I had my second biopsy yesterday afternoon. The doctor feels confident he removed all the damaged cells and the results should come back next week confirming everything is clear.
I have been purposefully vague on my blog with results and technical terms. I have done this to prevent people from googling medical information and coming to their own conclusions. My diagnosis was severely abnormal moles (dysplastic nevi) with melanoma cells. MELANOMA, the most serious of the skin cancers. Jon was at yesterday's appointment and can attest to how freaking scary the conversation was. Scary scary scary.
My doctor was very serious about my diagnosis and reiterated to me that I am 100 (yes, one hundred) times more likely to get melanoma again. From now until the rest of my life, I am to check my entire body weekly. I am to avoid the sun. As for how I feel, physically my stomach hurts and I need to move slowly to prevent pain. Emotionally I can not help but think I dodged a bullet.
Before I leave you with a joke (as is my style), let me be very serious and frank. 1 in 5 Americans will get skin cancer in their lifetime. You NEED to put sunscreen on your children. If you hate the idea of chemical sunscreens, there are great physical blocks on the market. If you see anything abnormal on yourself or someone you love, contact a doctor as soon as possible. Skin cancer is almost 100% treatable if caught early. Do not google. Talk to a dermatology professional.
Now for the joke. Jon was with me with the entire appointment and we were gabbing about stupid stuff while waiting for the anaesthesia to take effect. I told him I had the perfect Christmas present idea for myself - Sarah Palin's memoir. I told him the title was "Going Rogue" then I said my book cover idea would be Sarah Palin dressed up as Rogue from the X-Men (LOVE those movies, especially yummy Jean-Luc Picard). Jon said, "And she could be leaning out of a helicopter shooting Wolverine."
This is why Jon and I belong together. I need someone to crack jokes with me during the most serious of times.
23 comments:
Glad to hear it.
For those other readers out there - Laura's story inspired me to go have my own mole checked out. I was one of those best-case-scenario people where the dermatologist kind of snickered at me and said, "You came in for that? It's nothing."
That said, I'm glad I did.
This is a mixed bag post. Glad that the doctor feels he got it all. Glad that you are breathing a sigh of relief. But also it is a great reminder that we really can't control much of our lives and we need to be very cautious. It makes doing the things we CAN do and can control critical!(like sunscreen, buckling up kids, babyproofing, etc) Thanks again Laura! And whew...
Glad that the news is relatively positive on this one. Sorry that it's something else to deal with and think about the rest of your life. Hope you are able to have a bit of a mental sigh of relief and that you are doing okay. And you'll be happy to know I have a doctor's appointment so I can get a referral for my own mole.
Ok, we've talked about the serious, so can I just say DUDE! I love me some Patrick Stewart!
I am so glad that the news is positive and glad you can come here and share both your experience and the emotional roller coaster that it caused. I love that Jon could be exactly the kind of support you needed. That just took a very serious post and made it end with a smile on my face.
Like Michele, I've gotten the "you came in for that?" response too. But, it wasn't a "your wasting my time" thing. It was a "you can chill out" thing. I know people worry about bothering doctors, or looking silly for being concerned. But, if you are wrong, what's the worst thing that can happen? They tell you that you are OK.
As far as weekly skin checks. I'm sure Jon is terribly disappointed that he'll have to check those hard to see places for you; )
Personally, I was very disappointed in the 3rd X-Men movie. However, the CH-46 used in the second film was a serious movie highlight for me. I just gushed over it.
I hope that you get good results after the next biopsy comes back! My MIL has been dealing with melanoma for months now (same process you have gone through, only more extensive so far because it had gotten to her lymph nodes), and is back at Mayo today and tomorrow for more PET scans due to some complications from her lymph nodes being removed. Have you checked out the LL Bean 50+ spf clothes? I know she stocked up at their store in Maine when they visited us in MA this summer.
Definitely scary, but yay for dodging a bullet, for now. And it's good to see you taking this as seriously as you are, and reminding us to take it seriously, too. And as usual, thank God for your sense of humor, and Jon's too! Hugs!
Thanks for the great and important post. I am beyond happy you dodged the bullet.
Whew, glad that things went well. You and Jon are definitely made for each other. :)
Want to hear something scary? I heard on NPR one weekend that kids don't get enough Vitamin D. So a doctor was advocating that parents let their kids outside without sunscreen. Now, in his defense he did say to limit it to 15 minutes. But that just goes to show you all the conflicting advice that parents get these days!
Glad you got good news Laura!
Skin cancer is so preventable, that's why i quit tanning! Having Carrah has really taught me to be more aware of sun burns.
I am so relieved to hear your news. I know you must be FTFO (Freaked the F Out). =(
I'm glad your news is fairly positive. On a lighter note... your joke cracked me up!
So scary and glad to hear that the Dr. feels he got it all. Thanks for the reminder to take care of ourselves - mind, body and spirit. You sound like you have a great match with your husband to crack jokes with during what was a very scary time. Hugs to you and let us know your recommendations on sunblock.
I'm so glad for your outcome. That is a great reminder to everyone. In my adult life I have been very careful about the sunscreen, especially with my kiddos. We do have a family history of skin cancer. I wish I had been more careful as a kid and teenager. I want my girls to always be OCD about the sunscreen.
*hugs*
I've been feeling saturated by cancer. I'm healthy, but you're one of three people I care about with recent diagnoses. Thank you thank you thank you for sharing. And thank you for giving me a reason to lecture my beloved MIL about sunscreen. I swear, I almost held her down and sprayed her with SPF 50 this weekend.
I had my annual physical today. I am happy to report that my doctor checks for moles and asks about skin changes as a standard part of his checkup. I still have the same to (unchanging) moles I've had since I was at least two.
I also keep a picture of the mole on Lucas' neck, the one he can't see himself, to compare it every time he comes home.
Wow. Very scary stuff. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed that you get confirmation next week that all is clear.
You inspired me to get my ass into the dermatologist (for my 6mo. check in - 2 months late). She found a mole on my chest that looked suspicious (of course, it was not the one i was concerned about), she scraped, it came back moderately atypical. oct. 19 is the day for "excision." trying not to think about it and just stay positive. i'll keep you posted...
I am glad you are taking this seriously. I think sometimes people think "it is just a mole" and don't deal with skin cancer early enough. (my dad is a dermatologist, so as a kid I was barely allowed to leave the house without sunblock, a hat and a burka)
Thanks for the reminder to wear sunscreen...I always lather it on my kids but not myself because I have olive skin and I don't burn easily... but you have reminded me that yes I need to wear it too!
thank you for straight talk. you are awesome. keeping you in mind as you wait a little longer.
and that rachel zoe, she is such a bitch, but highly addictive (sometimes).
Whew on dodging a bullet! You are lucky to have caught it early. Melanoma is scary for sure. You are so right to tell people to stay away from Google and the internet in general--it will scare the pants off of you. I am glad that Jon kept his sense of humor through the appointment. Sometimes its so apparent why we have chosen our partner in life and its so reassuring.
Thanks for sharing this Laura and I hope the DR got it all.
It must have been bittersweet relief.
You are in my thoughts and prayers.
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