my cancers

It has been the most traumatic experience I have ever had!  I have had other surgeries(c-sec; hernia, etc) but this is the worst.  You can't hide your face and the flap edema is frightening.  I am petrified to go outdoors and even w/sunblock and a hat I feel like life with never be the same.  Am I normal right now?  1 mo post-op. thank u!

I had mohs surgery in March for BCC on the tip of my nose and I think the feelings you're experiencing are very normal.  As mother of a 3year old I was forced to overcome the desire to hide myself away as I needed to keep daily routines going as far as possible.  With hindsight this was good for me and forced me to get used to the inevitable stares that any facial difference prompts. Now, though, although I am well on the way to recovery - both physically and psychologically - I'm having the same fears about being out in the sun, not to mention the fears about developing other, more dangerous, types of skin cancer.  As far as family and friends are concerned, I'm better now, and what I've been through seems largely to have been forgotten.  For those of us who've been through it though, I guess the after effects of the whole experience are more difficult to come to terms with.  All we can do is stay positive and be reassured that what we're feeling is a normal reaction to an extremely stressful experience.  All the best - you're not alone!