Ok blog friends, some of you I talk to regularly & unfortunately, some mostly keep up with our family from my blog. I have briefly mentioned on here before that I have had moles removed in the past. I have had 2 dysplastic nevus, which is really an atypical mole. Usually something to be concerned with that I have had removed. One on my back (before Sadie was born) & another on my leg (last December). Because of the most recent one they found, I have been going into the dermatologist every 3 months for skin checks, as opposed to my annual check up. Unfortunately in May, they found a basal cell carcinoma on my lower back that I had to have removed over the summer. That was my first serious mole that caused me concern. Both of these were minor surgeries & I had 7-10 stitches with both. And then when I went back in September for my 3 month check up, they found melanoma.
Needless to say I was shocked. I would say for the past 5 years, especially since I had children, I have been pretty diligent about taking better care of myself, wearing better sunscreen, etc. & going to the dermatologist pretty frequently for skin checks. Unfortunately, it's not what I am doing now, but probably what I did when I was a teen & in my 20's :( I spent a lot of time outside trying to get dark & not wearing the sunscreen that I should have. But also, it's partly hereditary. The mole on my back was so low it was below my pants line & it definitely had not seen the sun. And the melanoma on my leg? It was the tiniest little mole the size of a pen mark that was on the back of my leg down by my ankle. Nothing at all I was concerned about but thank goodness the dermatologist saw it & biopsied it.
I went in for surgery on October 26 to have the melanoma removed. It took about 1 1/2 hours & the incision was larger than I imagined but they felt pretty confident they got it all. I have no idea how many stitches I have on the inside, but I have about 12 on the outside & the incision is about 3 inches long. Unfortunately, they had to dig so much tissue out to remove the cancerous cells that I now how a slight divot in my leg. And they had a hard time stitching it back up because my legs are small & there isn't a lot of skin back there. I was surprised how much it really hurt the first couple of days because it is my right leg (& I am right handed) but it's also by my calf muscle & the part of the leg I really use to help support myself. I stayed home the first couple of days & tried to stay off of it because it was bleeding & swolen, but eventually I got bored & was ready to get out again. My sweet mentor mom gave me some crutches & a scooter to help me get around. I was fine hobbling around the house, but I really wanted to go to Sadie's soccer game & it is the longest walk from the car to the soccer field so I gave in & tried out the scooter:
It was perfect for the soccer field! And Bryan even set it up as my foot rest while I was watching the game. And it came in handy 2 more times:
Trunk or Treat at church & trick or treating on Halloween night! It's been a week & a half now so it feels much better & I am walking around fine, but I am really appreciative to Lisa for letting me borrow her stuff! I still have a week before I get my stitches out & then another month of taking it easy before I can return to normal physical activity, but I am thankful they caught it early. I finally got a call today that my pathology reports came back clear, meaning that they removed all of the cancerous cells & there is nothing else I have to do - Praise God!
I will continue to go in every 3 months for skin checks but I wanted to share my story so that it can be a public service announcement for others. If you have any moles that are different in shape or color, please have it checked. It is an easy way to help prevent skin cancer!
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