The "C" word

Cancer is never a word anyone wants to hear no matter how common or curable. A few months ago, I noticed a certain place on my back was itching and burning more often than not. It was right above my pant line so for a while, I thought it was my pants rubbing a sore or something like that. 

It was in a spot I couldn't see by twisting in the mirror, so I had Wes take a picture of it with his cell phone one night in November or December. My first thought was hmmmmm.. itching, burning, pink spot, I better have this checked out. Especially, since just a few months prior, I had some moles removed that came back ok but showing signs of sun damage.

January 18, I went in and had a biopsy of the place, and sure enough the report was basal cell carcinoma, skin cancer. 

According to the American Cancer Society, basal cell carcinomas are the most common type of skin cancer, and approximately eight out of every 10 non-melanoma skin cancers will be basal cell carcinoma. These cancers develop within the basal cell layer of the skin - the lowest part of the epidermis.

This type of skin cancer tends to occur in areas of the skin that receive the most exposure to the sun, like the head and neck. Basal cell cancers usually grow slowly, and it is rare for them to spread, or metastasize, to nearby lymph nodes or even more distant parts of the body. However, this can occur if the cancer is left untreated, so early detection and treatment is important.

Basal cell cancers can also recur in the same place that the original cancer was found. Patients who have had basal cell carcinoma once have an increased risk of developing a new basal cell cancer elsewhere. Potentially as many as 50 percent of these patients will develop a new basal cell carcinoma within five years of the first diagnosis.

I am heading back to the doctor, Monday, February 8, to have another outpatient surgery to make sure that they remove everything that is there. I write all of this to say, pay attention to your skin. If you think something is "funny" or out of place, please get it checked. I did not wear sunscreen as a teenager, and I visited the tanning bed way to often as a young adult. Cancer is cancer, and it is ugly. 

Don't put off seeing your doctor. Early detection is SO important. 

Until next time..

XOXOXOXOXO