re: Anyone ever had cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma? What should I expect?

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Anyone ever had cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma? What should I expect?

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My dad had it. They did a Mohs surgery on him and that was it. It took most of a morning to complete the surgery and eliminate all the cancerous cells. The Mohs procedure takes a layer of tissue that gets immediately mapped and reviewed for pathology while the patient remains prepped for surgery. If they find cancer cells in the layer, the mapping lets the team know where on the patient the cancer cells remain. They keep taking layers until pathology comes back clear, so it ensures they get it all and spare as much tissue as possible, but it's time consuming to do all that. Dad's was on his forehead and he said the worst part was just sitting there under the surgical drape for all that time.

It does leave a scar, but it's better than cancer. After that, he's had nothing more needed other than a regular check-in with the dermatologist to catch anything that might come back.