Skin cancer / Preparing for surgery?

[Gardenarian]

I have skin cancer (squamous cell) in a tricky location that is going to require a very deft surgeon and reconstructive plastic surgery. I'm hoping it will be an out-patient procedure, but they won't know how involved it will be until they get in there. I'm having what is called "Mohs" surgery, if anyone is familiar with that.

I was just diagnosed yesterday and am feeling pretty jittery, both about the idea of having cancer and about the treatment. It is not so much the surgery but recovering from the anesthesia and possible infections that scare me. Two of my close relatives suffered from horrible bone infections after relatively minor surgery (Strep infections in both cases, not Staph) and I'm also worried about MRSA.

Also, I have had surgery in the past and have found that the anesthesia seems to lower my energy - physical, intellectual, emotional - for a few months. The doctor has recommended general anesthesia, but said if I really want I could opt for local. I'm not sure about this.

Does anyone have a recommendation for how to prepare for surgery? Are there supplements or herbs or foods that will strengthen my immune system against this assault? Should I start ramping up my exercise? I will have to take it easy for a few weeks afterwards and I'm concerned about losing muscle mass.

Also, the doctor recommends taking antibiotics before the surgery, but I am very wary about this.

I am open to all suggestions! I know some people feel surgery is a bad idea, as it can release cancer cells into your system. I don't really have an opinion about that - I just want it gone!!

:help:

[Greg44]

I have no recommendations for you to prepare for your surgery, but do wish you the best. It reminded me I have spot on my arm I need to have checked. I am fair skinned and had many a sunburn in my younger years...

[Stella]

No suggestions, but lots of hugs and prayers!

[CathyA]

Sending good, healing thoughts your way Gardenarian.
You sure have been given alot to deal with lately!
If you're worried about infection afterwards, I probably would go ahead and get a jump start on the antibiotics.........maybe just a couple days worth.
Sometimes they use different anesthesias. I did horribly with both sinus surgery anesthesias, but did fine with other surgery anesthesias. Maybe this one won't be as bad as some in the past.
I think its important to try to get up and moving as soon as possible, even if you feel exhausted. Just eat healthy and do things that boost your spirit.
When is your surgery?

[Gardenarian]

Thanks for all the positive thoughts!

Surgery should be within a month, though my dh will be out of town for 10 days so we need to work around that. I want to get it over with, but at the same time I feel I need a little more time to process what is happening and to get my body and mind in shape.

I have ordered a book from the library system "Prepare for surgery, heal faster : a guide of mind-body techniques." I hope it's a good one!

[flowerseverywhere]

DH did the Mohs for melanoma. He has both basal cell and melanoma at various times. He is fair skinned and spent his youth being an outdoor lifeguard, always sunburned so he is a prime candidate.

here is the good news. He has several surgery scars on his back, head and arms but he is alive and well. If he had not caught the skin cancers early on I don't know what would have happened, but all I can say is thank goodness we got it early. With the Mohs be prepared to devote a whole day. They take tissue and if they are not sure they shaved it all off call you back for more shaving, if they are sure they call you back to stitch it off. Make sure you have a patient driver. Last time we started at 6 am to get to the clinic and ended at 6 pm. I had food, books, and the newspaper packed. When they sent him home he had a pain and antibiotic prescription which I dropped off, took him home, then went back for the medicine. It was a long day but the alternative is so much worse.

good luck and be thankful we live in a time when such diagnoses are not a death sentence.

[Tussiemussies]

Best wishes and hope your recovery is faster than what you have experienced in the past.

The only thing I can think of that may be beneficial to you is to start taking high doses of vit. C and continue after the surgery. Also look into taking American Ginsing before and after.

I have a book "Presciptions ForNutritional Healing " and I will check it tomorrow to see if there is a chapter on surgery prep and post.

Another thing you can do is eat a lot of garlic and use tea tree oil which is an aromatherpy oil as a steam inhalation. They both work as natural antibiotics. I would boost my diet with a l lot of a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables and exercising if you do.

Wish yOu all the very best...
Christine

[Mrs-M]

Sending well-wishes along with a speedy recovery, Gardenarian.

[puglogic]

If you do take any herbal preparations, gardenarian, please look them up first to make sure they are not anticoagulant, which will interfere with your healing. You can google the name of the plant and anticoagulant together, and review.

I have had Mohs, and it went very, very well. How I prepared is my own little thing, but I'll share it in case you find something useful. I stayed away from chemicals as much as possible in the weeks preceding, including household cleaners, cosmetics, soaps/shampoos/products with chemicals, painkillers, other drugs, anything that is full of junk that my body has to take time/energy to detoxify, which takes its attention away from immune functions. I ate organically as much as possible, paying more and searching for good fresh organic fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and meats. I exercised GENTLY but firmly - my routine was to walk every morning and evening for at least a half-hour, sometimes an hour, but never too much. I stayed hydrated with good water (one of the few times in life I drank filtered water) I took echinacea purpurea, but that's a personal thing. I rented funny movies from the library and made sure I laughed a lot every day (also an immune system booster). Mostly, I took lots of quiet time and kept any stresses well under control, keeping any and all potentially stressful situations at arm's length. Even low-level stress affects our immune systems horribly imho.

I healed very quickly and well. I know you will, too, if you take tender care of yourself.

Please try not to worry - worry is stress, and it will hurt more than help. Keep your mind occupied with positive things and activities, fresh air, good food and liquids, laugh as much as you can, and know that all will be well.

Just my two cents', from the Mohs squamous cell peanut gallery out here! :)

P.S. I suffer from general anesthesia in the same way you do, and so opted for a local. It was fine. Surreal, but there were no lasting effects like from a general. I value my mental clarity and my physical vigor, so that's a last resort for me... I also avoid antibiotics for the same reason. They seem to hurt me more than help. I'd quiz your doctor on why this is necessary.

[Float On]

I only needed local and have never been under anesthesia. I think that scares me more than the thought of surgery of any kind. My skin cancer spots were on my nose and face so not too invasive and I healed well and fast and barely any scaring.
I really need to go back in for another check, I've got spots on my shoulders and chest and face again that I worry about.
Blonde hair, blue eyed, fair skinned that spent many summers sunburned.

I think the advice for eatting clean, laughing, and trying not to stress out is some of the best advice.
I'll be thinking good thoughts for you!

[treehugger]

Best wishes for a successful surgery and quick recovery!

I'm another one of those who feels that the after effects of anesthesia are much worse than the surgery itself (I've had surgery twice and once was to donate a kidney). Unfortunately, I don't really have any advice about how to prepare for it, but if a local is a possibility, then I would seriously consider that. I also understand your fears about getting an infection in the hospital. But if this will be outpatient, you *greatly* reduce your risks of that.

Practice your own personal stress-relief methods (whatever works for you), do your research, and try to trust in the process and your doctors. And make sure to be extra kind to yourself.

Kara

[connie]

I work for Dermatologists who do MOHS surgeries in office. MOHS may take longer, but is tissue sparing. Not all dermatolotists are qualified to do MOHS. It requires special training. We only use local anesthesia in office. Our patients are advised to take a couple of antibiotic pills before and just after surgery as a preventative. Most surgery sites heal very well and even on face you can hardly see a scar. If it is too extensive a surgery for the office, they are referred to surgeon or plastic surgeon. Hope you are able to relax about procedure. Blessings.

[Tussiemussies]

Hi again, I just looked into my book "Prescriptions ForNutritional. Healing" about surgery pre and post op. there is 3 pages on the subject with very good advice. If you would like to have the information you can message me with your address and I will copy it and mail it to you ASAP.

Don't worry I will not use your address for anything else!

[Gardenarian]

Thank you all for your advice!! It is so good to hear from those who have been here and are able to talk about it so calmly - it makes me feel that I will come through this okay.

I will start detoxing right away; that seems to be key to a better outcome. I have been exercising a little more than usual, but not so much that I get sore and more stressed out. I am very interested in using aromatherapy - thanks for the advice. I am going to try and go with a local anesthetic. As a large part of my lip will need to be removed (sorry, TMI) they may decide to do the reconstructive surgery sometime afterwards.

I didn't realize this might be an all day affair - my Dr. has not been very communicative. (I am very angry with Kaiser [my HMO] for a lot of reasons right now!) It's so hard to actually *talk* to anyone there.

This has been a year of many losses for me. Still, the positives in my life outweigh the negatives by so much that I feel very fortunate (though I do grumble a bit.)

Tussiemussies - I will PM you if I can figure out how to do it :-)

Peace and blessings!

[Tussiemussies]

Hi Garderian,

Glad to hear that other's experience with the same thing is helping you.

Before your surgery you can breathe in lavender essential oil for helping you to calm down and post op keep doing the steam inhalations of tea tree oil. Make sure you put a towel over your head and pot of water. Make sure the water is not too hot or it will burn your lungs but you want it as warm as you can tolerate.

The book I use for reference you may be able to easily pick it up in a good health food store. You can also use homeopathy which has no side effects whatsoeverever and might help you with nervouness and boosting your immune system. I would take the herb echinacea now and after surgery to boost your immune system. Just take as directed.

For the homeopathy you will have to look at the vial to see what they are for. You put them under your tounge until the dissolve. They cannot harm you at all like traditional medicine could.

I am going to ask DH to see if we can scan those pages in from the book and then maybe I can email them to you, I will give you my email so you can send me yours.

If you do pick up the reference book, look in the index for the pages on surgery as the book goes by illness alphabetically and it is not listed in that section.

Boosting your exercise is great! Christine ;)

: )

[Tweety]

I had a squamous cell carcinoma removed from my leg a few years ago, and another has popped up recently that I will take care of in a few weeks. I had local anesthesia and the whole thing was SO much less troublesome than I feared that I am not worried in the least about this one. I hope that yours will be as simple to undergo and get over.
BTW, I've also had several basal cell skin cancers shaved off through the years and have a couple of suspicious spots on my face that will need to be looked at; who knew that the sun was bad for you back when I was a kid?

[Greg44]

Thanks to your post I had my spot in question checked by my GP today. He too thought it looked like I should go to my dermatologist for a closer look.

I thought it strange that the physician's assistant and the doctor's office visits cost the same. I opted for the doctor to look at it. Not that I doubt the experience of the PA, but if I am paying for the doctor I want to see the doctor. IMHO.

[Gardenarian]

Hi folks,

Well, it's gone! I was in there for about 7 hours (scrape, wait, repeat.) The reconstructive surgery took about 90 minutes (I think) and that was grueling. I am very swollen, bruised, and have many stitches - but yay! no more cancer. Thank you all for your support.

Time to go lie down now.

[Greg44]

Glad to hear they got it all. Have a good rest!

[Float On]

That is great news Gardenarian!

[Tussiemussies]

[QUOTE=Gardenarian;97473]Hi folks,

Well, it's gone! I was in there for about 7 hours (scrape, wait, repeat.) The reconstructive surgery took about 90 minutes (I think) and that was grueling. I am very swollen, bruised, and have many stitches - but yay! no more cancer. Thank you all for your support.


Glad to hear it is all over now and that everything went successfully. Glad you are cancer free now!
You will recover quickly I bet...Christine

[Mrs-M]

Gardenarian. Please post another update when you feel up to it as to how the healing is coming along.

[Gardenarian]

Thanks for thinking of me Mrs M! You are a sweetie :)

For those following my travails, I pinched a nerve in my neck shortly before the surgery, and that has been causing me more pain than anything else! Maybe it's my body's way of distracting me...

Anyhow, after having all the stitches out (about 40) everyone tells me it looks great. I look in the mirror and think, well - no. But it's early days and I will start using Mederma cream to heal up that scar. I also caught a really bad cold that did not help the healing process, but am almost over that.

I really reconnected with some of my friends as I was going through this, and that is a wonderful thing! As my husband and dd were away for much of my recuperation it was lovely to have people stopping by with soup and sympathy.

This has been such a difficult year; it has tested me and many relationships (including work) in ways I could not imagine. I think everything is going to be fine. Maybe I am stronger for it (or will be in time.)

But - a note to all gods and angels - please no more "opportunities for growth" just yet!!

[Tussiemussies]

Glad to hear that you got through your cold and that you are on the mend now. Sounds like you've had much more than a recuperation in seeing your friends. That sounds really nice! :)

[Gardenarian]

Thanks Tussiemussies! And the pages you sent me were a huge help!
:thankyou:

[catherine]

I wish you well, Gardenarian.

[Tussiemussies]

Thanks Tussiemussies! And the pages you sent me were a huge help!
:thankyou:

Glad I could help..

[Mrs-M]

Awww, sending a warm hug along with a bouquet of get well wishes to you, Gardenarian.

P.S. Glad all is coming along. Will have a cup of tea for you to hold you in my thoughts (extra)!

Be good to yourself and get some rest.

[Mrs-M]

Gardenarian. I think about you daily, and would love for you to post an update when you can. :)

[Gardenarian]

Hi Mrs M! So nice of you to ask! I'm seeing the surgeon in a few days to see if there is going to be any further work needed. It looks awful, but, better than having cancer.
And (touch wood) nothing else has gone majorly wrong!

[Spoony]

Hi Gardinian,

I'm glad that your procedure was a success. I had surgery for malignant melanoma and had a big chunk of flesh removed from my arm (roughly one pound of flesh; isn't there a biblical phrase about a pound of flesh?).

Anyway, I have been researching a preventative lifestyle to stave off any future reoccurence. Although diet/lifestyle is not as big a factor in skin cancer as sun exposure, there is some evidence of a link.

I have been loosely following Dr. Fuhrman's "nutritional science-based" dietary guidelines. Since starting this eating plan in late August, my other skin conditions (such as rosacea) have disappeared and my dermolotologist is very impressed with my skin quality for my age. I'm hoping that I'm also healthier from the inside out and that cancer is in my past. I hope the same for you as well.

If you are interested in the food-as-medicine route, Furhman's work is a good place to start.

[Mrs-M]

So nice hearing from you, Gardenarian. Positive thoughts and well wishes your way.

I gain so much strength from people like you, just seeing how brave and steadfast you are. I admire and envy you for that, so much!

Sending a warm cyber hug your way! And one for you, too, Spoony!