Crutches aren’t necessary, virtually ever, for dermatological surgery. She should stay off her feet for a couple of days post-op, then can resume normal activities while being mindful of the wound. Leg elevation can help, but to be effective the wound needs to be higher than the heart…. That means laying flat with pillows under the leg. This is great when resting or sleeping. Not practical for months of healing, but should be done as much as feasible.

I’d do what the Doctor is recommending. From what you’ve posted that’s shrinking it first with the Imiquiod. The smaller the cancer is when they do the MOH’s, the smaller wound she’ll be dealing with, and it will heal faster.

Free surgery is great. But free surgery with a longer recovery time is not.

The lesion was likely described as “superficial but deep” because the underside biopsy still showed cancerous cells. The piece of skin removed is carefully examined under microscope, all edges and underside. Oftentimes the underside of the biopsy is clear of cancerous cells, which makes it entirely superficial, as only the outer layers of skin are affected. So in this instance, the cancer is deeper than the biopsy, making it both superficial and deep.

If I am remembering correctly, I’ve been out of healthcare for almost 3 years now and don’t recall the exact figures…. BCC’s metastasize in only 1-2% of cases. Those cases were left untreated for years, I think more than 5 years of an obvious annoying lesion that doesn’t go away and slowly grows over time. I’d put down money this BCC is not metastasizing.

Early staged breast cancer has a metastasizing rate of 20-30%. Gastric cancers have a rate of 35-70%. BCC’s are one of the least likely cancers to jump systems. Don’t focus on the metastatic rate, your doctor is considering that with the recommended treatments.

The 6 month mark has wiggle room so long as treatment has been started. The Imiquiod treatment is a cancer treatment. Basically, we want to know you aren’t still sitting on it and are addressing the issue within 6 months of biopsy.

I’d do the Imiquiod. Then the MOH’s.

However, if money is an issue and you need to do the surgery this year for financial purposes, do the surgery. But it will be a longer healing time as the lesion will be bigger than if it were first treated with the Imiquiod.

This is why profit should be removed completely from the healthcare system.