My 16 years old daugther was diagnosed (Gorlin Syndrome) a few weeks ago and already have 4 BCCs. We heard that there are alternative ways to remove the BCCs other then simple cutting (paste, heat treatment etc).
Did anyone hear or have some info?
Thanks,
my ten year old has literally hundreds of bcc's and she has had them taken off in various ways like with a scalpel, or burnt off etc. the problem is they just grow back. her latest treatement was a cream called aldara it was designed for genital warts but they found it also worked on bcc's. the cream at first really makes the treated area enflamed and angry looking but then it settles down and shrinks the bcc until it falls off. dermatolagists are reluctant to use it unless it is really needed, i'm not sure if your daughter would qualify for this you would have to talk to your consultant. it was specially licenced for my little girl because we are desperate as her bbc's are so numerous and still more are coming.
I hope this has been of some help and if you ever need advice or just offload just drop me a line. gorlins can be quite stressful especially when you feel down anyway.
take care.
Thanks for the advice and the good will. We were told that creams (in general) only treat the skin surface and keep the BCC growing under the skin. The cream we were advised to use is normally used for acne treatment and based on Vitamin A(Isotretinoin).
I hope your daughter feel better
All the best
Hi Eshubi
I too have been prescribed Aldara (Imiquimod) but the side effects stopped me using it after a few weeks.
More recently I tried Efudix (Fluorouracil) which was prescribed by my oncologist, again I had problems with this and discontinued use after a few weeks.
There is definitely documentation of both of the above treatments being effective in BCCs but are most effective in the early stages so this may be where the idea that they only treat the surface came from.
Retinoids can be used in both topical and oral forms in the treatment of BCCs. I have tried the gel but found it very painful, feeling like it was actually burning my skin. I think I only used it for about a week then couldn't cope with it any more. I do have extremely sensitive and dry skin so it could be that this caused me more issues.
Everyone reacts differently to every drug so it's worth trying. If I could find something that could be applied topically and did not cause too many side effects, I would definitely give it a go to avoid my never ending surgery.
Very best wishes to you and all in the group.
JPB
