Mile #8 with Basal Cell Nevus Syndrome

Reminder: Pictures are Graphic

At home after surgery

Prior to each surgery my doctor checks the healing process of previous miles. Mile #8 starts with instruction to leave all miles except #7 naked. Leaving these sites open will allow the new skin to finish closing over the surgery sites. Now that is great news. I am beyond thankful. The past two weeks have been the most difficult I have had so far. I was taking pain medication every four hours for the first five days and every six for two more days after that. Prior to Mile #7 I had managed with pain medication every six to eight hours for no more than three days.

Remainder of Mile #2 (top) and Mile #6 (bottom)

 

 

Mile #2 is completely covered in new skin. It is slightly irritated at the top left side from being covered and getting overheated. Mile #6 is gellin. Meaning the new skin is started yet still tacky to the touch and glossy in appearance. In the photograph is a little hard to tell where one mile ends and another starts. The only edge not cancer free in this photograph is the area above my ear and going down my jawline. My jaw is part of Mile #8 below.

Remainder of Mile #3 (bottom) and Mile #7 (top)

Mile #3 is almost completely covered in new skin and is also irritated from being covered. That will be resolved now that Mile #3 can go naked. Don't let Mile #7 freak you out. It is the deepest wound so far. It is discolored but not infected or anything like that. It has gone through the first two stages of wound healing. Technically called hemostasis and inflammation stage and is headed to the proliferation stage. Now aren't you glad I just call it swellin and gellin. I say the coloration is caused from platelets in overdrive. If you insist on the medical jargon feel free to google "stages for wound healing". The final stage is maturation or remodeling stage. That is where new skin is grown over. The skin becomes tight and scars can develop. That is when you hear me say "I am buttering the wound site". Cocoa butter is my best friend right now. I choose not to use expensive scar creams. I am not a designer kind of girl.

My husband cut my hair in prep for another scalp surgery. The nurse cut more from my bangs so the hair won't lay on the surgery sites. I cannot remember ever having hair this short. So be it, short it is and short it may stay. The doctor said keeping it this short should allow him to operate on the rest of my scalp and not have to completely shave my head. the thought of not having to be Mrs. Clean is appealing. 

For Mile #8 we take on my left jaw line and a little guy below my left eye. After this procedure I should be finished with surgeries on the lower half of my face. The basal that remains there should be treatable with laser or a topical agent.

Mile 8 A Before

Mile 8A After

My doctor was not so sure about messing with the spot below my eye. He thought for sure it was just a Seborrheic Keratoses, something like an age spot. The spot under my eye was indeed Basal Cell.

Mile 8B Before

Mile 8B After

I believed the area along my left jaw would be a twin to Mile #2 my right jaw. That is just me comparing before pictures in my head.


My new mantra is if it annoys me it has to go.  This surgery required only 1 stage at both sites to be clear of basal cells.  A first for me!!

Another Hallelujah. Both sites get to leave with stitches. They may not look pretty.  But they are a breeze to care for. I am believing that history will repeat itself and in 7 days I will be stitch less. Another bonus for me with stitches is that two days post op I am off prescription pain medication.

Mile 8 A & B Stitched & Ready to Go!!

 Take away nugget:  Sometimes God calms the Storm. Sometimes God lets the Storm Rage and calms his child.

Cancer...A Family Story...Part 1

A few days post op and I am reflecting on conversations I have had over the previous 3 weeks. I would like to stay as transparent as possible through this journey.

Everyday I ask God to smile through me to someone. I am determined to see the positive in everything I do. 

When I started this marathon I was still working full time. I am in management with Wal Mart. The majority of my work day is spent on the sales floor. Several of my co workers and regular customers are shocked by the extent of my cancer. These are people who see me every day, more than my family in truth. They did not see anything that alarmed them.  My husband sees me everyday and the only thing that concerned him was the spot on my cheek that bled periodically. I have said it before and I may say it in every post forward. Know your body. Stand up for your body. Do not let anyone convince you that any changes in your skin are OK. Make them prove it. BIOPSY anything that even remotely seems out of place. Get your camera and someone you trust and start your skin journal today.

For more and more people, Cancer has become A Family Story. This is part of mine.

Meet my Uncle Don. An awesome tennis player, the family natural medicine health nut and guru, and now our beloved warrior.

He is a man who has always practiced what he preached. "Take care of your body and it will take care of you."  In 2002 Uncle Don had several basal carcinomas removed.  In 2004 he was diagnosed with his first melanoma which was removed with a Mohs procedure.  After that he kept dermatology appointments every six months.  He and his wife pointed out any concerns they had at every single visit. My aunt tells me that in 2010 there was a spot that popped up on his head resembling a blood blister. At their next visit she pointed it out to the dermatologist saying "we are concerned about it".  The doctor lightly pushed her hand away and said "it's nothing".  The spot grew rapidly and changed in appearance. She became more concerned. She even had a dream about it prompting her to push up Uncle Don's next appointment. At this visit she was more than adamant. The doctor was surprised "they had missed it" at the last visit.  He tried to excise it in the office but it was too deep.  A biopsy revealed melanoma. A second procedure with a surgeon removed it. The cancer was stage 4 melanoma by that time.  Given the advanced stage and lack of proven protocols for treatment, Uncle Don chose to let it run its course.  He has now been on Hospice for almost two years.

IF YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT A SPOT DON'T LET THE DOCTOR BRUSH YOU OFF!! BE ASSERTIVE.  IT CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE.
























We are bombarded with all sorts of colors. Gold is for childhood cancers. I lived through that one. Pink is for breast cancer. I had a sister-in-law that lost her fight to that just a few years ago.  Light Blue is for prostate cancer. My father passed six years ago from that. I learned recently the black ribbon is for melanoma.
 
One of the vendors in our store confided to me that she lost a brother to melanoma. He had a spot on his thigh. He figured it was an age spot. He was a self professed nerd and rarely spent time out doors. He had fallen on the ice in his driveway and during surgery to set his leg the surgeon sent it to pathology. It came back melanoma. Further testing showed the cancer had spread through out his body. He passed away a year later.

In route to Texas I met a young woman on the plane who lost her husband recently to skin cancer. She was traveling with their 3 young children. She and her husband were high school sweethearts. He had a spot I believe she said it was on his back.  She doesn't recall it changing. She doesn't remember it not being there. During one of his physicals the doctor asked him about it. He decided to get it biopsied. The biopsy came back melanoma, he was gone within 8 months of his diagnosis. 

Every color of the rainbow now represents a form of cancer.  Long before these colors represented anything else they were simply the rainbow, God's promise for hope.

Take away nugget: Faith grows in the soil of Gratitude and Thankfulness. What are you truly grateful and thankful for?

Passing Mile #7 with Basal Cell Nevus Syndrome

When visiting me here remember that this is an extreme situation of Basal Cell.
I neglected to let the small voice in my head seek out different doctors. Professionals that could get through to me how this is a type of skin cancer. Whatever the name given by the diagnosis, Gorlin, bccns, basal cell carcinoma are all kindred beasts that do not go into hibernation or go away. They must be removed and watched diligently.

The plan is as follows. I am currently going through Mohs surgeries to get rid of the larger tumors on my face and head. The surgeon will then be excising the smaller ones on my neck, shoulders and torso. After which he will be using laser therapy to treat the smaller flesh tone tumors on my face and neck. He will be removing the tumors on my eyelids as well. I will be meeting with an eye specialist regarding the reconstruction of my eyelids. On the positive side of this is I will be getting a brow lift and eye work done courtesy of my cancer and should come out of this looking 10 years younger. We are still not clear whether I will then do a topical treatment and/or oral chemotherapy.

WARNING PHOTOS OF MILE #7 ARE GRAPHIC

Mile #3 & #4

At the surgeon's office for Mile #7 the doctor and his nurse check out the progress on my previous surgery sites.  Mile #3 And #4 (on the right) has excellent skin regrowth and according to the surgeon could be naked during the day.  My cheek is naked except when I am sleeping. The new skin there gets agitated when rubbed against the pillowcase. 




Mile #6

Mile #6 (on the left) is gellin and healing great.

Mile #7 takes over where Mile #3 left off. The surgeon will be working towards the crown of my head. The nurse and I now place friendly wagers as to how far the cancer goes. We both predict the edge towards my ear will not be cancer free. The nurse and I are split on the outcome of the top and back sides. The front of Mile #7 should meet with Mile #3.

Mile #7 before

Mile #7 starts of with an irregular oval shaped mass. It is sunken in the middle. This tumor appeared clear all around. The deception of the photograph is evident in the end result. This surgery took 4 stages. The nurse and I are both incorrect in our wager. The cancer areas met but went clear at the site of Mile #3. Shocking to all parties is the fact that all other edges came back clean. It is hard to tell but the indented area in the before picture is indeed the deepest the cancer has grown so far.

Mile #7 After

This wound was left open like the others. I will have to keep the entire area covered. The skin on the previous surgery site is too new and will pull off with tape. Loosing skin to tape will add to scarring.

A few people have asked me about the stage and grade of my cancer. I had not previously asked my doctors this question. This visit I am told basal cell cancer tumors are not staged or graded at this point. There are people like me with very extensive tumors. Some have tumors in their brain linked to this condition. These persons like myself are not the norm for  basal cell cancers. Over 98% of basal cell tumors are still considered localized and do not spread.

Following is my understanding of how basal cell tumors are categorized based on discussions with the medical staff at my doctors.  You should do your own research in case I misspeak.

They can be Nodular. This is the classic basal cell carcinoma. Nodular and noduloulcerative basal cell carcinomas account for approximately 75 percent of all basal cell carcinomas. These are small firm masses of tissue. They are usually limited to the top layer of skin tissue. Inflamed red blood vessels and capillaries are a frequent sign of nodular basal cell carcinoma. They are found mostly in sun exposed areas of the head and neck. On a noduloulcerative basal cell carcinoma, the center is caved in a bit and appears "scabby."

They can be Infiltrative. This is basal cell that is usually smaller on the surface and goes deep into the various layers of the skin tissue. These types of basal cell tumors can be anywhere on the body. They tend to act like a pimple or mole that bleeds every so often then almost disappears to come back again at a later date.

They can be Morpheaform. This basal cell carcinoma can be very aggressive and difficult to treat due it's lack of clear margins. Mohs surgery is a preferred treatment method followed by a topical adjutant treatment. Morpheaform tumors appear as a white or yellow, waxy, sclerotic plaque that rarely ulcerates, and sometimes con caves (depression). The morpheaform will often go untreated and unrecognized as a potential danger by the patient and is a subtype of BCC that is the most difficult subtype to diagnose.

And lastly they can be Recurrent. This basal cell comes back in the same spot repeatedly.

Having Basal Cell Nevus Syndrome, I personally have all 4 types.  Lucky Me!

So Mile #7 is behind me.

I still want to shave my head. My husband has vetoed that thus far. I shall see what tomorrow brings.

Take away nugget:    Goals create Challenges and Challenges create Goals

My Texas Roadtrip

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Blogging from Texas

I am still on vacation in Texas. Texas is unbelievable. I absolutely love it here. I fly into San Antonio and go from there to visit my Mom's in Fredericksberg. We decided to make Labor Day weekend a road trip.

Saturday, my mom and I head to Dallas and visit the Museum of Biblical Art www.biblicalarts.org  . Fabulous! If you find yourself in Dallas with a few hours to spare it is very nice. We are there expressly to see "The Resurrection of Christ", a 12 foot by 40 foot oil painting, by Ron Dicianni. We spend 30 minutes just taking it in with it's audio tour. When we arrive we notice everyone getting out of their vehicle in suits, ties and heels. We are in capris and t-shirts, awkward. We ask the couple getting out of the vehicle next to us if this is the museum. "Yes, there is a wedding reception here."  They still allow tours with other functions, just a third of the museum is blocked off during this event.

We spend almost two hours there. A patron of the museum looks at me and says "That's what you get when you try to ride the bulls". While at home I hear: "you poor thing", "when was your accident", "how's the other guy" and so on.  Any time I am asked I give my standard reply, "Oh no honey I'm killing cancer".  Texans have an entirely different mind set .  At the hotel in Glen Rose people see my bandages and ask if I am part of the rodeo barrel racing. 
 
This is truly a special time. My brother is a grandpa now. His daughter is in town from North Carolina with her daughter for the long weekend. His older son is here from Waco, Texas where he attends college and lives with his wife and daughter.  I got to see family I have not seen in years. Kids of all ages are priceless. My great niece informs me that her momma told her I have an "owey", that's why I have all the bandages. She asks if they hurt, I tell her "not today", she says "good" and that is that.

Beware those of you having similar fates as mine. I did not think it was very hot on my brother's covered court yard where we spent several hours.  I ended up with heat rash under one bandage and my cheek actually started to bleed. My surgeon knows what he is talking about when he says stay cool.

Sunday morning we attend my brother's church, Stone Water, in Glen Rose. http://new.stonewaterchurch.com/glen-rose-campus They truly have a heart for God's people. My brother's youngest son was the lead guitarist for their praise band. He is starting college at Texas A&M this year, and is already moved into his dorm. I am believing he will find a church there he loves as much as Stone Water. It is the first time I was able to attend church with my brother at his home church. His church family was very welcoming and gracious.

After church we head for Fort Worth for lunch at Pappasitas. A friend of my nephew's gives me a hug and says he hopes everything goes better than I hope. Southern gentlemen come in all ages.

We visit the Fort Worth Stockyards. I call it Fort Worth's answer to New Orleans', Bourbon Street or Chicago's, Lake Shore Drive. It is definitely a tourist destination. Several motorcyclists visiting the area ask about my "road rash". I imagine I was quite the site. Everyone  is having fun in the sun and I am walking under a king size black umbrella. If I could have found one more appropriate for a southern belle I would have carried it. Hot and tired, we head back to Glen Rose after the 4 o'clock cattle drive down the main thoroughfare.  Guess the combination of exploring shops and the umbrella worked.  No problems with my "wounds".

Mom and I returned to Fredericksburg today. Odd being tired and exhilarated at the same time.



Take Away Nugget: Everyday GOD gives us a rainbow even if some days we can only see it in the shower.