The Ugly Word

I know one thing, getting old is not for sissies!  They joke about planning their lives around doctor appointments.  That is no joke.  Last month, I had a three hour eye doctor appointment!  It was intense!!  I guess the days of breezing out the doctor's office with just a sticker are over.

Tdawg had an appointment with our dermatologist, Dr. M.  He couldn't make the appointment due to school commitments.  So I took the appointment instead.  I had a something on my foot I wanted removed.  So, while I'm there, I ask Dr. M about a place on my back.  I can't see it hardly at all and it seemed to be hypersensitive (kind of a mole or a scab).  He said that it took priority, the foot could wait. So he cut it off the place on the back and sent it to the lab.

Two weeks later, I go in for the follow up and to take care of my foot.  Dr. M said that the pathology on the spot came back cancerous.  (That UGLY word!  I keep hoping I'll never hear that word again.  It is an odd feeling when you hear the C word, your ears get fuzzy and your mind goes completely blank. Medically, I think it is called "shock").

On a positive note, Dr. M said it is the best of the three skin cancers; basal cell.  He will cut it out in his office the end of this month. There will be a few stitches and no getting it wet for two weeks.  And that should be it.  No chemo.  No radiation.  And probably (hopefully) no other occurrences.  He said that 1/3 of basal cell cancers are sun related.  2/3rds are genetic or unknown.

I don't believe in coincidences.  I think my taking Tdawg's appointment is divine.  And asking Dr. M to look at my back (I was going to just blow it off) was also divine.  I am confident that I will be ok.  But I would appreciate prayers because my mind goes nuts every so often.  I'm fair skinned and have lots of moles, so I start imagining all sorts of things (usually about 2am).