Basal cell carcinoma: Prognosis and life after treatment
Last updated: September 10, 2025
Dermatologist reviewed: Natalie Matthews, MD, MPhil, FAAD; Rajiv I. Nijhawan, MD, FACMS, FAAD; and Darrell S. Rigel, MD, FAAD. Reviewer bios.
What is the outcome for a person who has basal cell carcinoma?
People rarely die of this cancer because it seldom spreads. The following gives you general guidelines for the outcome (prognosis) based on when basal cell carcinoma is treated.
Found early and properly treated: The prognosis for basal cell carcinoma is excellent. Treatment can remove the tumor.
While treatment can be effective, follow-up with your dermatologist is essential because:
Basal cell carcinoma can return (recur).
Once you have had skin cancer, you have a greater risk of developing another skin cancer, including melanoma, which is the most serious skin cancer.
If either happens, early diagnosis and proper treatment are still important. Even melanoma is highly treatable when diagnosed early and properly treated.
Cancer grows deep: Basal cell carcinoma is rarely deadly.
However, treatment becomes more involved when cancer is given time to grow. If basal cell carcinoma grows below the skin, it can destroy cartilage, wrap around a nerve, or reach bone. When this happens, you’ll likely see a team of cancer specialists. This team may include your dermatologist, oncologist (cancer doctor), and a doctor who specializes in reconstructive surgery.
Cancer spreads: Keep in mind that basal cell carcinoma rarely spreads. Less than 1% of basal cell tumors spread beyond where the cancer starts.
When this cancer spreads, patients can often be treated with newer medications, such as vismodegib and sonidegib. It’s difficult to say how many people survive when this cancer spreads. There are just too few people with advanced basal cell carcinoma to give an accurate answer.
That said, studies have found that patients treated with medication for advanced basal cell carcinoma may live 7 more years or longer after treatment.
Life after treatment for basal cell carcinoma
You’ve taken an important step by treating basal cell carcinoma. After treatment, ongoing care is essential to protect your skin and your health. Having had basal cell carcinoma gives you:
An increased risk of developing another skin cancer
Some risk of the treated skin cancer returning
You can reduce these risks and take steps to find skin cancer early. Here’s what dermatologists recommend for their patients who have had basal cell carcinoma.
Keep all your dermatology appointments. How often you need to return depends on the treatment you received, whether the basal cell carcinoma was caught early, and other considerations.
During these appointments, your dermatologist will examine your skin, looking closely at the treated area. Some patients may also need medical testing or an imaging scan, such as an ultrasound, PET scan, or MRI. This is rare.Examine your skin by performing skin self-exams as often as your dermatologist recommends. You’ll be taught how to perform this exam. Some patients find it helpful to watch a how-to video while examining their skin. This dermatologist-approved video shows you what to do, How to perform a skin self-exam.
Protect your skin from the sun. Here's how you protect your skin:
- Seek shade: If possible, avoid midday (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) sun exposure.
- Wear sun protective clothing: This includes wearing a wide-brimmed hat, lightweight shirt with long sleeves, pants, and sunglasses with UV protection. Here are tips for choosing clothing and sunglasses:
- UPF clothing: Some patients want to know how well their clothes protect them from UV rays, so they buy clothing that comes with an Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) rating. Dermatologists recommend wearing clothing with a UPF rating of 30 or higher.
- Sunglasses with UV protection: Sunglasses that offer proper UV protection are labeled "100% UV protection" or "UV400." When you see one of these statements, it means the sunglasses offer 99-100% UVA and UVB protection. If you’re unsure of the UV protection your sunglasses offer, your optometrist may be able to tell you.
UV protection differs from polarization. Polarization reduces glare.
- Use sunscreen: To protect your skin, the sunscreen must offer broad-spectrum protection, SPF 30 or higher, and water resistance.
- Apply this sunscreen 15 minutes before going outdoors. You want to apply it to all skin that will not be covered by clothing, including your face, hands, neck, and ears.
- Use enough sunscreen to protect your skin. At a minimum, most adults need about 1 ounce of sunscreen — roughly the amount to fill a shot glass — to fully cover skin not covered by clothing. Depending on your body size, you may need more sunscreen to protect your exposed skin from the sun’s rays.
If you need only apply sunscreen to your face, use at least 1 teaspoon (about the amount needed to cover the length of your index and middle fingers). - Reapply sunscreen every two hours and after swimming or sweating.
- Protect your lips by applying lip balm or lipstick that has SPF 30 or higher. Reapply as directed on the container.
Stop using tanning beds and other indoor tanning devices like sunlamps and tanning booths. The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified indoor tanning devices as a human carcinogen (known to cause cancer).
If you like the look of a tan, dermatologists recommend using a self-tanner. Also called sunless tanner, this product can give you a natural-looking tan without exposing your skin to UV rays. To get even coverage and longer-lasting results, watch this video on how to apply self-tanner.
When using a self-tanner, be sure to apply sunscreen on top of the self-tanner.
Related AAD resources
Basal cell carcinoma: When found early and properly treated, this type of skin cancer is highly treatable.
Skin cancer: Learn about skin cancer prevention, detection, and treatment.
Find skin cancer: Understand how to detect signs and symptoms of skin cancer.
Dermatologist reviewer bios
Natalie H. Matthews, MD, MPhil, FAAD
Dr. Matthews is a board-certified dermatologist and Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology (FAAD). She sees patients at Henry Ford Health in Michigan and is an Assistant Professor of Dermatology at Michigan State University.
Her areas of expertise include:
Skin cancer
Melanoma
Skin cancer surgery
Moles and other non-cancerous growths
In addition to seeing patients and teaching, Dr. Matthews is Co-director of the Henry Ford Pigmented Lesions Clinic and Co-director of the Henry Ford Cancer Center Melanoma Tumor Board.
Her research interests include:
Melanoma
Skin cancer prevention
Patient education
Rajiv I. Nijhawan, MD, FACMS, FAAD
Dr. Nijhawan is a board-certified dermatologist and board-certified Mohs surgeon. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology (FAAD) and the American College of Mohs Surgery (FACMS).
His areas of expertise include:
Mohs surgery
Reconstructive surgery
Surgical treatment for all types of skin cancer
In addition to performing surgery, he is an Associate Professor of Dermatology at the University of Texas Southwestern (UTSW) Medical Center, Director of the Parkland Memorial Hospital Skin Tumor Clinic, and Director (and founder) of the UTSW High Risk Skin Cancer Transplant Clinic. The latter serves people who have received an organ transplant because they have a greatly increased risk of developing skin cancer.
His research interests include:
Skin cancer
Mohs surgery
Patient safety
Darrell S. Rigel, MD, MS, FAAD
Dr. Rigel is a board-certified dermatologist and fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology (FAAD). With over 40 years of experience in the field, Dr. Rigel is well known for his expertise, especially in the areas of:
Melanoma
Early detection of skin cancer
Skin cancer treatment
Passionate about education, Dr. Rigel has trained many dermatologists. He is currently Clinical Professor of Dermatology at the NYU School of Medicine and Adjunct Clinical Professor of Dermatology at UT Southwestern Medical School.
Dr. Rigel is well known for his research and patient care. He co-authored numerous articles that appear in leading medical publications. He co-created the ABCDEs of Melanoma. This easy-to-remember message has helped countless people find this skin cancer early when it’s highly treatable. Today, the ABCDEs of Melanoma are widely used around the world
Written by Paula Ludmann, MS
Paula has more than 20 years of experience writing about skin, hair, and nail conditions for patients and the public.
She enjoys developing easy-to-understand information that people can use to make informed health decisions.
Paula’s passion for creating patient-first information has led to her work being mentioned by Prevention magazine and the Washington Post. She has won numerous awards, including Webbies, Apex Awards, and several awards from professional organizations.
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Image credits
Images 1, 2: American Academy of Dermatology, National Library of Dermatologic Teaching Slides 4.0.
Image 3: Used with permission of the American Academy of Dermatology’s Clinical Image Collection.
Images 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11: Used with permission of the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology:
J Am Acad Dermatol. 2019;80:303-17. (4, 6, 7)
JAAD Case Reports 2022;28:11-3. (9)
JAAD Case Reports 2018;4:599-601. (10)
J Am Acad Dermatol. 2014;70(4):748-62. (11)
Images 5, 8: Produced with permission from ©DermNet www.dermnetnz.org 2025.