Basal cell carcinoma

Welcome, @cfbauer. You've come to the right place to connect with other patients who have experience with basal cell carcinoma like @gingerw @cmcp @mermaid7272 and others. However, we are not qualified to recommend treatments.

Fluorouracil cream is a medication that requires the direction of a qualified physician. Were you prescribed the cream for the recently diagnosed infiltrative basal cell carcinoma on your left nasal ala? Or was it prescribed for a different lesion? Are you able to ask your doctor about its effectiveness pre-surgery?

@cfbauer Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect.

As a skin cancer patient myself, having had everything from actinic keratoses to malignant melanoma, I also have some fluorouracil in my repertoire. I think you should ask your dermatologist for their opinion on using it now. Seeing that you have infiltrative BCC, that cream may not address the issue, and you would be using an expensive drug for naught.

Is there a reason for not wanting to go forward with the MOHS surgery?
Ginger

Why are you trying to avoid the Moh's surgery?
I have had about 4 , maybe 5 done. 3 on my face, if you have found a reputable surgeon, that might be the way to go. I have had many cancer surgeries, not all skin cancers, but many have been sarcomas or rare type cancers, All were removed by surgery, no chemo or radiation. Well, I did have a thyroid tumor removed by a radioactive large pill..... I thought that was scary, but I got thru that just fine.
Good luck

Actually I am not trying to avoid the Moh's surgery. It is scheduled for removal of my nasal BCC in a month. My thought on using the fluorouracil was to see if I could get the lesion to shrink before the procedure thus minimizing any disfigurement, or, on a more optimistic note, get rid of the BCC all together. I have read abstracts on the success of fluorouracil in treating superficial BCC. I have the cream for use on the rest of my face and scalp but have been told to not use it on my nasal BCC before the surgery. This directive is from my dermatologist's office via "front desk" personnel after having talked with a PA. I just can't get answer as to why I shouldn't try it. Will it do harm or be a potential benefit?

I have the surgery scheduled in a month. Just hoping use of the cream might shrink the BCC before surgery and minimize any disfigurement. Thank you for your response.

@cfbauer I am adding a link here from medline about the topical chemo you are wondering about. As you can see, it specifically states to not use it on your nose. It is also my guess that the diagnosis of infiltrative BCC your doctor gave you, indicates that cream may not be beneficial.
https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a605010.html
Ginger

Thank you so much! That says it all.

Que Grupo hay para sobrevivientes de cancer ?

@drluz, there are several groups for cancer survivors, such as:
- Cancer https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/cancer/
- Cancer: Managing Symptoms https://connect.mayoclinic.org/group/cancer-managing-symptoms/

There are also many groups based on the type of cancer. May I ask what type of cancer you're interested in?

Thank you!