Friday, July 30, 2010

Cancer



Bet that got your attention.  Scary word, huh?

Well, it turns out I've got one.  But maybe it's not so scary.   I was getting ready for a motorcycle trip up to Colorado, and I noticed a couple of itchy bumps on my left hand and arm.  I do try to see a dermatologist once a year or so, just for grins, and it had been a while.

When I called, they told me he was leaving the practice that very week.  So if I wanted to see him, I had to come in the next day.  So I did.

He looked me over, and did biopsies on the bumps.  One turned out to be benign, but the one on the back of my hand is a "squamous cell carcinoma", which I am told will have to be cut out.

Hey, it's just skin.  It is NOT a melanoma.  The back of my hands have suffered much from a lifetime of sun exposure.  So now I'll have to go see a dermatologist twice a year instead of once.  The only danger is if it gets really large before it's treated, and that takes years.  Or so I'm told.

So I'll have it out.  He referred me to a surgeon.  Damn.  This is gonna cut into my trip something terrible.

Lord knows I've got enough scars on my hands.  Mostly from being too cheap to let somebody else work on my car.  One more little nick won't kill me.  Well, that's the plan.

Hey!  Maybe I can claim it as a "fencing scar".  That ought to impress everyone.  Not as good as a Super Bowl ring, but what the hell.


Bob

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