Tag Archives: melanoma

Back in public, or at least back in the office

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Today was the first day that I made an appearance in the office. The doctor recommended that I not go into the office until the wound was healed and not infected anymore. I finally got the OK and it was really weird to be back among other people again. Especially since no one (except one person) knows the real reason… Read more »

Nearly four weeks from the excision update

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Today was my visit with the doctor who performed the excision of my amelanotic nodular melanoma lesion. Naturally, I was a little worried that I still showed signs of infection in the wound, despite being on antibiotics for two weeks and pouring vinegar solution on my leg every day for a week. I had this weird peeling skin around the… Read more »

“If I get skin cancer, I’ll deal with it then” – the dangers of indoor tanning and the insouciance of youth

Today there is an article in the New York Times titled “Warning: That Tan Could Be Hazardous” that really struck a nerve with me this morning. In the article, it talks about the dangers of indoor tanning and the link between tanning sessions in youth and melanoma. Doctors are quoted about the rise in the number of the cases of… Read more »

#LoveMe Challenge – we all have scars, right?

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3 week scar

Ironically, today’s #LoveMe Challenge is to share a scar…As readers of this blog may already know, I recently had an excision of an amelanotic nodular melanoma tumor removed from my knee. I’ve already covered the story of how it was found, how it was excised, and some of the “fun” of the recovery. Technically, I guess what I’m sharing isn’t… Read more »

Excision wound care and healing – a lesson in patience and sewing

If you’re following the blog, you know that I had an amelanotic nodular melanoma tumor removed from my knee in mid-late December. Because it was in a bendy spot, I had to get an elliptical excision. And because amelanotic nodular melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer, they had to go pretty deep into my leg tissue to… Read more »

#LoveMe Challenge – cancer and all

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While I was browsing Pinterest, I came across the #LoveMe Challenge. According to the page I found, #LoveMe is a challenge to love yourself. Everyday there will be a prompt for you to look at yourself, embrace who you are, and hopefully help you learn that you are beautiful, you are amazing and you need to love who you are…. Read more »

Melanoma – a primer for my mom

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Yesterday, I called my parents to wish them a Happy New Year. I had to time the call for halftime of the early bowl games – and absolutely avoid any of the Ohio State-Alabama pre-game coverage or my dad would probably disown me. Anyway, I was chatting with my mom and realized that she was paranoid that everyone in my… Read more »

Initial pathology report to close out the year

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My surgeon called and left a message just now. Of course, I wasn’t expecting a call on a holiday eve and didn’t have the ringer turned on. (I think I’m one of the few in today’s American society that doesn’t keep my phone grafted to my fingers…To be honest, I would be just fine if I never had to physically… Read more »

Paranoia, hope, and whatever’s in between

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Now that I know that I can make pink melanoma, I’ve been obsessively looking at all my other moles, regardless of what color they are, what shape they are. I’m sure it’s going to be a lifelong obsession – along with trying to find the highest SPF sunscreen my body will tolerate. Naturally, I’m a little concerned about another pink… Read more »