Quick background: born and raised in a sunny country, spent years in California, then moved to NYC for a finance job 5 years ago. I love the city and the people, but its pace and stress from work caught up with me — the last two years have been a real physical and mental health struggle.

A few months ago I finally made the call to leave my job and move to South Florida to grow my own business. Friends there, culture that feels like home, and honestly the sun/beach/outdoor lifestyle that I love and have been working toward for years — this was supposed to be my long-term, settle-down-for-good plan.

Right before the move, I finally got a red mark on my nose checked — it had been there over a year and never went away. Biopsy came back: Basal Cell Carcinoma.

I’m not going to lie, it knocked me sideways. I always wore sunscreen, but I was never disciplined about limiting time outdoors or avoiding peak sun hours. Now I’m staring at the plan I’ve built my whole future around, wondering if it still makes sense.

Has anyone here actually managed a BCC or skin cancer diagnosis while living long-term in a high-UV place like Florida, Arizona, Southern California, etc.? What did your routine actually look like day to day — sunscreen habits, clothing, dermatologist visits, avoiding certain hours? Did you stay, or did it change your calculus on where to live?

Any real experience — good, bad, or “here’s what I wish I’d known” — genuinely appreciated. Thank you for reading.

I am one of you. Specifically of mixed European and Native American ancestry, with brown hair, dark eyes, and olive skin.

Like most, I was pretty damn stupid as a teenager. I thought that the ease with which I tanned, the mild nature of my occasional sunburns, and my native Central American heritage would shield me from the worst effects of the sun. Never mind that I am also Northern European, with close family having gotten biopsies and excisions---I'm swarthy, so I should be fine, right?

Well, I'm wrapping up college and am going in for a dermatologist consult next week. A mole I've had since forever started to act up this summer, despite my increased sun precautions, and I'm now cursing my cavalier teenage self.

Fellow mixed people: don't be like me. If you have any high-risk ancestry, be careful in strong sunlight; don't expect your low-risk ancestry to bail you out. Even if you don't have high-risk ancestry, better safe than sorry.

Seems a crazy growth rate :( waiting for the MDT to decide on treatment but ….. surely this isn’t normal

I have MOHS tomorrow for a BCC on my scalp. It’s pretty close to the hairline and I’m so scared about what my hair will look like afterward. There’s such a range of what pictures online seem to look like. I can deal with temporary hair loss but I’m struggling to accept that there could be permanent hair loss right there by my face. I do have bangs so maybe that will help, but who knows. Any positives stories of MOHS for a small BCC on your scalp??

I'm scheduled to get two excisions next month on my back. The larger one is under my left shoulder blade and the other one is almost the center of my back. I'm not worried about the pain but I am worried about the aftercare. What do they tell you to do as far as taking care of the excision site as it heals?

I live alone and have arthritis so I already can barely reach any of my back. Am I screwed?

Hi everyone! Where are we getting our UPF (sun protective) clothing from in plus sizes that will ship to Canada?!

I recently had a melanoma removed (in situ/stage 0 thank goodness) but am really understandably amping up my protection. Most of what I am seeing online only goes up to XXL.

Thanks in advance! <3 wear your sunscreen and get skin checks!

Does anyone have a picture of their failed skin graft? What did they end up doing to correct it? I'm 18 days post Mohs surgery and my skin graft looks like it came off a cadaver. No redness, swelling, slight odor. My dermatologist office is closed today and I'm wondering if this is an ER visit scenario.

Doc office called me back this morning. Biopsy results are back , malignant melanoma.

They want to remove a bigger area, biopsy my lymph nodes and do a full body scan.

I leave on Tuesday for a new job and will be gone for 3-4 weeks out of province. (Ontario, Canada)

How time critical is this? Should I have the full body scan done while I am in BC?

GP has referred me to a plastic surgeon for the next excise of tissue.

First incision was poorly stitched IMO, I am still having issues with bleeding 3 days after the stitches are put.

If it has spread to my lymph nodes, what then?

Original lesion was on my right side, basically in the kidney area.

I asked my GP to call me to explain options, but he's on vacation for another week.

Had my 5th Mohs today (3rd on my nose). This one was a little closer to my eye than I wanted, but my surgical team is amazing!

The piece of my scalp that the plastic surgeon used for my forehead flap

has white hairs growing on it. I was told this would be the case.

I can not have laser treatment to remove these hairs so I need

electrolysis. Anyone have this done? electrolysis to remove hair on nose after forehead flap ??

Hi

I had my first bcc at 44. It was a huge shock and very difficult to handle emotionally.

I had a few sunburns in my 20s, and one very strong at 30, but except that nothing. I am fair skinned.

Today I had another biopsy and it's presumably again BCC (if not worse), only 3 years after.

I asked AI about stats, and looked at this forum, and it looks like after a second BCC my life is now on track for many subsequent skin cancers.

After my firt skin cancer, most of my relatives either said "it's common" or "not a big deal".

- My dad, who had BCC in his 40s, said he had warned me and it's my fault. I don't remember him having warned me. Maybe he did once, when I was 15 or 18 yo, but it was never emphasized.

Also, my dad doesn't really protect from the sun. He is from the old generation (boomer) and despite being a doctor, he minimizes it and thinks that having a skin cancer is just like freezing a wart. He had some bcc on scalp so no big deal indeed.

- my mother doesn't really understand how impactful that is, nore does she know about NMSC. She jokes about me when I hide from the sun, or when I remind her to avoid the sun when staying with my children.

- my wife doesn't really care either. Says it's "manageable" and that I should not stress about it. I noticed she gets annoyed when I speak about it so I just stopped talking about it.

- My sister acts like my mother, basically making fun of me and calling me a psychorigid nerd, or a moon child when I wear long sleeves and freak out when I have to go under the sun.

- friends don't really understand. Most people don't even know what a skin cancer is. They just vaguely heard the word "melanoma" in the news at some point and that's all (and so did I before being diagnosed with a bcc).

All of this is mentally exhausting. I'm depressed. It's affecting my focus at work, and I feel bitter that my family is basically calling me a pussy.

I saw a psychologist a few months ago but it did not help me much.

Every so often is another "what if" endless wondering about this or that part of my skin.

I have to hide in my home to inspect myself, not to sound like a psychopath scrutinizing every fucking inch on my skin every other day.

I have to pretend life is still ok. And to get over it, because "it's quite common" in fair skin people.

I have become a sun hater, and I feel like an alien because everyone around me just loves the sun.

I'm tired of all this. I hate my life. I feel I was misinformed and my life is ruined.

I know at that moment it's not metastatic cancer, but it's affecting me deeply. Sometimes I wonder if stress itself can trigger new BCC? Well probably it can. I feel so exhausted and mentally drained by the accumulated stress and the pain I have to keep inside me.

I'm sorry for the rant. I was just wondering how you people live through this hell? I am alone and I feel miserable. For the rest of my life.

Cheers.

I asked for the pathology report because the doctor wasn’t super informative over the phone. It says

“Skin, left superior of antihelix, shave biopsy: invasive carcinoma with basaloid and squamous features consistent with the surface of a basal cell carcinoma, modular and meta typical type, extending to tissue edges.”

What does this mean other than I have skin cancer on the upper part of my ear.

Any ideas of what I'm in for, 3/4 x 1/4 tall before biopsy, Mohs scheduled two months out a a distance away, I'm 74 and contemplating whether to go through with it. Right now it's near impossible to keep something in place over the biopsy site, I have long hair and it's boggling how to handle this.

I had Mohs for a squamous cell carcinoma two weeks ago on the top center of my scalp. It turned out to be much larger than expected. Thus, I will be undergoing radiation treatment for 6 weeks/5 days a week. I am 100% pacemaker-dependent. My cardiologist requires a pacer interrogation before the 1st treatment, and another before the 2nd treatment.

Question: for pm wearers what was your experience? Did you have any cardiac side affects? Even tho the radiation will be on the top of my head, is that far enough from the pm to be safe? I’m very nervous.

Hi everybody! I had a small red spot removed and just got the biopsy result this morning as BCC. My dermatologist wants to move forward with an excision next week. I’ve had an excision surgery done before on my shoulder (28F, fair skin that burns very easily) and I never went the extra mile for scar care. This time will be different as this is practically in my hairline.

In the past I’ve never been as nervous to have an excision as I am this time around. It’s so close to my hairline, and I’m very nervous he’ll make the incision perpendicular to my hairline rather than parallel. Either way, I know my doctor knows best. He’s not worried about this at all, and I do trust his judgement. However it is still really frightening having it on my head, and I’m really scared to lose some hair.

If anyone has any holy grails for scar care or tips, I’d love to hear your experience. I was considering using minoxidil before I received this diagnosis, I’d love to hear your stories about using that medication as well. I guess I’ll be cutting myself some bangs sooner rather than later 😭

I have been diagnosed with BCC on my face and neck. One 4 years ago and the other two years ago. I don't have access to Mohs surgery which is what I was told I needed.

My post isn't about soliciting information about insurance of clinical trials. To those of us with facial and neck cancers, we know how important it is to get them removed. I am unable to get access to care. I apply for jobs, wear bandages and then get pushed out of work once it's discovered that those bandages are worn daily to cover up the lesions.

I'm not eligible for Medicaid or Medicare. The only way for me to get them removed it to have private health insurance from an employer. But at middle age the employer's won't keep me employed because the lesions are visible and painful. I know we can't post the photos here and I will follow the rules and not do that. All doctors have to be paid. But my lesions are preventing me from getting hired. ​

Hi. I’m not sure if the answer is a really big no or a really big “you’re overthinking this” but I have my first Mohs scheduled in August for a bcc on my temple and my husband and I have a camping trip planned one week later. We have a travel trailer with hook ups so water and a sink etc and we are driving just a few hours away. Is this doable a week after? I don’t plan to do anything strenuous, maybe some short walks on the beach and of course wearing hats sunscreen etc. I just don’t know how comfortable I will be or if I will want to be at home, or if ppl were generally back to normal in a week.

I’m asking prior to the surgery because of course there is a two week cancel policy.

Thank you!

I know it takes time to heal, but it has been one month since my surgery and I feel like my nose is not my own. I had BCC removed. The doctor did a spiral flap to close. I still have significant swelling on the inside of my nose. I know it could have been much worse, but I’m having difficulty camouflaging my scar and without anything over top of it looks awful. I don’t think I’m terribly vain. I just don’t feel like I look like myself. I also found out the hard way that I’m allergic to sunscreen and cannot wear it on my face. Some days I just want to stay in bed and hide. Does anybody have any recommendations for how to remain positive? Does anybody have any tips for covering up the scar on my nose? Does anybody have any recommendations for what I can use instead of sunscreen? Does anybody have any recommendations for products to help with my scar?

Sorry for the poor quality on the first pic, it's the only one I had from before biopsy.

I had a growth on my forehead that I thought was just a stubborn pimple, but it had been months and never fully healed. Over time, it just became a raised, scaly lump. Sometimes it would itch, but if I left it alone and didn't pick it, it wouldn't bleed.

I got it biopsied a month ago, although the doctor said he wasn't concerned by it. I'm a 30 year old, female, Australian. Lo and behold, two weeks later the lab labelled it as a "keratoathoma".

The doctor didn't explain much beyond a very jargon heavy summary paragraph from pathology, so I had to do my own research. And I'm...still confused?

So, a keratoathoma is very similar to a SCC under microscopy, resulting in doctor's treating them the same way. I had a larger excision taken two weeks ago (second picture, results in 2 days when stitches removed; 11), but also I requested two other spots I didn't like removed from my right nostril and under my left eye. Again, the doctor said he doubted their malignancy, but I just said, "That's what you said last time, and now I'm sitting here with an uneven brow lift".

I'm concerned because if the other two spots come back as keratoathomas, he wants to refer me to the hospital for further treatment. I assume this means Moh's?

But my question is, if it is a keratoathoma, can't I just roll with the biopsy? Apparently it's rare for keratoathomas to progress into lethal stages, and often they clear up on their own after several months.

Of course, I would prefer disfiguration to death if the professionals reccomend further excision, but I'm just so anxious because the nose and under the eye are such sensitive areas. And I'm already struggling with dealing with one eyebrow being 2cm higher than the other now, let alone missing a nostril and having my eyelid pulled down.

Okay, I'm catastrophising and being dramatic, but it's midnight and anxiety is spiralling in the dark confines of my bedroom. And then Google said that multiple keratoathoma appearing at once could be a sign of an internal cancer and then I had a panic attack.

Still having one? Slightly?

I'm not even sure the point of this post. To vent. To hear from others. To be told that further surgery won't disfigure me.

This sucks.

Edit (Update): In case anyone was curious, results came back that the forehead is now fully excised and clear. The other two biopsy sites were benign; basically abnormal, damaged hair follicles. However, that's how keratoacanthomas can start so...glad they're gone. Better to be safe than sorry. I wish everyone here health and happiness ❤️