ask your doctor about skin cancer
I got through my thirties fairly doctor free. I would see commercials on T.V. that used the phrase "ask your doctor". Around when I hit 40, I looked at my wife and said, "Ya know...I don't have one of those." She asked, "One of what?" and I answered, "a your doctor." All these commercials say to ask your doctor about this or that, and I don't have anyone I consider my doctor. Part of that was being in the military for my 20's and part of my 30's, and there, you just go in and whoever sees you, sees you. You move every three or four years, so there is no consistency with any doctor. Your file follows you and that's that. So anyway, somewhere around 40, I figured it was time to see someone I would start calling my doctor, because I guess the idea that my life was already half over was disconcerting and I wanted to start doing whatever I needed to do to extend that date. Immediately I went from a pill free life to one that involved drugs for cholesterol and blood pressure, but that's another story.
Recently I went to my doctor and told him about this spot on my nose. It comes and goes, but never seems to completely go, and it comes back in the same spot, which (along with living in Florida for over 20 years) is making me think...skin cancer. Scary thought, but if that's what it is, I want to know and do whatever I need to do before I become a statistic. He sent me to a dermatologist, who examined the spot, and took the weight off my shoulders when he said it isn't cancerous, but it is pre-cancerous. If left untreated, it could become cancerous, so we want to nip it now. He gave me two options. One was to freeze the spot, after which it would get red ands nasty, but it would heal and probably leave a permanent white spot. The other option was for me to apply a creme to it for a month. During that month it would also become red and nasty (I believe the word 'unsightly' was used), but then it would heal and usually leaves no permanent mark. I figured, right now the white spot doesn't bother me one way or the other, and the freezing way is quick and easy (which you can read to mean 'no effort on my part'). At the same time, there may come a time when I wish I had done the option that left no permanent marks, and the creme option is only for a month - a drop in the bucket of a lifetime. I took the creme and ran.
I then told everyone around me (family, friends, coworkers) that this was going to happen, because I didn't want anyone to get concerned. Nor did I want a bunch of speculation and stupid questions. Yes, for the next month I'm going to have this nasty blotch on my nose, and this is why.
So now I'm two weeks into the creme thing, and true to form, the blotch has appeared. So has the realization that everything I did to prepare people went in one ear and out the other. My wife asked a few days ago, "Are you still using that creme? It looks like the sun is really getting to your nose." Last night my son asked, "What's that red spot on your nose?" I patiently re-explained. So now I'm thinking, it might be time for a refresher course for the co-workers, who are far less direct and far more speculative. Nobody at work will come out and ask. They'll just come up with every manner of strangeness known to man and run it up a flagpole to see who salutes.
In the meantime I'm thinking....only two more weeks.
Recently I went to my doctor and told him about this spot on my nose. It comes and goes, but never seems to completely go, and it comes back in the same spot, which (along with living in Florida for over 20 years) is making me think...skin cancer. Scary thought, but if that's what it is, I want to know and do whatever I need to do before I become a statistic. He sent me to a dermatologist, who examined the spot, and took the weight off my shoulders when he said it isn't cancerous, but it is pre-cancerous. If left untreated, it could become cancerous, so we want to nip it now. He gave me two options. One was to freeze the spot, after which it would get red ands nasty, but it would heal and probably leave a permanent white spot. The other option was for me to apply a creme to it for a month. During that month it would also become red and nasty (I believe the word 'unsightly' was used), but then it would heal and usually leaves no permanent mark. I figured, right now the white spot doesn't bother me one way or the other, and the freezing way is quick and easy (which you can read to mean 'no effort on my part'). At the same time, there may come a time when I wish I had done the option that left no permanent marks, and the creme option is only for a month - a drop in the bucket of a lifetime. I took the creme and ran.
I then told everyone around me (family, friends, coworkers) that this was going to happen, because I didn't want anyone to get concerned. Nor did I want a bunch of speculation and stupid questions. Yes, for the next month I'm going to have this nasty blotch on my nose, and this is why.
So now I'm two weeks into the creme thing, and true to form, the blotch has appeared. So has the realization that everything I did to prepare people went in one ear and out the other. My wife asked a few days ago, "Are you still using that creme? It looks like the sun is really getting to your nose." Last night my son asked, "What's that red spot on your nose?" I patiently re-explained. So now I'm thinking, it might be time for a refresher course for the co-workers, who are far less direct and far more speculative. Nobody at work will come out and ask. They'll just come up with every manner of strangeness known to man and run it up a flagpole to see who salutes.
In the meantime I'm thinking....only two more weeks.
John put this out here at 7:13 AM
2 Comments:
And how is your nose looking today ?
And how many more ppl you warned in advance have asked whats going on with your nose ?
it looks better/worse on different days. Sometimes it's just a little red and sometimes its a scab. I have reminded the coworkers, just because they would never actually say anything to my face. They would rather speculate. Only the wife and son would actually ask.
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