Given all of the evidence that's out there about tanning and skin cancer, I have a really hard time understanding why anyone would still tan.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/49101714/
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Sunday, October 7, 2012
The Word of the Weekend was....
Know what sucks? Having to tell your family and friends that your melanoma has come back. Those phone calls are impossibly hard to make. The "F" word has been the word of the weekend. Every time I allowed my mind to wander to melanomaland, the "F" word was the only word that seemed appropriate. Must have said it to myself 100 times.
"F!!!" I'm only 6 weeks out from finishing a year of interferon. I was feeling really good. My energy had come back, along with (unfortunately) my appetite, and I was pretty damn comfortable in my Stage 3ness. Now, here I am staring at Stage 4. There is no stage after 4, and I am frankly terrified.
Talking with my oncologist on the phone Friday evening when he relayed the news of this new mass in my gut, I actually felt bad for him. He was kind of stumbling over what to say to me. I imagine it's hard for him to tell his patients bad news just as it's hard for me to relay that same information to the people I love when it pertains to me.
So I will go Tuesday morning and have another PET scan to see if there are any other "new" things to be seen, or if it's just the one spot. Praying SO hard for the latter. Then I'll go from there. Whether it's surgery or other treatments, I WILL fight this bitch with all I have. Know THAT melanoma!
"F!!!" I'm only 6 weeks out from finishing a year of interferon. I was feeling really good. My energy had come back, along with (unfortunately) my appetite, and I was pretty damn comfortable in my Stage 3ness. Now, here I am staring at Stage 4. There is no stage after 4, and I am frankly terrified.
Talking with my oncologist on the phone Friday evening when he relayed the news of this new mass in my gut, I actually felt bad for him. He was kind of stumbling over what to say to me. I imagine it's hard for him to tell his patients bad news just as it's hard for me to relay that same information to the people I love when it pertains to me.
So I will go Tuesday morning and have another PET scan to see if there are any other "new" things to be seen, or if it's just the one spot. Praying SO hard for the latter. Then I'll go from there. Whether it's surgery or other treatments, I WILL fight this bitch with all I have. Know THAT melanoma!
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Yanked Back to Reality.....
So, I was reminded this week with a little slap in the face that I still have melanoma, and that I always will. In spite of the fact that I feel great since I finished my Interferon therapy a little over a month ago, that damn melanoma yanked me right back to reality on Monday.
I went in for my regular 3 month visit with my dermatologist (a fabulous dermatologist, BTW). All was great until I realized she was intently studying a mole on the right side of my torso. Rut-roh. Until now, I had a few things removed but they weren't moles and they were at my request...cosmetic stuff. Like I said...until now. She studied it with her little magnifying glass thingy and pronounced that while she didn't think it was melanoma she wanted to remove it anyway since it was a little dimpled in the center. 6 mm punch please. It was a piece o' cake, really. The stitches hurt more now than what she did.
The problem was after that. Why? Because now we play the waiting game for biopsy results. Every time the phone rang, I practically did the "Exorcist" move to see if it was her number. On pins and needles for a couple of days, but being very busy at work and home helped.
My derm. of the year candidate called today and said it was benign. PHEW! Dodged a bullet. Thank God!
The cutest part of this whole thing was my husband. If he knew I was putting this into my post, he'd kill me but I'm doing it anyway. A friend of ours had a mass of some kind removed a few years ago. He got a call from his doctor that it was benign, but he heard "anine." So, when I got my good news this morning I sent my hubby a text that said "It's anine." He sent one back that said "You're aten." God, how I love him.
Anyway, please people (and I know I have a very small audience)...CHECK YOUR SKIN! Don't let your guard down now just because Summer is over. You need sunscreen every day YEAR ROUND. Love to all!
I went in for my regular 3 month visit with my dermatologist (a fabulous dermatologist, BTW). All was great until I realized she was intently studying a mole on the right side of my torso. Rut-roh. Until now, I had a few things removed but they weren't moles and they were at my request...cosmetic stuff. Like I said...until now. She studied it with her little magnifying glass thingy and pronounced that while she didn't think it was melanoma she wanted to remove it anyway since it was a little dimpled in the center. 6 mm punch please. It was a piece o' cake, really. The stitches hurt more now than what she did.
The problem was after that. Why? Because now we play the waiting game for biopsy results. Every time the phone rang, I practically did the "Exorcist" move to see if it was her number. On pins and needles for a couple of days, but being very busy at work and home helped.
My derm. of the year candidate called today and said it was benign. PHEW! Dodged a bullet. Thank God!
The cutest part of this whole thing was my husband. If he knew I was putting this into my post, he'd kill me but I'm doing it anyway. A friend of ours had a mass of some kind removed a few years ago. He got a call from his doctor that it was benign, but he heard "anine." So, when I got my good news this morning I sent my hubby a text that said "It's anine." He sent one back that said "You're aten." God, how I love him.
Anyway, please people (and I know I have a very small audience)...CHECK YOUR SKIN! Don't let your guard down now just because Summer is over. You need sunscreen every day YEAR ROUND. Love to all!
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