Today we are prompted to write about "Summer Lovin. Summer is coming up. What plans do you have? Any family vacation? What do you look forward to in Summer 2014? "
Going to get just a little off Topic but staying with the Summer theme, I am going to talk to you about something that has become very personal for me, and also lay things out on the table, that would usually fall under the "too personal to reveal" realm.
Growing up in Southern California afforded me the pleasure of enjoying not only beautiful weather, but all the fun in the sun that I possibly could do. This included swimming in the pool and springboard diving, beach fun including surfing, body surfing, fishing, water skiing, and much more. I lived close enough to ride my bike to most all of those activity's, so I was lucky to get a double dose of sun in all those things. All of this before sunscreen was even invented. Sounds pretty good huh? Or does it...
Flash forward to about one year ago when a funky looking mole turned into skin cancer (Basal Cell Carcinoma) on my face, right under one eye and right next to my nose. The Dermatologist that I went to tried to remove all of the cancer during the biopsy, but it was too deep so he referred me to a Radiation Oncology specialist to undergo 21 days of radiation, in a row excluding weekends.
Flash forward again to last week, when I went to the Oncologist for a 6 month checkup. He took a look at my face and said I needed another biopsy as it looks as if the radiation didn't get all of the cancer.
About a week before that I was at a follow up appointment for a post (unrelated) Surgery checkup. He took one look at my face and said "your skin cancer wound looks very angry. Better have a Dermatologist take a look STAT". So once the new Dermatologist referral was approved by my insurance. Once the referral was approved, I made the appointment.
Flash forward to today. Went to the Dermatologist and he took one look at my face, I told him about it looking "angry", and he replied it doesn't look "angry", it looks VERY "angry. So he said that he will do another biopsy to confirm what he already knew, it isn't all gone. As he looked at the wound he saw another spot that also needs a biopsy right next to the current wound, on my nose just next to the current wound. He then said "while I have you here, take your shirt off and let me look at your back. BINGO...biopsy number 3 was ordered. Having all 3 done, at the same time, in about a week. The area around my current wound cannot handle anymore radiation, so the other option is surgery and/or chemo.
No reason for gloom and doom...just yet.
In closing, I cannot emphasize enough to use sunscreen EVERY time you are out in the sun. If you see a mole that is getting larger, see your Doctor as soon as possible.
Thanks for listening...
TM
