Wednesday, February 29, 2012

My Doctor Visit

Went to the doctor today to get that spot on my arm checked. The one I talked about in my last blog post. Got the all clear on that one.

He wants to do a biopsy on another one though, high up on my back. Constantly exposed to the sun. Above the collar line of the tops I wear.  So I have another appointment booked in a couple of weeks to have my whole body checked & any biopsies taken in the same visit.

So, fingers crossed all will be well. He printed off some info to take home about the different types of skin cancers.

The most common ones are Basal Cell Carcinomas (BCC), which are the ones that rarely spread & once they are chopped out it's gone. I think that's what my one 21 years ago must have been because the doc then told me it was all gone & not to worry about it & I'm still here to tell the tale!

The next kind of skin cancers are Squamous Cell Carcinomas (SCC), which typically develop on the face (although they can be elsewhere) & grows & if untreated, can erode you nose or ear, etc. It can also spread around the body. With these ones, the doctor said chemotherapy is usually required.

Then there are melanomas, which are particularly nasty. They can even develop on areas of skin not often exposed to the sun. My doctor told me there is no proven treatment for these, however radiation and/or chemo therapy would be the expected path of treatment.

The "take home message" from today's visit is:

See your doctor if you develop an abnormal lump or patch of skin which does not go within a few weeks. See you doctor if you develop a lump or patch on the skin which you are unsure about, or if a mole changes its shape, border, colour or size.

So please, check your skin & your family's skin (get your family to check the areas you can't see) and make an appointment if you are not sure about any spots. You are not wasting the doctor's time, you may be saving your life. Or someone else's.

And please leave me a message to tell me you have checked yourself. This is a serious health issue.

Thanks and good luck to you all,

Karen. xx


2 comments:

Kate @ Our Little Sins said...

Such an important message. My husb's dad died of melanoma - husb was only 4 at the time, his dad 42. It was just in his hairline so by the time it was noticed it was too late. Better to get things checked and find out they're nothing than leave it and find out the hard way.

Glad one's all clear. Hope the biopsy proves the other one's okay too.

rambling mum said...

thanks! been chopped & stitched in 2 places, doc told me should be the least of the 3 options so all should be good. find out in 2 weeks.