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So, back in May I wrote a post about something so scary and I never thought that I would have to hear.  You hear these stories from others, but you always think that it will never happen to you.  The blog post was called “Inner Strength.”  Feel free to go back and read that one before continuing with this one.  But, what I heard was that I had skin cancer, and I had to have surgery for it.

Now, before I go on, I will warn you that I have posted pictures of my incision.  I realize that not everyone can or wants to look at pictures of surgical wounds.  To me they are not “that bad,” but by now, I am used to seeing incisions and scars, and I know that it is different for everyone.  

At my results appointment with my dermatologist (which, if you are in the Wayne County, OH area, I would totally recommend Dr. Shane Clark at Twin Oaks Dermatology & Eye Surgery) I was told that surgery was a requirement for the standard of care procedure, AND because of the location of the cancer, they were referring me to another office that specializes in cancer surgeries.

The location of my melanoma was on my breast.  Because of this, my dermatologist was not comfortable with “slicing and dicing me,” for lack of better terms.  He wanted someone with more expertise and capability for the cosmetic side of this surgery.  So, to Dr. Jennifer Popovsky of the Dermatologic Center of Northeast Ohio I went.  (And again, I would totally recommend this office if you have the need to go and are in the area.)  Before going under the knife, they wanted to run a test called the Castle Test to see what the risk was for this cancer to return in the future and of spreading.

The Results

All tests came back as a very low risk, but once you do get melanoma, no matter what, the risk of returning is always there.  It was a month or so before my surgery was scheduled, but by mid August, we were ready.

The standard of care for melanomas is to cut 1 cm around the area and down to the fascia.  But, because mine was on my breast, she had to determine where to stop, and I do not know what was decided. I was awake for the whole procedure, as they just numbed my breast completely.  This was the part I was most worried about.

I’m not the type of person that can see a needle go into the skin, let alone a knife and whatever else they had to use.  So, for an hour, I just laid there with my eyes closed, listening to everything they were saying.  That part, I do find interesting and love learning about.

So, for the next two weeks, I had to change the dressing daily and wear a size-too-small sports bra to help with the bruising and swelling.  Boy, was that so uncomfortable.  I not only had to wear the sports bra during the day, but at ALL times, besides when showering.  I could NOT wait to be told 

that I could go back to normal.

The Aftermath

Changing the dressing daily was a huge struggle, and I could not have done with without the use of these little pads.  My skin does not do well with tape anyway, but trying to pull tape off of my breast was soo painful!!  Back in the day, a nurse had introduced me to this little adhesive remover pads.  They completely take the stickiness out of the tape for a MUCH easier and pain-free removing!  You have to work extremely slowly for them to fully work, but the time it took was well worth the wait.  

These little pads not only helped with pain-free removing, but they dissolved the adhesive from my skin completely.  I am the type of person that when removing band-aids or gauze and tape from my skin, adhesive markings are left for DAYS if not weeks.  And trust me, with my accident-prone self, I tend to use a LOT of bandaids and tape – maybe I should buy some stock in Band-Aid brand!  The adhesive removing pads are a LIFE saver!  If you are one that uses a lot of tape or band-aids, or have a surgery coming up, I highly suggest in investing in some of these.

So, in for my two week checkup I 

went.  Everything was healing nicely, but just to be on the safe side, I had to keep wearing the size-too-small sports bra for 

another TWO weeks! Whaaa?!?! Not what I wanted to hear, but I did it because that’s what I do.  But, not without complaining every now and then.  I mean, it was SO uncomfortable, and ruined almost EVERY outfit choice I wanted to wear! But, health > fashion.  

The Now

Let’s now fast forward to the present.  I just went in for a full body skin check.  (I am happy to report that I am in the clear!)  These checks will have to occur every six months for the first couple of years, and then annually for the rest of my life!  The rest of my LIFE.  This was the most awkward thing I think I ever had to do.  For someone to just be looking, no examining, my body was so uncomfortable and I wanted to crawl out of my skin and leave.  And all of this because I liked to tan when I was younger.

Now, if you are new to melanoma, not every case is because of sun exposure or sun damage.  In some cases, it’s just a gene.  This could have been the case with me because of the location, but I also went tanning quite a bit in my late teenage year and in my early twenties.  I don’t know how you tan, in tanning beds, but when I went, I went topless.  I didn’t want lines when wearing certain styles of tops.  This, in my eyes, is the more likely cause.  And to top off how often I tanned, I also, very frequently, did not use any tanning lotion or sunscreen.  Not smart at all!

Now, I am required to wear sunscreen every single day.  Especially on my face and neck.  The kind that I use is the CeraVe AM moisturizer with sun screen built in.  I also use the CeraVe face wash at night (in case you were interested).  During the summer, I was honestly kind of scared to sit in the sun for more than like twenty minutes.  Last summer, I was laying out for hours at a time, and not safely in true transparency.  Now, I know how brutal the sun (and tanning lights) can be.  This experience made me more self-conscious about my habits and my eyes are wide-open now!  

My journey in life is all about living a healthy lifestyle.  This does not only pertain to the food that I eat and the exercise that I do, but also how I protect my skin.  Your skin is your biggest organ of your body.  You have to protect all of your organs, inside of your body and on the outside.

In every struggle lies a learning experience

This phrase couldn’t be more true.  This opened my eyes to how I need to care for my body.  My whole body.  The learning experience in all of this is how I also need to take care of the outside of my body.  In the past two years, I have been trying to take care of the inside of my body.  Now, I need to shift my focus to the inside AND outside.  I need to continue to eat the foods that will fuel my body correctly, but I also need to be cognizant of what lotions and sun protection and deodorants and everything else that goes ON my body.  I do have to say, I am very excited about this journey.

My Advice

My advice for everyone is to start taking care of yourself on the inside AND outside.  If you aren’t using a sunscreen everyday, start.  If you aren’t eating the proper foods to fuel your body correctly, start.  Wherever you are in life, start taking better care of yourself – whatever that means for YOU.  Let’s take this journey together.  

Megs