Ok, so the picture riddle from yesterday, it was a blood pressure cuff (pictured there). Dr Fit ToFat nailed it early in the guessing. I figured she, or anyone out there in a medical profession, might get this quick, and she did. As usual some cool guesses all around. An arrow, LOL. A pop-up canopy, hmmm. A waistband, yeah I could see that.
Those riddle pics were taken this past Friday while at the doctors office. Yesterday I shared the good news from that visit in being able to get off the BP pills. Got some more good news yesterday in that my annual physical blood sugar was normal. Each July I have all my blood numbers checked when I get my annual physical. For some reason this year they forgot to do the sugar. Not worried about it, even being the obese one I have been my sugar has been fine; thus all I needed to do was go in and get it checked at my leisure. LOL, going to the doctors office and leisure being in the same sentence, please. So I had it checked on Friday as well and all my blood numbers checked out good for 2010.
Ok, enough delay. I have hemmed & hawed over whether to share this or when. Well, I knew I would, so it was a matter of when. Needed to wait until I talked to my mother & sister before I felt it fine to share this outside the family.
The news is good news in the end but still it has been as tasteful as cat-box cuisine to chew on. The skin lesion which I had removed on my cheek, or mole as many have come to call it, was sent off as a matter of protocol to screen for cancer and sure enough it came back positive as Melanoma in Situ.
"What the &%#$ is that" was my first question to the doc when he called. Simply put, it is the absolute start of melanoma, stage zero. With the spot removed the follow up treatment for this is nothing heinous like chemo or radiation. However I do need to have them remove some more tissue along the sides of what they already removed to ensure they got it all. That and at my annual physicals I need to add a more extensive inspection for other mole looking ninja like spots.
All that said, I was pissed off (still am) as the advice of three docs I've seen since last November summed up as, "Sure, get it removed, but it doesn't present as having any real cancer characteristics." Pissed or not, sometimes luck trumps the scientific eye I guess. That isn't easy for me to say as I don't put much stock in luck.
Bottom line, I did get lucky. I am not a vane guy. But a bit of vanity did factor into my decision to have this removed now. That, and the fact that I am a colon cancer survivor (2001), so I figured since the spot was slowly growing thus better to get it removed when still fairly small just to be safe.
Ok, this post has exhausted me. Luck or not, good news in the end or not; I don't like the taste.
So let me end on some positive fun news and right my off attitude. Negativity is not part of my mission to get healthy here so I must move on fast and with a smile. And what better way than to say THANK YOU to Jody. She had a give-away last week, and what do you know, she drew my name! Jody is a fantastic blogger & person, and she drew my name, and I am getting a cool yoga towel! No I do not do yoga, maybe someday; but I do sweat when I workout and shall make good use of it.
Thanks again Jody. And to the rest of you if you don't follow on with Jody, doubtful as she is quite popular, but if you don't give her a read; you will not be disappointed.
Enjoy the day folks. Enjoy it with all you have to give.
Responsibility 199 - Gotta Do It!!
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I don't know very much about skin cancers (which is sad because my aunt has it) -- is it possible to have skin cancer that is "invisible" and under the skin, or will it ALWAYS show itself as a mole-like spot?
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry to hear this news, but you're right -- it's a blessing that you got it taken care of now and have been alerted that it could be a problem in the future. Now, you can take preventative measures! Make sure you have your wife study what some of these spots might look like so she can inspect your hard-to-reach spots periodically. Dare I say THAT part could be fun -- like a husband doing a "breast exam?" Ha ha! :-)
I hope you are doing well today nonetheless. What will you do today to ensure that you meet your weightloss goals? :-)
Glad you found out at such an early stage patrick - my mum just had a "mole" removed and was told she is also at a relatively early stage as far as melanoma's go after she had it removed a month ago.
ReplyDeleteYour resilience to letting it get you down is inspiring - thanks for posting.
I would say it is O.K. to be pissed. Opinions are like... even from doctors. Multiple opinions are always a good thing to have. Vanity or not there was something bigger happening with catching this before it got serious. In the end all we have is our health. Keep making this a priority in your life and you will be just fine.
ReplyDeletePatrick, thank you for the "thank you"!!! I am so glad you were the random pick! I don't do yoga either but man oh man, I sweat!!!
ReplyDeleteUGH on the skin stuff but glad it is early! I have 2 friends in similar situations. Theirs are a bit worse & had to use this new fangled cream they have now to work on more extensive areas. They are doing great & I know you will too! We are all here for you!
HUGS & on the run this morn! :-O
I'm truly sorry about the lesion and even keeping a positive attitude I know it must be frightening. I'll keep you in my thoughts and send some positive energy your way. Congrats on the great blood work and for getting off the blood pressure meds. I'm sure the NSV will be piling up now.
ReplyDeleteHugs.
I'm sorry to hear about the lesion. I believe I would be pissed too. It seems to me that doctors have become very nonchalant about most concerns patients have. I believe it's just because they don't want the patient to worry when the odds of their concern being serious are small, but still...some due diligence would've been better. I find your response to this news inspiring as you don't seem to let these life obstacles affect your attitude or get in the way of your goals. Good for you!
ReplyDeleteGlad you got the mole removed when you did. It's disappointing that so many doctors said it was nothing.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you took it upon yourself to have that lesion removed regardless of what previous doctors had said! My hubby has a similar spot in almost the exact same location as yours was, and I have been after him to have it looked at...his PCP told him it was nothing to worry about! I am calling him right now to tell him your story!
ReplyDeleteWow! That shocked me. It didn't look malignant to me either. So glad you got it off. That just shows you to always get something off that's growing. At least it's gone.
ReplyDeleteI'm just glad that you got it taken care of!! Sometimes you do indeed need to stand up for yourself when you don't agree with Dr's.
ReplyDeleteHave a happy sweating day :)
I'm so glad you decided to take care of the spot and that you are ok. Hope the next little surgery goes as well. Cool you won something too.
ReplyDeletePatrick, wonderful news on your b/p and sugar numbers! And take care of yourself with watching other nasty moles that are waiting to pop up. It's better to know and get them taken care of than to let them get out of hand.
ReplyDeleteOnward and downward!
Sorry about the prognosis, but I'm glad it wasn't worse.
ReplyDeleteThe melanoma news must have been a shock. Melanoma is all too common here in NZ with the thinning of the ozone layer. Congrats on your positive attitude. And good news about your win!
ReplyDeleteatrick, I'm so glad it was found early. I also had a large mole removed (at my own request) in 2007 which ended up being an early stage melanoma. The WLE was a little more intense than I'd expected, but the scar (on my back) has diminished to a thin un-noticeable line. Be sure to become a sunblock addict and to make and keep those periodic checkups!
ReplyDeletePatrick - I'm sorry about the skin cancer. Thankfully you were able to catch it early!!! I've had a spot but three doctors told me it was nothing - I think I'll go get it removed anyway.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on winning the towel!
Hugs as others have said at least it was found early.
ReplyDeletePraise God...doctors are just human. It was wise of you to get it checked. Glad that you are aware of it now, my friend.
ReplyDeleteThank you everyone for the well wishes. I am relieved that is was found early and now just looking to get this over with. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you went and had it removed, I will be sending good thoughts your way to ensure they got it all.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear that your lesion was removed and that it is stage zero-- still scary and a good lesson for anyone: doctors definitely don't know it all and you've got to keep trucking when you think something is worrying.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on getting off BP meds and your blood sugar!!
Wow, Patrick, so glad you got good news in the end. I can see why you're a bit pissed too. I've had things like that happen to me with doctors too. For example, my daughter has a form of epilepsy (and that's what I told the doctor it was) and, the doctor said, "No, she just experienced a fainting spell with seizure-like activities." This was in emergency, btw. Of course, I pushed it and all is well now, but we really need to push sometimes.
ReplyDeleteGlad you got the mole removed Patrick!!
ReplyDeletePatrick, thank goodness you followed up and took care of that skin situation! My ex had melanoma, forgot what stage, 25 years ago. He is just fine, except for being stupid enough to lose me, of course. ;)
ReplyDeleteseriously, glad you're ok! xoxoxoxo
Patrick, I missed this post first time around, but thought I'd go ahead and comment anyway, since you have been so supportive. I'm glad you got this taken care of, and it's a good reminder for me to do the same, as my mom's side of the family has dealt with this stuff a lot. Stay healthy, my friend! And congrats on the blood sugar.
ReplyDelete