Here We Go Again…

One of the things that sucks about deciding to take care of your body, is is that it’s actually, you know… WORK.

Over this past year, I’ve actually started a trend towards taking better care of my body. Last spring I had my first mammogram, I’ve given up caffeine, I went through the not-so-fun experience of a cervical biopsy, and now 2011 brings even more medical news to my body.

I went back to my regular doctor several weeks ago for a follow-up on my migraines. My doctor suggested that I begin physical therapy, because there is a physical therapist in the same town as my doctor’s office that has had some specialized training in treating people with migraines. So I’ve gone to this guy about 10 times, and WOW. I expected physical therapy to be exercise, stretching, blah, blah, blah. But seriously, people– it’s 45 minutes of someone massaging my neck and my scalp once or twice a week and it’s pure heaven. It’s helping with my headaches a little, so we’ll see if it helps on a more permenant basis. (I’m starting to think if I lose weight, that might help even more.)

So now we get to the bigger development. For the last few years, I have had this pesky mole on the side of my left breast. This will sound gross, but it looked like three or four moles all piled on top of each other. (I know, gross). Anyways, my husband has always been after me to go get it checked out, because he’s been concerned about it. It has never bothered me, so I have let it go for years. Well, over the last few months, it has started itching, and has gotten to the point where it has starting rubbing against the side of my bra.

A couple weeks ago I got to talking with a couple co-workers, and one of them mentioned that she had to leave for her annual “skin-check” with her dermatologist. I felt ridiculous that I did not even know what to say when calling a dermatologist, and that the term you need to ask for when you want them to just check your body all over is actually called a “skin check.”

I immediately called the clinic she suggested and made an appointment for my own skin-check. Being fair-skinned with blond hair, I knew I was playing a game of russian roulette with myself over the years. I knew I had worshipped the sun (and the tanning beds) most of my life, and sunscreen? Let’s just say sunscreen and I have not been close friends. I very rarely use any sunscreen. I just never think about it, to be honest.

Wednesday afternoon, I went to my first appointment with the dermatologist. Needless to say, I was terrified. Once taken to the exam room, the very friendly nurse had me strip down to my bra and underwear, and put on a gown. The doctor came in and began looking everywhere.

Did you know that, in women, most melanoma appears below the waist? I didn’t know that. I had no idea. I’ve always watched the spots on my shoulders back, chest and neck, but never thought to look at my legs and feet!

The doctor removed the mole(s) from my left breast and then found something I hadn’t noticed, or at least hadn’t paid much attention to. He removed a fairly decent-sized spot on my right arm. A biopsy was performed on both and I will receive my test results back in the next several days.

If you Google the word “melanoma” you will be grossed out at the pictures you see. Go ahead, try it. I’ll wait. You will see the grossest and worst case scenarios of the cancer. Not the everyday, run-of-the-mill looking melanoma. The ones you don’t normally notice on your body. That’s the one I had. What makes this even more menacing is that I have a family history of melanoma. My grandfather died from it 10 years ago. He had a history of skin cancer over the years, and then a small spot of melanoma on his neck that spread like wildfire through his body over a few short months was what he died from.

The doctor also took measurement of several spots on my right shoulder, which is an area that has been sunburned more times than I can count. I am to watch these spots over the next few months for any change in size or color. I also have to to return for a follow-up appointment for them to measure them in 6 months, and then have yearly skin-checks after that.

I know I’m going to sound preachy, but listen to me anyway. When you make your appointment to get your annual mammogram, go ahead and also call a dermatologist and make an appointment and ask for an appointment to get an annual skin-check. Make a day of it. Your family needs you around for a long time.

And, if you wouldn’t mind thinking good thoughts and sending some prayers up for me while I’m waiting on my test results to come back, I’d appreciate it.