spotts said: I go every three years and get a prescription for Effudex or the generic. It is a cream that will "burn out" the cells that are damaged before they become trouble. Use it on the face and arms and the dermatologist checks everything else. You look like hell for about 6 weeks in the middle of treatment but I've been doing golf course work for 44 years. That's a lot of sun exposure. I wear a hat but no sunscreen ever. so far so good.
I go to the Dermatologist twice a year now but was going quarterly for a while. It seemed like I was having a Basal Cell Carcinoma show up (face, arms, hand, ankle, shoulder) in Biopsy's every other month. My guess it had something to do with the first couple of years I worked in Hawaii 27 years ago. I was young and never used sunscreen, but finally figured out the sun burns I was getting in Hawaii were much worse than the ones I got in Chicago. Last year I had a Squamous Cell Carcinoma come off my cheek right in a place I had treated with Effudex twice, Effudex does a nice job of cleaning up some of your damaged skin but is not fool proof. I will be doing another round of Effudex on my face this winter, my Dermatologist is very concerned about my forehead. Talk about drawing attention to yourself, some people laugh at you, some people ask where you went on vacation, some people avoid you, and a few will ask what happened. Thats a 6 weeks you want to avoid public appearances, family pictures, and crowded resturants.I feel like a live Skin Cancer awareness sign, but it has led to several friends going to the dermatologist as a result. I do it in the winter because it hurts to wear a hat and your face is a real mess so you want to be out of the sun during the treatment time.