I`m going through much the same as your mum .
I had a bcc removed from the end of my nose in April the size of a ten cent piece( Australian ) but within three months more had appearred around the same area .The plastic surgeon who operated told me that it was a particular nasty one and that he will check me every six months but now i have just gone through more surgery to remove three more one very large on the inside of my nose .They can`t be prevented now as the damage was done when i was a child ,however i can prevent more damage by covering up and using a good sun screen .The surgeon will keep a good eye on me as he knows what to look for ( in the first place i was being treated by a local dr for two years .until i said no more i was too worried .
Have a good specialist you are comfortable with and let them check you at regular intervals .
All the best with your mum and please cover your self up so you don`t go through the same thing ...as it is preventable .

I just found this site trying to find the same type of answers. I am recovering from my 3rd surgery on the tip of my nose as well. Each have required skin grafts. This last one I had Mohs surgery which is supposed to be the best for BCC removal. I am on 48 and have been going through this since I was 31. I have brown hair and eyes and medium skin tone which is not your usual candidate, but as a product of the 70's spent way too much time in the sun.

Now every pimple that comes up sends chills down my spine because most all of mine have started out looking like that. This last one was visibly the size of a pin head and ended up covering the tip of my nose.

Now I am trying to find proactive solutions like laser peels or chemical peels that would get rid of the sun damage. They are expensive and may not be covered by insurance so I want to find out what the benefits would be to doing this.

I have had too many (why my name is toomanyx) and I'm tired of being scared.

I had a friend who's family memberhad cancer of some form, they weren't having chemo or radiation or anything done for it, the only thing they did was started drinking this all natural juice, it has a berry in it called Acai, this juice has so many anit oxidants that fight free radicals that cause cancer...

Since i first posted in 2007 i have had so much surgery including grafting to my nose.Even after this the cancer was still present so the next step was to have radiation instead of having my nose operated on yet again removing more of it .
Here i am twelve months down the track and i still have the cancer .also have had more BCC`s removed from other parts of my face .I`m to see another surgeon in a few weeks but am not hopeful they will get it even then as they think it has attached itself to the nerves .For thew past few months i have lived on pain likkers and today i was prescribed morphine tablets as all other strong drugs i have become just so sick on or am allergic to .
tHIS WOULD OF NOT BEEN SO BAD IF THE DR IN THE FIRST PLACE SENT ME TO SOMEONE WHO KNEW ABOUT THESE THINGS INSTEAD OF TRYING TO CURE IT HIMSELF.
My only advice to anyone is if you are not happy with the drs you are seeing please get a second even third opinion it`s just not worth the pain you will go through .

Freckles my advise to you is yes the cancers do reoccour please check your mum regularly and do have anything you are concerned about checked out .In my opion it better taken off rather than worry about when it will go bad.
Good luck

Our son has malignant melanoma..This is a life time disease...He has had many areas removed from his body...It is very wise for a person, especially if there has been a skin cancer in your family, to go to a Dermatolgist once a year for a complete body check up...Tell the PA or Doctor everything that may be troubling you.....It could save you your life...