I have what the doctor thinks is a BCC on my nose (on the right side near the bridge). I started noticing it about 2 months ago. I looked back at photos and it seems it's been there since about August 2003 - about 10 months. It's only gotten a little bit bigger recently, which is why I went it to have it checked out. I can't believe I didn't go before now.

It measures about 5 mm - a little less, actually - and it's a darker pink, no blood vessels going through, slightly raised, skin sometimes peels off of it, but no real crusting or bleeding, unless I really pick at it.

If it's the aggressive kind (it doesn't look like morpheaform, but I guess is could be micronodular, which is also aggressive), and it's been there for 10 months (although it's only about 5 mm on the surface), could I lose my whole nose? I'm terrified of that. I'll be okay with some scarring, but having no nose is too much for me to handle.

You know how they say early diagnosis is best - is 10 months still early or way too late?

-C

First of all, do NOT search the Net for pictures of BCC-on-the-nose surgery results. You will scare yourself into depression. I had what I thought was a BCC on my nose about seven months ago, and I was borderline suicidal when I saw what "could" happen to my nose. (Luckily for me, it turned out to be a benign growth that has since gone away.)

Now, if it is a BCC, if I were you, I would definitely ask your doctor about OPTIONS to surgery. A method called Photodynamic Therapy (PT) is being used in New Zealand and other countries with MUCH better cosmetic results than surgery. I saw a woman who had a BCC on her nose removed via PT, and it yielded absolutely no scarring. I quit researching this method when I discovered my growth was not a BCC, but you should look into this immediately. If your doctor does not offer it, I would find one who does—even if that means going to another country. That's just me, though. You must do what is good for you.

Did the doctor take a biopsy? I don't think 10 months is too long at all, especially if it's not the aggressive variety.

Photodynamic therapy is only for cancer of the esophagus and lungs. It is not for skin cancer.

It has been used for skin cancer. I'm not allowed to post links here, but simply type the words "photodynamic therapy skin cancer" into your Google search engine, and several sites talk about PT being used as a skin-cancer treatments. I don't doubt that in the U.S. it is only allowed for esophagus and lung cancer, but it has been used for skin cancer. As I said, I've seen results from a BCC on the nose, and those results were excellent.

It might be next to impossible to get, but it is worth a shot.