I am in my late 40s and basically run smack in the heat of the day most times. Thinking nothing about skin cancer. Anyway, as l get older l am seeing some spots that need to be checked out. Actually my doctor asked me today. I am thinking more and more about doing this. Does the process hurt to remove them? I never really thought about it till recently. Is it common for runners in their late 40s to have spots that need to be checked out? How many of you guys had to deal with this issue?
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Get it checked out but it is probably Basal cell which has a 0.1% chance of metastasizing. So no worry if it is.
A couple of things, see a MD dermatologist. They are more skilled at identifying and removing potential problems. The procedure is simple within parameters of seriousness. I felt nothing.
As a coach I've worn hats/used sunscreen for decades. Got skin cancer anyway. Probably a memento of my misspent youth in the Southwest and the Pacific.
Had a little sore on the underside of my nose. Kept scabbing up, scab would drop off, scabbed up again. PCP thought it was just from masks rubbing. Finally went to a dermatologist: basal cell carcinoma (the "good" skin cancer).
Had a Mohs procedure (look it up). Ended up with a hole in the tip of my nose that was about a half-inch by three-quarters inch. They took a chunk of skin and meat out of my forehead (size of my little finger) and laid it on top of my nose. Once it had grown on, they sculpted it into a new nose and chucked the rest. Did a great job.
Honestly all of it didn't hurt much: Procedures were done when I was awake, but the lidocaine is fantastic stuff. Biggest problem I had was uncontrolled bleeding, the night after the first procedure. I'd knocked off my daily aspirin a few days before, but probably should have knocked it off a week before.
If you have spots you should see a dermatologist. Most of them s/he'll leave alone. A few might be biopsied: just a scrape. You put an adhesive bandage over it, and wait for the lab results. If there's some cancer, the dermatologist will point you to the next specialist.
Most people 40+ should probably have regular dermatologist checks, as they have other checkups. BTW "I was born with a tan" doesn't work: Skin cancer is *rarer* for darker-skinned people, but still happens. And unfortunately, in the United States POC who develop skin cancer die from it at three or four times the rate that white people do.
Ghost of Igloi wrote:
A couple of things, see a MD dermatologist. They are more skilled at identifying and removing potential problems. The procedure is simple within parameters of seriousness. I felt nothing.
Thanks. How do you know if it's bad?
In 2018 I had three basal cell carcinomas removed from my temple, forehead and side. Research led me to Mohs procedure which worked out fine for me. Two things though. One, the doctor convinced me to lay off running (to reduce the risk of post surgery bleeding) for the week before and after the procedures which were performed a week apart so I lost a few weeks of training mid summer. Then he had a tech use a burning procedure on the one on my side which took months to heal so defer on that method. After all that I think it would have been ok to run up to the surgery and a couple days after instead of such a long layoff. The procedures weren't painful, but the healing involved some tightness from the skin sutures. Oh, and find a doctor who does the procedures in his office, going to a hospital isn't necessary.
I had a carcinoma removed from my temple. It wasn't painful, but it did take a while. They numbed the area and then cut out a section. I would wait in the waiting area while they did a biopsy. The idea is to cut out a little at a time and stop when they no longer find cancer. When the biopsy came back positive, they cut a little deeper, and I returned to wait for another biopsy. That time, it came back negative so they sutured me up and sent me home. It left a nearly invisible scar. I think the whole procedure took maybe an hour and a half.
fisky wrote:
I had a carcinoma removed from my temple. It wasn't painful, but it did take a while. They numbed the area and then cut out a section. I would wait in the waiting area while they did a biopsy. The idea is to cut out a little at a time and stop when they no longer find cancer. When the biopsy came back positive, they cut a little deeper, and I returned to wait for another biopsy. That time, it came back negative so they sutured me up and sent me home. It left a nearly invisible scar. I think the whole procedure took maybe an hour and a half.
I also had a basal cell carcinoma removed about 15 years ago using the Mohs procedure. Mine was just off the inside corner of my eye and I was worried that I'd end up looking like Frankenstein's monster, but the surgeon did an amazing job. When it was all healed the only visible scar was a little line across the bridge of my nose that looks just like one of the natural lines on my face. The procedure itself was basically painless but long--I was in there practically all day having a little more removed each time until all the cancer was gone.
Get it checked out.
skin cancer from running in the middle of the day wrote:
I am in my late 40s and basically run smack in the heat of the day most times. Thinking nothing about skin cancer. Anyway, as l get older l am seeing some spots that need to be checked out. Actually my doctor asked me today. I am thinking more and more about doing this. Does the process hurt to remove them? I never really thought about it till recently. Is it common for runners in their late 40s to have spots that need to be checked out? How many of you guys had to deal with this issue?
Just know moles are like colon polyps, they are silent until they represent a problem by giving you symptoms of abnormalities..get checked out if you are concerned.
amkelley wrote:
fisky wrote:
I had a carcinoma removed from my temple. It wasn't painful, but it did take a while. They numbed the area and then cut out a section. I would wait in the waiting area while they did a biopsy. The idea is to cut out a little at a time and stop when they no longer find cancer. When the biopsy came back positive, they cut a little deeper, and I returned to wait for another biopsy. That time, it came back negative so they sutured me up and sent me home. It left a nearly invisible scar. I think the whole procedure took maybe an hour and a half.
I also had a basal cell carcinoma removed about 15 years ago using the Mohs procedure. Mine was just off the inside corner of my eye and I was worried that I'd end up looking like Frankenstein's monster, but the surgeon did an amazing job. When it was all healed the only visible scar was a little line across the bridge of my nose that looks just like one of the natural lines on my face. The procedure itself was basically painless but long--I was in there practically all day having a little more removed each time until all the cancer was gone.
Get it checked out.
I thought they just freeze it off and it takes a few minutes?
My wife is currently getting her surgery for this, right now. She said it hasn't been that bad so far, but she can take a few days off from work.
skin cancer from running in the middle of the day wrote:
Ghost of Igloi wrote:
A couple of things, see a MD dermatologist. They are more skilled at identifying and removing potential problems. The procedure is simple within parameters of seriousness. I felt nothing.
Thanks. How do you know if it's bad?
Biopsy, but that is why you want to see a board certified MD dermatologist. That physician will have the experience to determine which moles should be biopsied. I let my GP handle it one year, turned out to be unnecessary, more involved, and costly.
Go to a MD dermatologist for an exam. Anything suspicious will be biopsied. The biopsy entails a lidocaine injection for local anesthesia followed by sampling of the lesion. You'll feel the pinch of the needle, then the lido takes effect. The biopsy will take a few minutes.
Basal cell carcinomas are the most common form of skin cancer. Squamous cell carcinomas are also common for your demographics. If you have either on your face, once the diagnosis is confirmed with biopsy, you'll undergo Mohs micrographic surgery, as described by the other posters.
Cryotherapy (freezing with liquid nitrogen) is reserved for precancerous lesions (actinic keratoses), benign lesions, and some in situ (non invasive) carcinomas.
Primary prevention (sun avoidance, clothing, SPF) is ideal. But for the exposure you've had, get checked and get treated early. Basal cells can become locally destructive and disfiguring if given enough time, which some people do. Squamous cell carcinomas have a more aggressive natural history....again, easily controlled if caught early and properly treated....neglect and / or mismanagement can lead to disastrous outcomes.
In general, these types of cancers (UV-associated BCC and SCC) present as bleeding, painful, nonhealing, and / or growing lesions.
I hope this helps and best of luck.
I’m 67. Was a sun worshiping fool till 08. Had some places on my back sliced, diced, frozen, mohs etc. I have great dermatologist. My sun days were over. In 2011 I had a mole back of my neck where a shirt collar rubs. Started hurting. She looked at it and said doesn’t look bad but let’s do a biopsy. 10 days later got a phone call from her. Not one of her helpers. Can’t be good. She said are you sitting down. Uh yea. Well you have melanoma. Damn that luck. Surgery, removed a bunch of nearby lymph nodes. Then more good news it’s stage 4. Holy hell. Then they tell you you have an 80% chance of developing one of the bad killer cancers. Brain, bone, liver, pancreatic etc. made a bucket list started checking things off. A year went by, then 2, now 10. Knock on wood but they tell you it can happen again. Please get a dermatologist. Your life may depend on it.
skin cancer from running in the middle of the day wrote:
amkelley wrote:
I also had a basal cell carcinoma removed about 15 years ago using the Mohs procedure. Mine was just off the inside corner of my eye and I was worried that I'd end up looking like Frankenstein's monster, but the surgeon did an amazing job. When it was all healed the only visible scar was a little line across the bridge of my nose that looks just like one of the natural lines on my face. The procedure itself was basically painless but long--I was in there practically all day having a little more removed each time until all the cancer was gone.
Get it checked out.
I thought they just freeze it off and it takes a few minutes?
Perhaps they can do this if it's on a part of the body where scarring is not a consideration. Where mine was on my face I needed a scalpel, not dynamite.
amkelley wrote:
skin cancer from running in the middle of the day wrote:
I thought they just freeze it off and it takes a few minutes?
Perhaps they can do this if it's on a part of the body where scarring is not a consideration. Where mine was on my face I needed a scalpel, not dynamite.
Yes l have some freckles, but one is bigger and a doctor said you may want to check it out, and my sister who hadn't seen me in years, saw a picture on Facebook and said l should get it checked out, and so did my dad. My dad and sister said that way over a year ago and it hasn't grown since then. The doctor who saw it had never seen me before. I had a spot under my eye 10 years ago, but it went away. The spot now doesn't bother me, it just looks like a big freckle. My dad said it's a simple deal that they freeze it off and you go home. I read some of the comments and it sounds like surgery. I was told it was painless and quick by my dad. Some people are even saying death. Now l am worried! I was always told skin cancer isn't like real cancer.
noone has yet mentioned keratoses or any of the zillion other things more common than skin cancer that will probably swarm all over your face before you actually (if ever) get a cancer.
See an MD but odds are on your side
I had a small spot when I was 35. It turned out to be melanoma. Even though it was tiny, it looked weird and I knew it was something before the doctor called. They did an excision, where they took a lot of tissue. It hurt, but it was done in the office and overall not the end of the world. The wound has to heal like a surgical wound normally would.
When you think of people going through months of chemo, an excision is not really invasive at all. I would recommend getting an annual skin check, even if you do not think you have anything unusual. I do not have skin cancer in my family history. I was not considered high risk at all. If you catch it early it is not a big deal.