anyone ever been through an SCC that has spread to the local lymph nodes and survived?

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@jodes1984: This is an anxious time for you, for sure. Our minds go to places of worst case scenarios. I found Albert Einstein's quote to be reassuring: "I've had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened"! In the case of the CT, and I'm not interpretting it, but from what I've read that's not a terribly uncommon finding. And even in cases where SCC may have spread to regional lymph nodes, the survival rate is actually quite high according to research by the NIH here in the US.

It seems many people have been in your position, have likely worried, but have gone on to have successful treatment. I hope the next 6 days go quickly for you so you can address these concerns with your consultant. Write down what's on your mind, have someone accommpany you if you can as you may forget things they tell you and write down as much as you can - better yet, use your phone to record if that's allowed. How's that plan sound?

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