speaking of skin cancers

I have such a great story.

Last week I was extolling the virtues of Efudex to a friend with much worse sun damage than me, and she showed me a lesion on her arm that had been there less than 2 years and had recently changed.

I took one look at it and knew it was a melanoma.

The history and the way it looked. Then I thought it had to come off right away, and knowing the system, that she would likely see her doctor, in several days and then wait for a consult etc etc etc, not to mention the costs, which might delay things further, and for her to get a day off work etc etc etc, I was suddenly reminded of me a year ago, I saw this doctor in the clinic, she heard my story and said, well why don't we just do the biopsy right now. For which I will be forever grateful, in that likely by the time I had gotten another day off and to find a day I could schedule with her etc etc it might have been some time before I got back to see her. We did the biospy that day and my cancer was picked up.

Thinking the same for this friend of mine I said, why don't I just take that off right now. Well it turned out that we did it the next day. " NURSE KENNY" provided comic relief while I "operated" on her arm. It all went quite wonderfully, the lesion was about 1.2 cm.

Well I called pathologist yesterday and it WAS A MELANOMA and it was in situ, which meant it had not invaded at all, and that all the margins were clean, which means that the procedure removed a complete cancer. Gawd some days I just love being a doctor.

I have included a picture from the internet that looks pretty much like her lesion looked.

Ken and I are off soon to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of oz........

Wait a minute, I am not in Kansas....anymore

We are off to see the doctor, so I can get a new small bowel. :)

It is at the old Willamette-Mackenzie hospital on G street. I really have to wonder about a city (Springfield) that has never had anyone worthy of having a street named after them, so they just use letters....sad...

Bye for now

love

Janet

jankenb @ gmail.com