This Will Only Hurt For A Second

About three months ago a little spot showed up on my right temple. I wasn't concerned about it because I figured here I am on the back side of 60 years old and it is about that time in my life when I should start getting age spots. After about a month my age spot started gaining weight and I pointed it out to my family Doctor on a routine visit. He seemed concerned and referred me to a Dermatologist to have a look at it. Fast forward two more months and that brings us to yesterday and my long waited for appointment. In the three months since my age spot took up residence on my face, it had grown to about the circumference of an eraser on a pencil and about 1/4 to 1/2 inches thick. The puffiness of it had pretty much gone away by my appointment yesterday, but the roughness and dark color of it was still there. I also had a mark on my shoulder that needed to be looked at.

The dermatologist said that the mark on my shoulder was pre-cancer and froze it. My face was given a good once over and she found a discolored spot on my nose that she said with out hesitation that it is Basal Cell Carcinoma. (Funny thing about that spot on my nose.... Quite a few years ago I pointed it out to a different Doctor that I was seeing when we lived in Louisiana. He assured me that it was no more than a pimple and instructed me on how to remove it by first holding a wet, hot towel on it. I never was able to get anything out of that "pimple" other than blood. Eventually I just chalked it up as one of those strange marks that show up on your body that never goes away.) To get back on track, as for my age spot, the dermatologist seems to think it is the early stages of Basal Cell Carcinoma. So she did a biopsy from both and sent it off to Ohio State University for evaluation. The shots to numb me for the biopsy hurt worse than anything else. It will be one to two weeks before the results are back and we will take it from there.

She explained that the Basal Cell Carcinoma is the most common type of skin cancer and it doesn't usually metastasize or spread in the bloodstream to other organs. It does however infiltrate the surrounding area destroying tissue. I survived cervical cancer nearly twenty years ago and if I had to have cancer again, I am fortunate to have the kind that I do. When I know more I will let you know.

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What do you get when you combine three children, a dad, a mom and an uncle plus a monster truck rally? You get a priceless moment. Check back tomorrow for pictures and details.

Until then You are in my heart and in my prayers!!