Hi Friends!
I hope this email finds everyone doing well! I hope that you are enjoying life and having some awesome adventures!
Are you a cold weather fan or a warm weather fan? It probably is no secret, but I LOVE the warm weather! I love being warm and the feeling of the sun on my face. There is nothing better! I get so miserable in the winter - the lack of sunshine (remember, I live in Michigan!) and the frigid temperatures are enough to make me wanna curl under my blanket, with an electric blanket and not come out again until May! Or, are you the snow bunny? Love snow skiing? Getting outside and feeling the crisp air on your face? I suppose that I do like a white Christmas - but after December 25th, I am ready for the snow to be gone! I would like to share a personal story dealing with my love of the sun. I am not here to preach to you about sun screen and the dangers of loving to sun bath, but I do want to share with you my experiences! And I hope that if any of you reading this have had something similiar, you would help me with recommendations, advice, etc.
On July 23rd of 2015, I went to my dermatologist to check out a spot on my chest. The spot had been there for a while and I thought that a professional better check it out. It was raised and would sometimes bleed but never itched or really bothered me. My Doctor, who is also my neighbor and a friend, took one look at it and immediately told me that it had to come off. She ended up slicing off a portion of the spot and told me that I would hear back from her in office soon. About a week later, the call came back that it was indeed Basal Cell Carcinoma...a form of skin cancer.
I was scared and did not know what to expect. After Darren's diagnosis of terminal brain cancer several years ago, whenever I hear the word "cancer" - I panic! If you are familiar with the 3 major skin cancers (Basal Cell, Squamous Cell, and Melanoma) then you are aware that Basal Cell almost never spreads (metastasizes) beyond the original tumor site. Only in exceedingly rare cases can it spread to other parts of the body and become life-threatening. So, although I took the diagnosis extremely seriously, it was reassuring to know that this fight was treatable! A few days later, I went to the Doctor's office where a surgeon removed the lesion (and then surrounding skin) and stitched me up. I thought that may be the end of the story -- but it wasn't.
Fast forward to about a month ago, I had a spot on my forehead that my Dr and I were watching. She had removed it and warned me that if it comes back, I would need to have it removed. Sure enough, about a month ago, it did come back. I immediately went to the doctor and found out it was another basal cell. This time, I will need the MOHS surgery to remove it. That appointment is coming up and I'll be sure to keep you posted on it. Have any of you had this procedure done? Any recommendations? My Dr. also recommended the light therapy treatment to hopefully help - has anyone done that? I made the "mistake" of looking online and seeing the pictures as you heal from the light therapy...although it is daunting, I know it will help. Have any of you done that, too? Any recommendations?
I know that Basal Cell and skin cancers are very common. Have any of you ever experienced this type of scare? I would love to hear your story if you would like to share. As I mentioned briefly earlier (and as you may or not be aware), my husband is fighting stage 4 Brain Cancer. I will be getting more into his story with this very soon. I'd love to connect with you elsewhere so that you can learn more about Darren's diagnosis and what we are doing to LIVE every day with cancer. If you haven't already, you can connect with me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/jenddelvaux).
Thanks for reading and taking the time to connect with me!
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