I had an appt with a dermatologist today to see about the craptastic rash on my hands. Painful blister-like bumps that itch like crazy and hurt when touched. They think it is a form of eczema that comes with stress. Me? Stressed? Who'da thunk it.
While I was there I also took the opportunity to show them my healing face and see what they thought about scarring. It is a cosmetic surgery office too, so I figured they'd have some thoughts on what we can do in the future. And they did. I am not so worried about the color/texture of the scar, just the fact that when I smile or move my cheek, my range of motion is inhibited and the scar puckers/dimples like crazy. Not exactly what I want to see forever. But they said that the dimple will fill in some and when it is all healed up they could even use a plumper like they use in lips and frown lines to fill it in and get rid of the divot. Nice. Probably expensive and not covered by insurance. We will just have to see how it heals and how much it bothers me. Maybe I'll get used to it. Or not.
I also have a suspect mole on my back they want to remove in March. It is not an emergency, the Doc said, but it is the kind you would watch closely, and since I have already had cancer and the mole is in a place I can't monitor he wants to get it off soon. Not while my immune system is still compromised, but in a few months. I am all for that. No skin cancer, please. I have had my fill.
When David gets home we are heading to Dad's place in Santa Anna for a day or so. It is his store Christmas Party tomorrow night and as my Dad has pointed out, it is a fun party that I like to invite myself to. Yup. I invited myself and I am not ashamed of it.
Oh, interesting development in the Kysor family! Malcolm Kysor, serving life in prison with no parole for a drunken murder has escaped from prison and has been on the run since November 25th. He climbed in a trash can and went out with the garbage. This is my father's first cousin; a kid he played with growing up. Dad doesn't think he is dangerous, just an alcoholic who made a terrible mistake and killed someone. I have a relative on America's Most Wanted. Somehow I feel that makes me cool. Maybe not.
3 comments:
Oh, it IS cool to have a relative on America's Most Wanted! I think so, anyway.
I'm glad you're seeing a doc about your skin. They take "suspicious" moles off me every six months. No kidding. The lab sends reports on most of them as having "moderately to severely atypical" cells, and then the doc has to chop off a little more skin surrounding the site. Over the years, s few have come back with bad enough reports that the doc had to get rather aggressive with the follow-up chop. They even sent me to a plastic surgeon for one of them. But that kind of thing hasn't happened in awhile, thank goodness.
You might be surprised by what insurance will cover. I don't know which doc you're seeing, but I get the impression that my docs at Austin Dermcare are quite willing to work with insurance when it's warranted. In this case, IMO, it definitely is. I don't see this as any different from reconstruction. You are repairing something that was damaged during illness, not having an elective cosmetic procedure. And to give an example of what's sometimes covered, people with very severe acne can get covered for "acne surgery" which is essentially a really good facial. :)
Do you think he'll show up?
Hi Marsha,
I came across your blog today as I surfed through profiles that have "cancer" listed under interests. I read a number of your blogs and can relate to a lot of what you have been through. Even your latest blog about moles - I have two moles on my back and, given my history of cancer, the dermatologist recommended that I have them removed. I am 30, married, and was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma this past May. So it's been quite a ride this year, as it has been for you.
I think that you write really well - also, your son is totally adorable. Just wanted to say hello - feel free to visit my blog, Cancer Culture.
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