The Fight Is On!

A new fight has entered my life. After battling the diagnosis and treatments of my son’s HCM heart disease, I decided it was time to make my own doctor’s appointment. The one I had missed and then postponed for over a year. That dreadful physical that no one I know wants to waste their time with. I had no idea of the importance of that once-a-year physical until now. I disclosed, to my physician, a scab that was next to my ear, because I kept catching it with my hair brush so it would not heal. After examining the area, I was quickly referred to a skin cancer specialist. You guessed it … the fight is on!

Traveling through several web sites like WebMD and MedicineNet (which are great!) sometimes you can learn a little too much. I had read and heard previously that about 90% of skin cancers are associated with exposure to UV radiation from the sun or tanning beds and approximately two million people are diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma and melanoma every year. But what I didn’t know was that one person dies every hour from melanoma.

I felt queasy sitting in the waiting room thinking of what was to come. Appointment’s were kept weekly, two stage two basal cell carcinoma’s and two stage two melanoma’s were found on my head and neck. My third MOHs surgery was to remove my second melanoma was to be taken. This one was from my neck and each was in a two month time frame. My neck was probably one of the scariest, although every time I go – I am always a bit anxious – but I had just heard of a close friend of an aunt who suffered nerve loss after surgery in the same area of the neck. Lucky to have caught it in stage two but still sick to my stomach, shaking in my shoes, were my only the feelings on the inside. Questioning the surgeon about my neck and he reassured me, surgery took place as scheduled and the healing process began. Scars on the surface can be covered by makeup and treated with vitamin lotions, but removing this cancer, I will fight it and if any new ones that show up they are in for a duel.

Running into my family’s living room my seven year old eyes wild with excitement and my smile lit my face as I saw all of my aunts and uncles filling the seats. A surprise visit! What was the occasion? I didn’t care. I was seven and it looked like Christmas! But what I didn’t know was … my grandmother had just passed away. Cancer had won, she had lost the fight.

My grandmother, several family members and a few dear friends have passed away because of cancer. Now even more close friends are engaged in this fierce battle … Cancer! Fear, sadness and grief over comes me when I recall the day that I was caught by surprise in my family’s living room. At the innocent age of seven when cancer personally became an unspeakable and terrifying word. So the shaking, the apprehension of a “little skin cancer” outpatient surgery still seems to shatter my soul because of the memories and fear of that cancer that lay deep within.

My Biopsy Tests:

First a local anesthetic is injected, and then the doctor performs a deep shave biopsy – the spot is shaved off with a razor blade. Area heals in just a few days and they send off the tissue to a lab for results.

My MOHS Surgery:

I read that the Mohs micrographic surgery has the highest cure rate for basal cell. I never found that positive reinforcement for Melanoma, however I took the advice of my doctors and trust the tests of the lab that results of the last biopsy are cancer free.

Mohs surgeons remove the minimum amount of healthy tissue and totally remove the cancer eliminating all tumor roots. The technique – sections of the tissue that are removed in stages and sent to an onsite lab for slide preparation and study. This process is repeated until no tumor cells remain in the microscopic sections and the area is tumor free. At this point, they reconstruct the tumor site. My surgeon cut a flap of skin from a surrounding area and folds it over the wound. The surgeon then sews the skin in place for a fast recovery with little visible scars.

FYI: The A, B, C, D’s of Melanoma:

A=asymmetry

B=border irregularity,

C=color variability (brown, black, gray, pink)

D=diameter of (often) greater than ¼ inch

A Special thanks to: www.sephora.com

This company has introduced me to the best products to help restore, freshen, enhance and smoothen to create a healthier-looking skin, while protecting my skin from more damage that can happen with everyday living.