What Bothers You Most About Your Skin Cancer? 700 Patients Respond

In a study conducted at the University of California, San Francisco, and the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center, researchers aimed to understand how nonmelanoma skin cancers (NMSCs) affect patients' well-being. The study included a cohort of 1,536 patients with 1,993 histologically confirmed basal cell and cutaneous squamous cell tumors diagnosed in 1999-2000. Of the 897 patients who responded to the questionnaire before treatment, 764 (85%) answered a question about how much their skin problem bothered them, with a score greater than 3 indicating moderate to severe bother. Additionally, 700 patients (78%) answered an open-ended question about their main concern regarding their skin problem. The results showed that 46% of baseline responders were moderately to severely bothered by their skin condition. The most common concerns included fear of progression (14.5% of patients), appearance (14.2%), concern about having cancer (10.7%), skin cancer diathesis (7.5%), and inconvenience (6.4%). Physical symptoms were reported by 12% of patients, with itch being the most common symptom. The study concluded that addressing patients' fears about prognosis could improve their experience of NMSC.