Today I feel so refreshed. I feel so lucky! I feel like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. However, I do feel a little wiser and much more cautious.
I had a small bump on my face for a little more than a year. I didn't know why it wouldn't heal. It was about the size of an eraser head and right smack between my eyes. I hated it because it would always bleed. It made it very difficult to wear makeup and even washing my face was a chore. No matter how gentle I would be, it would bleed all over the place.
I finally made a Doctors appointment but her waiting list was about a year long. Finally, my appointment arrived and I was so excited. I thought for sure, I would walk in and she would just remove this bump and I would be on my way. But, things took a bit of a turn. She looked at my face and said, "that's cancer, but don't worry. It's very common and treatable". However, she found a spot on my back and she thought it was melanoma and she said it needed to come off immediately.
Well, she took the mole off of my back and gave me a few stitches and sent me on my way. Melanoma? I didn't know anything about skin cancer. So I went home and looked over the brochure. First sentence under melanoma stated : the most deadliest of skin cancers. Well, panic just set in. I was a mess for about a week waiting for my pathology report to come back. Melanoma?! Questions began to fly through my mind. How long was that there? Has it spread? Am I going to die? I was so depressed. I have children, what about them?
To my relief, the pathology report came back that it was NOT melanoma! But it was a basal cell cancer. Now, I could relax and focus on the basal cell on my face. That was a little bit involved. I had to schedule myself for surgery because of it's size and location. I did more reading and found that although it is the most common and curable type of skin cancer, it is also the most disfiguring. I read blogs and looked up articles online. I still was not sure what to expect. The day of the surgery arrived and I was a bit nervous. I stretched across the operating table and suddenly I was not as courageous as I thought I was. First of all, I'm very VERY claustrophobic. They placed a cloth over my face and told me not to touch anything because it was sterile and to keep my eyes shut. I had to ask them to lift the cloth high enough to get it off of my nose and mouth...I hate being claustrophobic. I feel like I cant catch my breath and I know for a fact things are fine but my mind wont listen to any sort of reason. So, there was that issue. Then, the actual surgery began. On a pain level, the worst was the numbing....however, I have had three children....it was not so bad. I do have to admit, the procedure was more involved than I imagined. I wish I would have known a little more before hand. My nerves got the best of me and I did shake and a lonely little tear fell down my face. But, it was not so bad. When they were all finished, I had a very large bandage across my forehead that my daughter pointed out was "ginormous"!
For a week, I wondered, how disfiguring was my procedure going to be. Was I going to have a huge hole in the middle of my forehead? Was the scar going to be large and obvious?
I followed up to have my stitches removed and I was so very impressed! The incision was so thin and you could barely tell I had any surgery at all. Then the Doctor leaned over and showed me my latest pathology report....all margins were clear! Yes! No more surgery!
This entire experience was a true eye opener. I am a woman with fair skin, freckles, green eyes and years of sun bathing an tanning bed experience. I was one of those people who thought, "it won't happen to me". But it did. And, it could happen to anyone. You don't even have to be in the sun to get skin cancer. Take the time to put on a little sunscreen, check yourself often...even take pictures if you wish so you can compare changes later and if you have a question or concern....go see your Doctor and have piece of mind. Don't let it go.
I had a small bump on my face for a little more than a year. I didn't know why it wouldn't heal. It was about the size of an eraser head and right smack between my eyes. I hated it because it would always bleed. It made it very difficult to wear makeup and even washing my face was a chore. No matter how gentle I would be, it would bleed all over the place.
I finally made a Doctors appointment but her waiting list was about a year long. Finally, my appointment arrived and I was so excited. I thought for sure, I would walk in and she would just remove this bump and I would be on my way. But, things took a bit of a turn. She looked at my face and said, "that's cancer, but don't worry. It's very common and treatable". However, she found a spot on my back and she thought it was melanoma and she said it needed to come off immediately.
Well, she took the mole off of my back and gave me a few stitches and sent me on my way. Melanoma? I didn't know anything about skin cancer. So I went home and looked over the brochure. First sentence under melanoma stated : the most deadliest of skin cancers. Well, panic just set in. I was a mess for about a week waiting for my pathology report to come back. Melanoma?! Questions began to fly through my mind. How long was that there? Has it spread? Am I going to die? I was so depressed. I have children, what about them?
To my relief, the pathology report came back that it was NOT melanoma! But it was a basal cell cancer. Now, I could relax and focus on the basal cell on my face. That was a little bit involved. I had to schedule myself for surgery because of it's size and location. I did more reading and found that although it is the most common and curable type of skin cancer, it is also the most disfiguring. I read blogs and looked up articles online. I still was not sure what to expect. The day of the surgery arrived and I was a bit nervous. I stretched across the operating table and suddenly I was not as courageous as I thought I was. First of all, I'm very VERY claustrophobic. They placed a cloth over my face and told me not to touch anything because it was sterile and to keep my eyes shut. I had to ask them to lift the cloth high enough to get it off of my nose and mouth...I hate being claustrophobic. I feel like I cant catch my breath and I know for a fact things are fine but my mind wont listen to any sort of reason. So, there was that issue. Then, the actual surgery began. On a pain level, the worst was the numbing....however, I have had three children....it was not so bad. I do have to admit, the procedure was more involved than I imagined. I wish I would have known a little more before hand. My nerves got the best of me and I did shake and a lonely little tear fell down my face. But, it was not so bad. When they were all finished, I had a very large bandage across my forehead that my daughter pointed out was "ginormous"!
This was immediately after surgery.
The next day, I had some swelling in my eyes and nose. And to top it off, I had a doozy of a cold.
Taken about 5 days after surgery. I could not keep the white gauze on any longer. I was allergic to the glue on the tape. Here is what was under the bandage. Surgical strips that were glued over the incision.
For a week, I wondered, how disfiguring was my procedure going to be. Was I going to have a huge hole in the middle of my forehead? Was the scar going to be large and obvious?
I followed up to have my stitches removed and I was so very impressed! The incision was so thin and you could barely tell I had any surgery at all. Then the Doctor leaned over and showed me my latest pathology report....all margins were clear! Yes! No more surgery!
This entire experience was a true eye opener. I am a woman with fair skin, freckles, green eyes and years of sun bathing an tanning bed experience. I was one of those people who thought, "it won't happen to me". But it did. And, it could happen to anyone. You don't even have to be in the sun to get skin cancer. Take the time to put on a little sunscreen, check yourself often...even take pictures if you wish so you can compare changes later and if you have a question or concern....go see your Doctor and have piece of mind. Don't let it go.
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