Why:
Dr. says I have the wrong skin for living in Texas and the wrong skin for all my hobbies! I've preferred being outside most of my life. First horses, now ultra-cycling, plus all the other hobbies I have and have had like scuba diving, any water sports, hiking, whatever, I'd just rather be outside! I'm almost 50 now and 40yrs ago, it was "normal" to bake in the Texas sun. We really didn't know any different. As I got older, sunscreen and all that goes with, became more of a norm. Still I've had the demented view that "brown fat is better than white fat!" So, with my history, my mom's history and new info, I'm using the chemotherapy drug Efudex. My understanding is it destroys both aktinic keratoses and superficial basal cell carcinoma....both the cancers and pre-cancers you can see and those below the skin surface that you can NOT see. Doctor was very non-judgemental during my body scan, even going so far as to say I didn't look "bad" just some things to address. The overall plan/reason is to pull out latent skin cancers before they become issues and before I need to get cut on! My "Snow White skin" mother just had 2 different Mohs surgeries on her face. I'm hoping to prevent that if I can.
Week Before:
Dr. says I have the wrong skin for living in Texas and the wrong skin for all my hobbies! I've preferred being outside most of my life. First horses, now ultra-cycling, plus all the other hobbies I have and have had like scuba diving, any water sports, hiking, whatever, I'd just rather be outside! I'm almost 50 now and 40yrs ago, it was "normal" to bake in the Texas sun. We really didn't know any different. As I got older, sunscreen and all that goes with, became more of a norm. Still I've had the demented view that "brown fat is better than white fat!" So, with my history, my mom's history and new info, I'm using the chemotherapy drug Efudex. My understanding is it destroys both aktinic keratoses and superficial basal cell carcinoma....both the cancers and pre-cancers you can see and those below the skin surface that you can NOT see. Doctor was very non-judgemental during my body scan, even going so far as to say I didn't look "bad" just some things to address. The overall plan/reason is to pull out latent skin cancers before they become issues and before I need to get cut on! My "Snow White skin" mother just had 2 different Mohs surgeries on her face. I'm hoping to prevent that if I can.
Week Before:
In my usual manner, doing my darndest to think “everything” through and have a plan! Surprises just cost angst and time...neither of which I have in a large supply! Called the Dr. office 3x this week (Jackie I think?) for some basic info and hopefully I’ve got my mental & physical plan in place to eat this whale. Don’t know what to expect obviously, but they say do it in winter, so November seems a great option. They suggested after Holidays, but of course little ol’ thing called Stock Show 7days/wk for 2months and a million people means it would have to be March when the sun is increasing, so Dr. suggested sooner is better. Took a big gulp and decided to tackle November as the “rough time.”
Day Before:
Pharmacist recommended testing for allergic reaction. I was crushed thinking this might delay things a few days and I might lose my nerve, but he laughed and said “no, you’ll know in about 30 minutes.” Whew. All went fine.
Hi, I’m 3 days away from finishing 3 weeks on my bald scalp.
ReplyDeleteHow are you going these days.?
I was very impressed with your story. I taught in BC for a year in 84.
I should come visit from Au ?
Hello Harry, I hope your treatment went very smoothly! I'm resuming all my bicycle racing, international hiking, scuba, etc, but keep very strict control of my sunscreen and for the first time in several years, do NOT have a medical removal scheduled. Best of luck with your recovery!!
ReplyDelete