As I sit here at my desk on a
cloudy February morning, I catch myself thinking about two spots that are not
on any of the greens, but are on my skin – one on my ear and the other on my
wrist.
Last month my dermatologist diagnosed
these as precancerous cells and froze both spots (cryotherapy). In a few more
weeks I am scheduled to go back to the dermatologist to be rechecked. Hopefully
this initial treatment has removed the cells, but if she has any reservations,
she will have them biopsied, and we’ll go from there.
I get teased a lot because I
don’t wear shorts or short sleeves very often, even on the hottest days. Most
people ask how I can do that and my answer has always been that I am protecting
myself from skin cancer – my mom had it and beat it, yet a cousin, at age 26,
left behind a wife and two kids because it was found out too late.
Because I wear long sleeves
all year long, I wasn’t expecting her to find a spot on my wrist. I am sure
though, now that I think of it, that my sleeves inch up throughout the day so
that my wrists don’t stay covered as much as I think they do. And too, sunlight
penetrates fabric. It all starts to makes
sense.
One of the things I don’t do
is wear a hat, so when the area on my ear began to feel rough, scabby, and a
bit painful, I suspected that there could be something going on there.
I don’t like hats. Hats of any kind have
always been uncomfortable to me. Even in
the winter I will let my ears freeze before I put one on, and even then, I will
take it off every few minutes. But now, I will have to find a way to change my
mindset and deal with wearing a hat, or at the least, use a lot of sunscreen on my ears. It would be best to do both.
Having cryotherapy isn’t that
uncommon – I know many people who have had this procedure, but this time, it is my wake-up call. Although I have always taken precautions, I will have to take the
sun even more seriously now and wear a hat and use a lot more sunscreen, while
continuing to wear long pants and long sleeves. You’ll be able to tease me a
bit more, but that’s ok – to me it’s worth it.
I thought I would share this
experience and what I am thinking because as cautious as I have been, it wasn’t
quite enough. We may think that we are doing all the right things, but it still
may not be enough. It’s best to get screened at least once a year, even for
those of us who aren’t outside all day. And if anything seems suspicious, its
best to get it looked at. Waiting too long, or ignoring it, is the worst thing
anyone of us can do.
The best thing to do, is to take care of yourself.
