Hello - this is my first post here.

[Jamima]

I was referred for a skin biopsy on 19/7/24 and told it didn’t look worrying so the results might take some time. Ok, I thought, they know best. I called the consultant’s secretary last Thursday as the lesion is now much worse than when they biopsied it. She wasn’t there naturally but returned my call saying a letter had just been signed and that I had a squamous cell carcinoma and would be prescribed cream to treat it. And that was it, nothing else, no here’s what to expect/what to do in future, just, you’ve got skin cancer, here’s some cream. Is this what the NHS is now? I know they’re struggling, but this seems beyond scant when there’s ‘cancer’ in the diagnosis.

I have an update which I’ll post separately.

[SkcinHQ Partner]

Hi Jamima,

I am so sorry to learn of your SCC diagnosis. Please pop along to our web site where you can find our more about the SCC and how they are treated. The good news is this type of cancer is not typically life threatening and typically does not metastasise. However we are very aware such diagnosis can be shock and those that do require surgery or a harsh topical treatment still face anxiety and concerns which is often dismissed by primary care.

Sadly dermatology services with the NHS are under immense pressure and the cases of skin cancer particularly non melanoma skin cancer are raising rapidly with over 250k cases reported a year. Non melanoma is largely over looked and the disease does not have the profile if should have. Hence, our work as a charity to tackle this. Non melanoma skin cancer is 90% preventable so we believe that educational intervention is the key to tackling this public health concern. Our web site details more about our solutions to the problem. skcin.org

We wish you well with your outcome and treatment plan and hope you concerns are addressed and do reach out if you need any further help.

Team Skcin

[Jamima in reply to SkcinHQ]

Thank you.

[Partner20]

The cream to which you are referring will actually be a form of chemotherapy used to treat skin lesions. This is quite a common treatment for AKs and BCCs, and appears to be now prescribed for SCCs, probably due to the increasingly long waiting lists in dermatology. The thinking may well be that any treatment is preferable to none.

[Jamima in reply to Partner20]

Many thanks. Yes the thinking was definitely that as the place was absolutely packed. I’ve asked a private derm for a second opinion and he requested a pathology report which I’ve requested as tbh I’ve been given 2 diagnosis by nhs dermatology; initially that it was a SSC and when I revisited at my request, the derm said it was a pre cancer. Is one different from the other? I used the cream and it seemed to shrink the lesion so it has helped but your post has reminded me to ask for that pathology report. Thank you.

[Partner20 in reply to Jamima]

Hi!Gosh, that sounds very confusing. Normally it is an AK, (actinic keratosis), which is considered a type of pre-cancerous skin condition, and treated by a cream, freezing, scraping or light therapy. A diagnosis of BCC or SCC is definitely a cancer diagnosis.

A pathology report should give the definitive diagnosis as unfortunately many skin cancers can be misdiagnosed or even missed when just assessed by sight, even by the most experienced consultants. I even had a misdiagnosis from a private dermatologist, too, so that is not always the answer, sadly.

Between us my partner and I have seen some of the top consultants in the country over the years, and whereas appointments and treatment were normally offered in a timely manner, the dermatology service has now greatly deteriorated, in part due to the increasing demands placed on it with so many new diagnoses. I do hope you get the information you need to put your mind at rest. Wishing you well.

[Jamima in reply to Partner20]

Thank you Partner20, that's kind of you and your message has spurred me on to getting that pathology report, so you've helped a lot.

[Partner20 in reply to Jamima]

Thank you.☺️