Skin Cancer Redux

Another week, and another visit to my dermatologist.  Seems like these days I can't go a week without visiting my dermatologist for yet another "procedure." Yesterday's procedure was to take a bigger chunk of flesh from my left forearm.

A few weeks ago a wart-like growth appeared on my left forearm, almost overnight.  During one of my regular visits to my dermatologist I ask them to check it out.  They determined it was actinite keratosis, which a precancerous skin anomaly.

Two weeks ago they removed the growth and sent it out of a biopsy.  Last week I got the news, the actinite keratosis was "medium" which meant it was "moving."  "Moving" meant that it could change into real skin cancer.  Thus I had to schedule yet another visit to my dermatologist for have a larger chunk of meat taken out of my forearm.

My doctor came in with a student (why do I almost always have a student observer?)  Injected my forearm four times with a needle (it hurt) to numb up the area designated for surgery.  He left, giving time for the anesthetic to take hold.  He returns, puts a towel on my lap, and paper over the top of the area to be cut, with a hole cut out in the paper for surgery.

He begins his incision. I look away because I cannot abide the sight of blood (I faint).  I feel the pressure of his cutting into the flesh of my arm.  He continues to cut, and cut.  Finally he finishes.  He tells me his assistant will be in to "clean up" and bandage my arm.  They (the doctor and the observer) leave).  I wait for the assistant, feeling no pain but woozy just the same.  I get that way when I am cut upon.

The assistant comes in.  She removes the paper towels and clothes and discovers I have blood on my pants (near the crotch area...of course) and on my shirt.  She complains that the doctor didn't place the surgery papers properly.  I got the feeling he's done this before.  I don't care.  I just want out of there.

She cleans me up, bandages my arm.  She gives me instructions how to bath (showers are all right but don't soak my arm in water).  Before I leave I make an appointment for next Friday to have the stitches removed.  Yet another weekly visit to my friendly dermatologist.  I notice the now drying blood on my pants, near the crotch (naturally).  I don't care.

I leave and meet Bill, who was waiting for me in the lobby.  He looks at my pants and says "It looks like you peed yourself."  I don't care.

On the way home I stop at the thrift store looking to check out any new books.  I know my crotch looks bloody.  Again, I don't care.

I then stop at the grocery store to stock up to prepare for Frankenstorm (the subject of my next blog post).  With my bloody crotch in full view, I must have looked like a deranged escape from the local prison.

I returned home and removed those bloody pants.  I sprayed the bloody area with "Spray and Wash."  I'm washing those pants (and shirt) now.

My arm didn't hurt yesterday but it is hurting now.  Yep, it's hurting and I'm feeling a bit woozy.  I don't know if my wooziness is from my bloody episode yesterday or the knowledge that Frankenstorm is on it's way to cause major disruption here on the east coast of Delaware.  Yes Virginia, we are the entry point of this Storm of the Century.  Oh joy.

"Frankenstorm" on its way

My Visit to the Dermatologist

Me, Rehoboth Beach 1965

Yesterday I went to the VA in Wilmington, Delaware for an emergency appointment with my dermatologist.  I had just seen them this past September.  At that time they removed a small keratosis spot on my left cheek.  Keratosis is a pre cancerous skin condition.  If you don't remove them, they could turn cancerous.  I've had this condition since 1987 when I noticed a painful spot on my face when I shaved.  Over the years I regularly visit a dermatologist to be checked for the return of these spots.  Occasionally they return.  The dermatologist removes them by burning off the scabby keratosis spot with dry ice.  Afterward my face looks like I was beat up but eventually it heals and I'm back to normal.


Shortly after my visit to the VA last September I had another painful scabby spot show up on my left shoulder, right by my shirt line.  I tried to ignore it, hoping it would go away.  But it didn't.  So I called the VA Friday hoping that I would have to wait two months for an appointment.  I was in luck, they had a cancellation for Monday so I went up with Significant Other who also, coincidentally had a scheduled appointment with the dermatologist.  


We were both sliced and diced.  I had the spot burned off of my shoulder.  I also had a spot taken off of my right shoulder blade.  That wasn't cancerous but "just" a barnacle.  When you're old like me I guess you get "barnacles" just like a ship.  Then the doctor noticed a spot on the base of my spine.  It wasn't cancerous either but would I like it removed?  Sure. What the heck?  So she dug and dug at it, while the intern looked on.  After a few minutes of painful digging she said she got most of it, would I like to to "dig" some more? Uh......no.  I'll live with it.  No more digging into my flesh as long as it wasn't cancerous.  


Then she found a suspicious spot on my right ear.  I noticed it too.  It looked like clotted blood but it wasn't painful so I ignored it.....of course.  She said she would like to send it in for a biopsy.  Uh huh.  Biopsy isn't a word one want to hear when one is in the dermatologist's office.  She said she would "slice it off" after she gave my ear a needle (first time my ear ever had a needle) and "send it in."  She said the ear "heals very quickly" so that was a "good thing."  Uh huh.  So I get the needle in my ear and it is just as you would imagine, a sharp prick to the ear (another First.)  She "slices" off then offending parasite on my ear and then looks for a bandage to stop the bleeding.  In all my 69 years I never had one of my ears bleed.  I did yesterday.  There is always a first for everything.  


She couldn't find a small bandage so she put a too big bandage on my ear and told me they would be "contacting me."  She said if the biopsy turned out positive then they would "have to have a conversation with me."  Okay.  That sounds ominous.  Lots of key words and phrases to perk up my ears.


Coincidentally earlier this week Significant Other showed me an article in the local paper about how well the VA Hospice Care Unit function.  The cover story was on a 64 year old veteran who had terminal skin cancer.  A big bandage was on his face where his nose should have been  His daughter was in the picture with him.  This picture came to my mind yesterday.  Then I thought of all those years I used to lay on the beach getting a tan.


I'm here to tell everyone right now.  Those tans weren't worth it.   All the warnings about skin cancer?  They were true.  I know.  I'm dealing with it now and it is damn scary.