As we approach summer ....

or at least we hope we're approaching spring and summer - it's been a looong winter....

Just a reminder to everyone out there to use sunscreen - everyday!

I've been experimenting with a few but don't want to advertise any of them here.

I seem to be hearing more and more in the media that, aside from concerns about skin cancer,  if you want to look younger longer, wear sunscreen everyday - even on days when it's cloudy.

I won't rant and rave about the poor choices we as Canadians have (loaded with oxybenzone) because the good stuff is very expensive and truth be told, I think that even a sunscreen with oxybenzone in it is better than nothing.

Over the past 9 months or so, I've had several more spots blasted with liquid nitrogen to remove them before they get a chance to turn cancerous. The good thing is that I can recognize some of them now and get on them right away.  This of course wasn't the best news, especially after going through the Efudex treatment but my Dr. said that because skin damage is cumulative, it can take months or years for existing damage to become noticeable to the naked eye.

I suspect another round of Efudex is in my future, but I'll deal with it when the time comes.

The good thing is that I was recently told by a Dr. who deals with skin everyday that she never would have guessed I was 50. Thanks Efudex! ;-)

Final note for today: if you have access to preventative health care and or insurance, especially if you are fair skinned or have plenty of moles - ask your Dr. to refer to you a Dermatologist that can do a skin map to keep an eye on areas of concern, and/or nip things in the bud. Skin cancer and pre-cancers are very treatable if caught early. The sooner the better, with less invasive methods of treatment involved.

First time here?

You may find it easier reading about the treatment in chronological order from the beginning. There's a link to the right called "Treatment Journal from the Beginning".

(For some reason, I can't get Blogger to list entries in any order other than latest being first)


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Follow-up - 3 months after treatment finished

I went for my follow-up appointment with the dermatologist yesterday.

Every time I see him (his clinic is at a hospital) he's with an intern or Doctor in training as I see the other person first and rehash history AGAIN (which is all written in the file in front of them) and then He comes in. It's always been a different Intern/student.

I told the intern to please listen to something I had to say... and to remember it:

"If you ever have to prescribe this stuff to a patient, please, I beg you... listen to their concerns and prescribe them something for pain in case they need it, as well as something to help them sleep, I feel like I was left out there hanging and ended up taking drugs that weren't specifically prescribed to me for this condition".

"Like Tylenol 3?" He asked.

"No - like oxies left over from a back injury". He seemed surprised.

I showed him a photo taken during treatment and all he could say was "wow".

"Now you know why I was taking oxies".

So then the Dr. came in and said that I'd hit a "home run", that he couldn't see any spots that needed further attention at the moment, and to come back in 4 months.

The red patches that deepen every morning when I put sunscreen on my face will apparently fade over time. He didn't give a timeframe.... it's been 3.5 months now but I've discovered a tinted moisturizer with SPF20 in it that helps blend everything together on days when I don't want to look quite as patchy.

If you've been following from the beginning, you probably know I'm not particularly pleased with this Dr, so I have an appointment with another one in May, where I'm hoping I'm not just someone in and out of the office like a revolving door. Where you can ask questions without being given the impression that you are taking up their time, which is of course, MUCH more valuable than your time. Or if you're going through treatment you can actually speak to a human over the phone.

I've got 4 months before I see my guy again. Perhaps I'll write a letter and just give it to him and ask him to read it. That way I can make sure that he knows exactly how he could improve his practice. It's not like he's going to be less busy than he is already.

Day 1

With apologies to Hello Kitty...

All the procrastinating is done. Bargaining finished. The calendar more or less cleared.

This morning, I did my first application of Efudex. Only 29 days to go!

I was awake at 4:30 am. No, I didn't do it then. Like anyone wanting to avoid the inevitable, I waited until the last minute. But I did find time to go over the literature again. Hey, I couldn't sleep anyway!

- treated area may become unsightly during treatment and in some cases for several weeks after treatment

(Yes, any of us that have seen the photos of others online can see this)

Side Effects

- skin irritation, burning, redness, dryness, pain, swelling, tenderness, or changes in skin color,

- eye irritation, trouble sleeping (as if hearing you have any kind of cancer is ever a

real ZZZ-inducer!)

- irritability (from the lack of sleep no doubt),

- temporary hair loss (meh... it could be permanent for all I care),

- abnormal taste in the mouth

For those out there that have to go through this, I know you're scared. Heck I'M SCARED. However, doing something about it is better than not doing anything and things getting worse.

I would have killed to be able to put a moisturizer on today (dry indoor air) but thats a no-no.

So I put on my gloves and spread the Efudex on. Its consistency is a little odd and its hard to get it to spread evenly. Practice will make perfect I guess. The good thing is that it doesn't appear to be greasy and doesn't appear to have any scent, pleasant or otherwise.

I think it's important to realize that everyone is different and will get a different reaction based on how much cancer/pre-cancer/AK you have on your skin.

This is part of the reason I'll be posting photos. Perhaps not everyday though. No touchups. No Photoshop blur tool, no vaseline on the lens.

The other reason is that if it can motivate anyone into wearing sunscreen to avoid having to go through this, then maybe all the angst and, according to the warnings on the label... pain, will have been worth it.

I suspect that the top of my head is going to be the worst, but I already know that it is the part that needs treatment the most.

Friends have said they don't see anything. I do. I can feel it. It feels kind of scaly...like dry skin, which is what I thought it was. This is what makes skin cancer so insidious. You either can't see it, or think its something else.

Before

Perspective

I start my treatment in 13 days. Frankly, I'm dreading it, but I've been so busy with other things that I've managed to file it away and not think about it too much. Perhaps I've even been a little cavalier about it.

Until tonight.

A friend of my brothers went to the Doctor less than a year ago for a mole that "looked funny". In the 10 months since, he's had surgery, intravenous chemotherapy at least once, been diagnosed with melanoma and was told to get his affairs in order - quickly. The latest chemo treatment he's on may give him an additional month, but he now has mets in 4 major organs and without current treatment - has a few weeks at best. Under 45 with two kids, a wife, and a 2 week life expectancy. About the same time I have before I start my treatment - very short.

Suddenly, walking around looking like I've had a run in with severe poison ivy, a bad sunburn, combined with some blistering/pain/itching, other chemo side affects doesn't sound so bad. Worrying what reactions other people will have towards my appearance seems silly.

Nothing like mortality to put things in perspective.

And here I was, thinking I'd get a good nights sleep tonight!!

So this Thanksgiving, I think I'm most thankful that:
- so far, I appear to be on top of things
- I didn't allow vanity get in the way and procrastinate further on this

If you haven't done so in a while, check your body, or if you have "40's eyesight" have someone check it for you... especially your back or other parts you may not have seen in a while. Take note of anything unusual, especially moles or other raised areas that are new, irregularly shaped, feel scaly, bleed easily or are "funny colored" - and get them checked by a Doctor.