Skin Cancer and other Stuff

Not doing too bad. Hurts some but not bad. Nothing that tylenol can't take care of.

We got to the clinic around 7:15 and the surgery started around 7:45 am. I met the surgeon and asked all the questions I had. He was awesome and very soft spoken and calm. That helped settle my nerves a lot. They have a special Mohs surgery waiting room, so Greg got to wait in there.
They started with the numbing process and that wasn't really too bad. It was a little uncomfortable and awkward since it was so close to my eye, but the pain wasn't anything I couldn't handle. Mostly just stinging for a minute.
Once it was numb he did some "scraping" of the area with a little curette type thing and then some snipping. I had my eyes closed so I didn't actually see it all, but I could hear it.
Then it was bandaged up and I went to the waiting room to wait while the dr. studied it under the microscope. About an hour later the nurse came and got me and they did another round of cutting. Bandaged again and waited again. The nurse came back about an hour later and told me that they got it all that time! YAY! They then cleaned it and the dr. stitched it up. A pressure bandage was put on it and I was sent home. All in all it was about 4 hours total.

I felt pretty good afterwards, just sort of worn out. It was nerve wracking and exhausting.
I will share some photos of what it looked like in the beginning and through today. If you are squeamish, you might want to stop here! It looks a LOT better than I ever dreamed it would.
 This is a before shot with the cancer "bump" circled.

After the removal for biopsy a couple of weeks before the surgery.


This is after the removal of the cancer.
After the stitching up! 2 on the inside and 9 on the outside. I am happy that the scare should kind of follow a natural curve of my face and not be super noticeable.
All bandaged up and ready to go home!

So it was not a wonderful experience, but to anyone who is having Mohs surgery on their face? You can do it. Don't get yourself as worked up and anxious as I did!
I am supposed to take it easy for the next several days, no lifting or bending over, but that's about it.

More later!

I was reading this article about sunscreen today. I think the last sentence is very important! It says:
" According to the EWG, federal regulations for sunscreen products were proposed in 1978; 33 years later, there are still none on the books."
I would certainly think that for something that millions of people slather on their bodies and those of their children daily there would be some sort of regulation! Some sort of "proof" that it actually works and isn't just a waste of time and money.
It was interesting to read their "best beach and sports sunscreens" and also their "Hall of Shame" as to which are the worst sun screens to purchase and use. 
When I saw the spray on sunscreen for the first time a couple of years ago, I thought wow why didn't I think of that! Now it seems that people are talking it down mostly because people don't use enough of it and get a false sense of security. Also it is being said that breathing the fumes from it are bad for people, especially children to inhale. 
**
As for me, I am keeping myself occupied until Tuesday when I have my surgery. Today I am making some new recipes and doing some baking. Tomorrow I work a full shift and am going to get my hair cut. I hear from the nurse that I won't be able to get my hair or face wet for a couple of days after surgery, so I figured now is the time to get a good haircut! Also I love, love, love having my hair shampooed at the salon. A little pampering never hurt anyone, right? :)


p.s. I had NO IDEA why some of this post shows up with a white background. It's annoying to me and I could not figure out how to fix that! Sorry for the weirdness of it, if you know what I did wrong be sure and leave me a comment.

I am starting this blog to document my journey through skin cancer. I have hopes that maybe others will come here looking for information and support.

After my diagnosis with basal cell carcinoma in July 2011, I scoured the internet for information. What I mostly found were worst case scenarios and horrid images. When I found out I would be having Mohs surgery and searched that, the images and articles made my anxiety about the whole thing go through the roof!

So I guess my vision for this blog is honesty and down to earth information. Also a place where I can write about my thoughts and fears about skin cancer.

I will start out with a little back story. I am a 46 year old woman with three adult children who lives in Minnesota. I grew up in the midwest on a farm and even though I am a super fair skinned, red head, I always thought I could get a tan. Being a teen in the late 70's, early 80's having a golden brown tan was important. Those were the years of baking your skin with a coating of baby oil or even better that wonderful, coconut scented oil that they sold everywhere. No one talked about protecting our skin, at least none that I remember. I could not tell you how many sunburns I had as a child. Some even to the extent of blistering.

As a young adult I started hearing about sun screen and frankly, with maturity I really didn't want a tan anymore. I knew that it was impossible, so I gave up that thought. As my children were born and started playing outside, I would slather them with sunscreen and try not to let them get sunburned. There was the occasional slip up, but for the most part I kept them protected. As they became teenagers and more news was reported about skin damage and the harmful effects of the sun, it might even be said that I nagged them about the sun. ;)

For the last probably 20 years or so I have tried to stay out of the direct sun. That isn't a huge problem for me, as I HATE the heat and getting over heated makes me sick, so I take precautions for that to never happen.

But the damage had already been done. Last month I went to see a dermatologist about a completely unrelated issue and before we ever got around to talking about that, he noticed a spot on my face. At that very appointment he numbed it up and removed it and sent it in for a biopsy. Two weeks later at a follow up appointment he told me that it was positive for basal cell carcinoma. Which, he told me, was a direct result of sun damage.

So in a couple days I will be having Mohs surgery to have the cancer removed. To say that I am not anxious or totally freaked out by this prospect would be a lie. But, it is something that has to be done and the good thing about BCC is that it is curable. It's removable. It's survivable. There are many, many worse things that could happen to me, so I try to keep that thought in my head and know that I can and will get through this.

I am going to post some photos of my face, so that later after the surgery it will be easier to do the comparisons.

This first photo shows the little bump that was under my eye that the doctor noticed. I had no idea what it was, it didn't hurt or bleed, so I kind of ignored it. I don't know how long it had been there, but I am guessing between 3 and 5 years? I circled it in red so that you can see it better.

More later.