This & That: Why Hello, Mr. Melanoma. Why Don't You Stay A While

So, I'm going to come clean with something that's been going on in my life since the first of the year. It hasn't been a very noticeable thing when we were all masked up during COVID, but with the masks coming off, it's much more obvious and people say things unintentionally that kind of hit the wrong way depending on the day. Things like, "Hey, did your husband hit you?" That's the most frequent one. I smile and brush it off, because it's better than saying, "Nope, I have cancer." and then watching them try to backpedal that.

In January, I went to see my dermatologist to have my every-six-month check on some inflammatory circulation issues in one of my legs. Since I haven't been wearing makeup with masks on and all, he noticed a spot under my eye that I have taken great pains to conceal for several years.....because it prompts the "did your husband hit you?" question when I don't. There was a dark spot within that larger spot and he said we really needed to keep an eye on it. I just had the feeling to have him go ahead and take it off, which involved a shave biopsy. I wasn't worried. I've had a biopsy before on a spot on my neck and it came back as just one of those lovely age spots. I got a call a couple of days later from him, telling me it was melanoma in situ, which means it hasn't traveled anywhere else. The good news, he said, was that cure rates are 99 point something percent. It was really weird to hear about "cure rates" as it referred to my own mortality. And BONUS, because it's In Situ, I didn't have to have a neck dissection, where they flay open your neck to check lymph nodes to see if it's traveled. Let's be thankful for those things.

I traveled to the Moran Eye Center in Salt Lake City, to have a consult with an oculoplastic surgeon my husband has referred patients to for years. He's East Indian, trained in the UK, and has the most unique accent. He and my husband have talked frequently on the phone about patients but had never met, so it was like old home week in the consult room. He wanted me to see the dermatologist there, who took another, bigger shave biopsy just to make sure about the depth and breadth of the lesion. I was able to access the pathology report which started out, "Specimen arrived on sun-damaged skin...." It's been literally decades since I've been in the sun without sun screen long enough for redness or a burn. My Southern California 1960's-70's teenage years when we had no clue about UV sun damage and literally tried to bake ourselves tan....I'm reaping what I sowed. My Danish/Scottish skin should never have tried that. Wear your sunscreen, people!

I was put on a 12 week course of a cream that irritates rapidly dividing cells. It theoretically shrinks the size of the lesion so when I have surgery to remove it, the area is hopefully smaller. I had what they called a "robust" response. Apparently crusting isn't what they wanted.

So I needed to back off how often I put it on. I've finished that course of cream and am now in a "cooling off" period. In September, I'll have a Mohs procedure with the Salt Lake dermatologist. It's basically scrape a layer, look under the microscope to see if there are cancer cells, go back and scrape some more, until everything is clean. Then two days later, I'll have a reconstructive surgery with my husband's buddy to somehow try to repair the hole they make in my face with the Mohs. As an added wonderful bonus, I now have to go to my regular dermatologist once a year for a full body check, because since I've grown one melanoma, I can potentially grow another. I can't tell you how excited me and my chubby self are for that.

I can tell you I held a pretty big pity party in my head about this initially. I've never been a beauty queen, but it's my face. Still, looking for the silver lining here....modern medicine is pretty amazing and I'm grateful there's a way to take care of it. But it's a little weird to know that I can never fill out a new patient form the same way again. I'll always have to check the box that says "cancer."

Comments

That “C” word is a kick in the teeth. So sorry to welcome you to the club. The great news is you found it, and you will kick its behind. Many hugs Catherine.

Posted by: Carolyn F | June 03, 2021 at 06:13 AM

I’m sorry you have to go through this, but thank goodness it hasn’t traveled anywhere! I hope future checkups will yield good news.
And I must say...I won’t miss wearing masks that much, but they were convenient for hiding problem spots on my face. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Posted by: Cynthia Baldwin | June 03, 2021 at 08:14 AM