October 4, 2009

Going under the knife again

So I got my biopsy results back for the crappy spot on my hand, that came out of nowhere, and was sliced off last week, resulting in one (1) painful stitch that I have whinged about for days, getting no compassion from The Hubbster or the family whatsoever.

Breathe.

And it turns out that it is a moderately dysplastic solar keratosis and some features suspicious for early squamous cell carcinoma, margins appear clear. In other words, I am lucky to have had this checked and if I had left it, things could have turned bad.

So now I have to go in on Wednesday and have more sliced off resulting in about 5 or 6 stitches, and won't I be a ray of sunshine to be around then. But it has to be done.

I am vigilant with sunscreen and hats and protection, so I am a bit miffed that this one got away. I have regular skins checks but I will be going every 3 months from now on. They photograph your skin to check for any changes so it is very beneficial.

This scare has made me think about sunscreens and the issues relating to the chemicals therein. We have now changed to sunscreens with the only active ingredient being zinc oxide and with none of the crap like octyl methoxycinnamate which is found in most sunscreens and in itself sounds scary, having potential carcinogenic properties.

But where do you stop? I checked my makeup and skin care products and the list of ingredients goes on and on. Am I really putting this crap on my skin? I am now going to find some natural products that are safe to use without chemicals, then I am going to look at hair shampoo then I will probably go ape at all the money I am spending on organic products but at least I am doing my part in reducing the risk of cancer...

6 comments:

Foursons said...

Yikes, very scary! I'm glad you got it checked out. Please let us know what happens after the next biopsy.

Anonymous said...

Kudos for paying attention to your body and for following drs. orders w/the 3 month checks!! I did not listen to my body thus my cancer (lymphoma) was found at stage 4! I am sooooooooooooo grateful and fortunate to be alive!!!! Of course now I am amazingly anal about my dr. visits and probably schedule more than I should but hey, better safe than dead!
Please do keep us updated on your check ups!
Prayers n' positive energy your way!!!

Anonymous said...

wow! glad you had it checked. I've probably got skin cancer as a former Sun Worshiper.

Liz Mays said...

I worry about this all the time! I stopped sunning about 10 years ago but I wonder if I'm going to pay for the past. I do get checked and so far so good.

Good luck with your procedure!

Erin said...

I just had my surgery to remove a basal cell carcinoma on my face. I had it biopsied at 18 and didn't remove it then because it wasn't a threat at that time, but I continued to be the sun worshiper and wear no sunscreen. Now I have a rather large scar down my cheek and a skin graph from behind my ear on my nose.

Now I am THE BIGGEST promoter of sunscreen!!!

Glad you got yours checked and removed now!

Anonymous said...

I gave you an award and I see you already have it but take it again anyway! You deserve it!!! Over The Top x's 2!!!! =)