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Basal Cell Carcinoma on Leg

Skin Health | Last Active: May 30 7:50am | Replies (49)

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@mistymae

Hi, I have nearly the same issue with a lesion that I thought was an ingrown hair for ten years turning out to be basal cell carcinoma. I am wondering how yours was treated, as I see it is very rare to be on the leg and I’m worried that my doctor is not being aggressive enough with considering spread because I have had it for so long and it was not caught until now. Everything I read says bcc is not dangerous unless neglected, which it feels like mine has been. Any insight is very appreciated. I’m just a scared mom whose kids need her to be okay.

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Replies to "Hi, I have nearly the same issue with a lesion that I thought was an ingrown..."

Hello @mistymae The basal cell carcinoma on your leg most likely wasn’t in ingrown hair that morphed. Some basal cell carcinomas begin as a little pearly/transparent bump on the skin. And it’s not that rare. This skin cancer tends to develop in areas of sun exposure.

In my case, it was a small, pinkish mark on my ankle, maybe 2 mm, which is very small. Over the years it grew a little in size and it would get scaly, like it needed lotion and then scab over. It would heal and the cycle would start again. This went on for maybe 8 years? It enlarged to the size of a pencil eraser but again, no pain…just flaked, scabbed over and then look ok for a short period.
I did bring it up to my PCP on annual checkups but he kept telling me it was nothing. I wasn’t buying that answer because I’d read about skin cancers and this was exhibiting all the signs of a basal cell carcinoma. So I scheduled an appt with a dermatologist.
I’m glad I trusted my instinct because she diagnosed it right away as a BCC but took a biopsy. Sure enough it was. I returned for a simple excision of the area and made sure the margins were clean. It’s been checked 3 times since its removal a year ago and my doctor is confident there is no residual…it didn’t spread.

My skin cancer was a direct result of a severe sunburn when I was in my early 20s. I’m now 69 and this probably started when I was 60-ish. BCC is generally slow to progress so chances are yours hasn’t either. But it should be removed if it hasn’t already. You can relax because this won’t take you away from your kids.☺️
Do you have an appointment scheduled for removal?