“An ordinary person spends his life avoiding tense situations. A repo man spends his life getting into tense situations.” From the movie Repo Man.
This morning I had Mohs surgery to remove a basal cell carcinoma from underneath my left eye. I have worn eyeglasses and sunglasses all my life but that was obviously not enough to prevent this skin cancer from happening. I ordinarily cover up when I am outdoors but I have not been covering the front of my face with suntan lotion. I will from now on.
The surgery was less painful than most of my involved dental procedures, but still painful and terrifying enough in its own way. I thank everyone at the Las Vegas Skin and Cancer Clinics (external link) for helping me through it. I especially thank Dr. Susun Michaels for her work. (Note the spelling.) She is a fine and caring doctor.
I was told the cancer has been completely removed but I must continue with follow up visits to the clinic to detect and then treat any more of these so called BCCs that might develop. In a lighthearted vein, does this mean I am a cancer survivor?
This is a follow on. Changing my bandage for the first time was shocking. My small cancer spot was no more than a quarter-inch in diameter. But the resulting cut was over an inch, held together by four or five stitches. The doctor’s office said that in closing a small wound the doctor must often work back from a distance. I’m not worried about scarring, I was just surprised at the apparent damage. There’s no pain after two days, only the pain that comes when I have to pull off the old bandages.
