The past several weeks have been......... well, let’s say interesting. You remember the old Chinese curse about living in interesting times? Yeah......... interesting.
A few years ago I noticed a mole on the back of my left shoulder, just above the scapula. It was unfortunately in a location that was visible in certain styles of clothing (annoyingly and unflatteringly so), and over time it became large enough that it occasionally caught on my bra strap or rubbed on my clothing uncomfortably.
I had my physician look at it about 18 months ago and he told me it was benign and nothing to worry about. He did advise me that if I decided to have it removed I should make sure to tell the dermatologist that it was becoming painfully uncomfortable, otherwise my insurance would most likely not cover the removal. Well, due to Covid I was not able to see anyone last year to have it removed. I did get in two weeks ago, and the dermatologist took it off neatly and quickly. It in fact healed nicely within a few days; I have always healed quickly. The mole was routinely sent in for testing.
I got a call from the dermatologist on Monday asking me to see him on Friday. As they had set up a televisit for Thursday to go over the results, calling and asking me to come in person on Friday instead was not something which left me feeling good. Needless to say, I have not slept well this week.
Soooo......... it was Melanoma. Luckily it does not appear metastatic, but rather a primary node, and there don’t appear to be any other spots. The growth rate was virtually zero, with no signs of vascular or neural involvement. However, I am now awaiting an appointment with an oncologist so that they can surgically remove more tissue around the site to check further, as well as check my lymph nodes just in case.
Add in the fact that I had my first Covid vaccine shot later the same day, and yes, interesting times indeed.
Hence why I am sitting her typing this even as the rest of the household sleeps. Here I sit, suddenly wide awake at 4:00 AM after a mere three hours of sleep again. I lay in bed for an hour and a half trying to return to slumber, but eventually gave up and watched the sun rise this morning.
So, the follies of my youth have returned to haunt me. Too much time in the sun as a child playing on the beach of my home in Cape Canaveral, too much time sitting in a boat on Sykes Creek fishing, too much time spent in the bright sunshine learning how to sail. Too many sunburns on a fair skinned young boys shoulders and back, even as that selfsame young boy was becoming aware that he was not like the other boys.
Oh, and the part that I didn’t mention.......... estrogen can lead to faster growth of melanoma. So becoming myself after five decades may just end up killing me yet. I have already told everyone I will not give up my hormone regimen.
Better to die as myself than to become the shadow that I once was. Either way is death.
Yes, sleep eludes me yet again. It is good that I have become so accustomed to doing without over the years.
Comments
I'm glad that they think they got it
take care of yourself, and take a huggle from me
That is great to hear
Of course this will be no fun going forward as having one may indicate having a predisposition of getting more in the future, some damage just can't be undone.
The best one can do is to continue with using sunscreens and no more sunning around I guess.
I am of Asian descent and though it is a pain in the butt to be that growing up in the US in the 60s and 70s as bigotry is still rampant (and still is as it only seems to go to a low simmer really and then rears its ugly head again) the higher level of melanin I am blessed with has saved me from hours of summer sun (without sunscreen, mind) as a child.
I have not continued it since my twenties fortunately except on one occassion when I spent two hours in the shallows of the bay learning how to swim and only getting the barest of sunburns, due to not using sunscreen, that went away overnight.
I wear sunscreen regularly now even though I could use the sun kinda since I get so little as a software person.
Remember, for a long life, it is not the time usually but the mileage.
Keep safe everybody.
Don't rely on your genes
I have been blessed, from that point of view, with genes that enabled me to tan easily. My sister is the same. A half-hour in the sun, a warm evening, and the following morning we'd usually have a golden tan. No effort involved.
Not so much these days. I don't burn in the traditional way but things can become very sore if I do not take care. Put it down to growing old and having more sensitive skin. I'm on a low steroid dose to keep the antibodies away and I think that isn't helping either. Yes, I do use sunscreen now, nothing less than factor 35 - but I have been known to forget. Age again.
It's only when a lot of water has gone under the bridge that you start taking care of yourself. Young'uns know they are going to live forever; the rest of us know better.
Penny
Genes
Of course it is unwise to rely on ones genes.
The amount of resiliency goes down with age but the amount of 'reserve' available depends on how much resiliency one had to begin with.
So to my mind if one has not tapped too much into what repair support available it can save one from 'oopsies'.
I typically use a spf 50 sunscreen. My average sun exposure for a year may be about 60 hours, not a lot when for situations where I know I will be out for at least an hour I will sunscreen up.
It is of course not worth it for the odd 5 minutes I spend walking from my car to the building where I work and actually the exposure is useful for vitamin D production.
It is a balance of risk and rewards as always.
In my teens I would get easily 4 to 5 hours a day of sun in the summer time without a single sunburn. Ah, the power of youth.
Oh, and on a note about sunscreen usage: I also spray it on my head as hair thins with age (duh) so the scalp needs protecting too.
If It's Not Stage 4
The treatments available today can stop further development and reverse any progress. The fact that you got the mole taken off easily is a very good sign.
You're on the right track in getting treatment right away. Don't fret about the history. What's happened has happened. It's what happens from now on that matters and there have been really significant developments in the last ten years.
Best wishes.
I Had Melanoma Cut Off My Back
When I was 35. More recently, my dad's brother died of malignant melanoma and I found out that dad had both basil cell and squamous cell cut off his face or neck. Since then I've ridden 10s of 1000s of miles bicycling, usually in the morning before it gets too hot. Because of the skin cancer risk I either have clothing or sunblock covering any exposed skin.
Hugs and Bright Blessings,
Renee
It sounds like you've caught things in time,
and that's what's important, hon.
*hugs*
Melanie E.