09-07-2016, 02:38 PM
[quote RockyRaab]About a month ago I was applying sunscreen for a round of golf when I discovered what felt like a blister on the back of my neck. After a week, it was still there, and I had Claudia look at it. She said, “You're going to the Doctor.”
Doc said he wasn't sure what it was, but he'd remove it and send it to the lab. A week later, he called and said, “You have a melanoma.” He set me up with an immediate appointment with a dermatologist, who decided to excavate the area some more. He removed a divot (lob wedge rather than 9-iron) and stitched me back up. So I now have a “Z for Zorro” scar on the back of my neck!
Today, I went back to have the stitches out and get the final lab results. All clear. They took a couple samples of odd moles but were confident they'd turn up benign.
I have to go back for regular head-to-toe checkups of all my various moles and such, but that's all.
I didn't want to
post here with the first news, as I was positive all would be well. We caught it about as early as it can be caught, and the prognosis was excellent from the start.
Moral: if you find some odd spot on your skin, see your doctor. Immediately.[/quote]
Glad to hear that all is well and it wasn't worse, skin cancer and weird moles run in my family on my mom's side, both of my mom's sisters have had skin cancer and my mom has had 7 or so moles removed. Whenever I am on the water or out doing yard work I am in long sleeves and pants with my full coverage hat no matter the temperature, I may look like a bit dorky but it's far better than what I could look like with part of my skin removed.
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Doc said he wasn't sure what it was, but he'd remove it and send it to the lab. A week later, he called and said, “You have a melanoma.” He set me up with an immediate appointment with a dermatologist, who decided to excavate the area some more. He removed a divot (lob wedge rather than 9-iron) and stitched me back up. So I now have a “Z for Zorro” scar on the back of my neck!
Today, I went back to have the stitches out and get the final lab results. All clear. They took a couple samples of odd moles but were confident they'd turn up benign.
I have to go back for regular head-to-toe checkups of all my various moles and such, but that's all.
I didn't want to
post here with the first news, as I was positive all would be well. We caught it about as early as it can be caught, and the prognosis was excellent from the start.
Moral: if you find some odd spot on your skin, see your doctor. Immediately.[/quote]
Glad to hear that all is well and it wasn't worse, skin cancer and weird moles run in my family on my mom's side, both of my mom's sisters have had skin cancer and my mom has had 7 or so moles removed. Whenever I am on the water or out doing yard work I am in long sleeves and pants with my full coverage hat no matter the temperature, I may look like a bit dorky but it's far better than what I could look like with part of my skin removed.
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