Question:
My mother has just been advised by her G.P. to see a specialist about
a lump on the bridge of her nose. The G.P. thinks that it may be skin
cancer. The lump is about 1/2" across with an open sore on the top -
it looks just like a big spot or a boil. She has had it for about 6
months.
Naturally, my mum is worried, despite the G.P.'s assurances, and both
my sister and I are concerned. What I really would like to know is...
...IF this turns out to be skin cancer, what is the success rate for
complete cure, and more importantly, would the fact that she had skin
cancer and it was cured, make any further occurances of cancer, skin,
or otherwise, more likely ???
In other words, is it 'in her blood' and more likely to recur than if
she never had it in the first place ?
Answer:
There are many types of skin cancer, and the description given sounds
most like a basal cell carcinoma. These are usually curable (depending
on size) with either surgery, cryosurgery, and/or radiation. I would
tend to favor radiation for skin cancers over the nose.
Skin cancers are not "in the blood" but arise from sun damage. Patients
with one skin cancer are likely to get further skin cancers in other
areas of sun damage.
