Skin Check

I am fairly religious about sunscreen, but I lapsed a bit in getting skin checks from a dermatologist. Last year was my first one in a while, and she didn't like a spot on my face. It turned out to be just a weird sunspot and nothing nefarious, so the worst part of it was the lidocaine injection (zero flesh on your temple, ow ow ow). 

I went for another skin check about a week or so ago, and didn't really have anything I was super nervous about. She looked all over, used her magnifying thingie (is it a loupe if it's not gemstones she's looking at?) and then spent an inordinate amount of time on my back. Never a good sign. 

She ended up taking two moles -- one on my back, and one next to my bellybutton, that she thought looked darker than before. The lidocaine hurt not at all at the bellybutton, but the back... ouch. But now, the one on my back is healing decently well from the "shave biopsy," but the bellybutton one is a pain. When they went to take it, they were like, "oh, you can sit up!" I just laughed and said I'd like to see them try to make that work, as my PCOS belly creases right there and it truly is a spot where the sun don't shine. So I lay down and they numbed me and left me with two holes. 

I assumed it would be like my face, funky looking moles, no biggie. 

Well, apparently, they both came back "severely abnormal," and have to be cut more thoroughly to ensure all the evil cells are gone, and then I get stitches. I was assured it wasn't cancer, not yet. Of course Dr. Google informed me that they are vigilant about removing "severely abnormal" moles because they most often turn into melanoma, which is freaking terrifying.

I am grateful for my dermatologist, who took two moles not even on my radar and had a good eye for what she called "the ugly ducklings." Less grateful for more cutting and stitching, but I think I actually prefer that to the hole type wound, which is supposed to leave less scar but even after the week of Vaseline and band-aid (try sticking a Band-Aid across your bellybutton and see how that works...spoiler alert, it doesn't). I am grateful that I started getting regular skin checks again. 

On a lighter note, I am also grateful for her wordsmithing... I asked about a spot on my face where I seem to have a splotch of even whiter skin, and I wondered if it was something weird. She just said it was due to sun damage (for the love I wear SPF 50 ALL THE TIME), and that losing pigment can happen "as time passes." What a lovely sentiment. I laughed and said, "that sounds just so much kinder and poetic than 'as you age,' haha, very diplomatic!" 

My first procedure is a couple days after my birthday (they were going to do my actual birthday, and then said, "oh goodness no, let's not do that to you!"), and insurance says they have to be done separately and two weeks apart at least, so my back one isn't leaving until June. I just couldn't take time when I have so little left when I get back to work. And, I am doing quite the number on my sick time being out for 12 weeks, so I'd rather not use any in the weeks I have remaining! 

I'm glad I can make use of this time to get some of these appointments done, hopefully they don't all result in more of them.