By the doc

It sounds scary but a rodent ulcer isn’t your usual cancer

She didn’t look too pleased when I told her the informal name for the lump on her nose – a rodent ulcer.

I have to admit, it’s not the most attractive title.

And she was even less happy when I told her I thought it was a Basal Cell Carcinoma, a type of skin cancer.

Happily, though, this is a variety that’s not as scary as it sounds.

When she first noticed the lump, it was small, pearly pink and dome-shaped.

It had slowly, over the course of several months, gotten bigger.

It eventually started to crust and a small ulcer formed, which began to bleed from time to time.

Although it looked like a typical Basal Cell Carcinoma, I referred her for a biopsy to confirm it.

Most forms of skin cancer are related to sun damage. Sunburn can be behind types of growths called melanomas – the scarier skin cancers we’re used to.

Basal Cell Carcinomas, however, are more likely caused by a build-up of sun exposure over a number of years.

They’re more common in people who work outdoors, like gardeners or agricultural workers, and usually develop on sun-exposed areas like the face or scalp. Although it is a type of cancer, the reason it’s not as scary is because it generally doesn’t metastasise – spread throughout the body.

Instead, this type of tumour stays in the one place. It does get bigger, though, and it can grow to a size where it starts to cause damage to the surrounding areas, like the ear or nose. That’s why we tend to remove them.

If the lesion is small, it’s most commonly cut out under local anaesthetic.

A larger lesion may need more extensive surgery with a skin graft. There’s also radiotherapy, freezing, light therapy or chemotherapy for particular cases.

There’s even a microsurgery – where tiny areas of skin are removed and checked under the microscope to see if it contains cancer cells.

This is done until there are no more cells detected, and ensures no more skin than necessary is removed.

Following common sense advice on protecting yourself from the sun’s harmful rays should prevent a rodent ulcer ever becoming a problem.

So avoid exposure to the sun at midday, wear a hat and sun cream, and don’t use a tanning booth.