I’ve had a spot on the top of my left ear for quite some time now. I’ve been aware of it and have always put sunscreen on it, especially when we are in a hot climate. Just recently it was changing a bit. I bent my ear on my pillow and it was sore for awhile. I don’t go to the doctor very often but I was thinking about getting this thing checked. Finally I was at the doctor’s office with Darren. (That way I wouldn’t back out of telling the doctor.) I showed the doctor  the spot and said he didn’t like the way it looked. My GP was going to arrange for an urgent visit for me with a dermatologist.  That made me feel better about telling my GP but also anxious that this was urgent. Although, I always appreciate how quickly things can move along when my doctor says something is urgent.

My appointment was made for 3 weeks later. I found out that the dermatologist was booking into the end of May (this was the end of January). Lucky again. I tried not to think about it and did pretty good. Years ago I would’ve worried for the entire three weeks and been pretty sick about the appointment by the time I got there.

Thank goodness I made sure Darren came with me. My appointment was last week on Thursday. The doctor was quick to have a look at the spot. He determined it could be normal breakdown of the skin or melanoma caused by sun exposure. I told him I’d had 20 radiation treatments, for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, that passed through that spot and he said that’s a possibility that the damage was caused by the radiation treatments. They don’t know all the long term effects of radiation on the healthy tissue that also gets treated.   I believe that the radiation cured the cancer I had 22 years ago and I’m not denying that for a second.  So he wanted to get rid of it right then. I’m glad I didn’t have a chance to think about it. I wanted the spot off but didn’t want to think of how it would be done. The doctor said if it was basal cell carcinoma that by taking this biopsy it would probably take care of it. Whew!

Up on the table and on my side. I didn’t have a chance to get very squeamish but I was definitely nervous. We made a few jokes and laughed a bit while I squeezed Darren’s hand. First the doctor froze my ear, which even with my tensing up I really didn’t feel it. I was holding my breath. He told me to breathe. Once I started to breathe, things went better. The doctor was quick and took the offending spot off. It ended up being about half the size of a dime. Now I’ve got an extra hole in my head!

No stitches, just a bandaid. The dermatologist has sent the sample for a pathology report and said they’ll call if there is anything urgent, but he thinks he has taken care of it. (I sure hope so!) I’ve had a few uncomfortable nights not being able to lie on that side but that is getting better. We went for a walk yesterday and the cold wind that caught my ear caused it to sting. I put my hand over my ear and it was fine.

I should’ve had this thing looked at a long time ago. I feel lucky that my doctor responded and sent me to a specialist and I am grateful that the dermatologist moved so quickly. Now, I hope they don’t call, meaning it is taken care of and gone.

Melanoma or not? Hopefully NOT!

Keep Smiling......

Michelle

michelle@choosingtosmile.com