No, I did not drop out of my race. Nor was I kidnapped by sympathisers. Things happened that were beyond my or my surgeon's control. Therefore my surgery date for Mile 19 was pushed to June 18 giving me 8 weeks between surgeries. After more bouts with nausea and dizziness, I was glad to have my surgeries spread out a little.
I have reflected about the last year. The last 21 surgery days. The number of days I have had to sleep in my chair. The functions I have missed and the ones I went to in bandages and all. The blessings I have received from loved ones and strangers. The rudeness of others, both family and strangers .
That being my new mantra I arrived at my surgeon's office in a take no prisoners state of mind. My nurse reviewed a few options for me. We looked my scalp and face over good, making mental notes of the previous Miles and the current state of each one.
A lot of preparation has gone into this race. I had to have consultations with my primary physician, my primary dermatologist and my Mohs surgeon. These appointments began in March of 2013. Then there came the plan for treatment and conference calls followed by information being submitted to my insurance company
The Front View shows:
Mile # 1 My nose, the surgery date was 6/4/13. After 4 stages the wound was 1.3x1.5 cm and cancer free. It is now just a raised scar down the length of the right side of my nose. My right nostril is still drawn up a bit. I may consider minor reconstructive surgery later. Another option may be steroid shots in the scar tissue to soften things up.
Mile # 3 My right forehead, the surgery date was 7/2/13. After 6 stages the wound site was 8.2x8.0 cm and cancer free. I had been doing great with secondary healing so this wound was left open as well. It was UGLY. This surgery is when the dizziness and nausea hit me full force and what lead to my being on leave by 7/31/13. There is a lot of scar tissue and my hairline is farther back than it used to be. Cocoa butter and awesome skin care have softened the area immensely.
Mile # 4 My chin, the surgery date was 7/16/13. After 2 stages the wound was 1.1x1.5 cm and cancer free. This wound was stitched up and is now just a dimple in my chin.
Mile # 8 (part 1) Under my left eye, the surgery date was 9/24/13. One stage left a wound of 1.1x.5 cm and cancer free. This wound was stitched up and you really have to know where it was to see it.
Mile # 13 The surgery date was 12/12/13. There were 10 small tumors on my left upper and lower eye lids. Only 3 were one stage, 4 others took 2 stages and the remaining 3 took 3 stages. When the Mohs surgeon was finished these tumor sites were cancer free. Reconstruction was done the next day under general anesthesia. My eye reconstruction surgeon used a skin graft from behind my left ear to repair the left end of my eye. These sites now are difficult to spot except for the grafted area. There are some baby tumors visible that look almost like little white pimples. These will be treated with a laser in my eye specialist's office on August 12th of this year.
Mile # 14 The surgery date was 12/19/13. There were 5 tumors on my right upper and lower eye lids. Three were one stage and the other 2 were 2 stages. Theses tumor sites were also cancer free after surgery. Again, reconstruction was the next day. No grafts were needed this time. My right eyelids like my left have baby tumors which will also be laser treated on August 12th of this year.
Mile # 18 The surgery date was 4/17/14. This is documented in my last blog post. All the graphic pictures are there and show all the tumor sites on my forehead. Reconstruction was done the next day by my eye specialist. Some of his peers in other states have been following my story and because of the extent of the surgeries are convinced he had ticked off my Mohs surgeon. Not the case I am just a hot mess with this Basal Cell. The scaring is fading more every day. The grafts on my forehead and upper nose are still prevalent. My hairline is softening up and hopefully bangs will grow back to disguise any abnormalities. My right eyebrow is no longer a natural curve and makes me consider shaving both off and drawing on new ones. NOT. Just another uniqueness for me to live with.
The Left Side View shows:
Mile # 2 (part 1) The surgery date was 6/18/13. After 5 stages the wound site on my left forehead was 3.6x3.4 cm and cancer free. This wound site was left open to heal. There is minimal scar tissue visible most of the wound site has new hair growth.
Mile # 6 The surgery date was 8/20/13. The wound site on my left temple area required 5 stages. It was 4.9x5.7 cm and cancer free. This site was left open to heal. It has lots of scar tissue with no hair returning to my hair line. My new hairline is crescent shaped down to my ear and over 3/4 of an inch behind where it used to be.
Mile # 8 (part 2) The surgery date was 9/24/13. This tumor at left jawline took 2 stages and the wound site was 1.4x3.1 cm. This site was stitched and has left a barely visible scar line.
Mile # 9 is visible here but more so on the rear view. So I will address it with that photograph.
Mile # 16 The surgery date was 2/18/14. The wound site took 3 stages and was cancer free. This site was closed with stitches and is the fading scar line in front of my ear.
The Rear View shows:
Mile # 9 (part 1) The surgery date was 10/8/13. The wound site was 3.1x3.4 cm and was cancer free. The site was left open to heal. The bald area on left side is soft fully healed but no hair is regrowing in this area.
Mile # 10 The surgery date was 10/22/13. We removed 4 tumors off the back of my neck. Two on left and 2 on right. All were cancer free within 3 stages and were stitched up. Scarring at first was dimpled, and overlapped. Now the scars are visible to the naked eye but flattened and fading.
Miles # 11 The surgery date was 11/5/13. Three sites across the crown of my head were left open and healed completely. The three sites are dimpled on my scalp but filled in fully with hair. Nothing is visible in photographs.
Mile # 12 The surgery date was 11/19/13. Three sites just below those done on Mile # 11 were all left open and healed completely. They are barely recessed and filled in fully with hair. They are not visible in photographs of these either.
The Right Side View shows:
Mile # 2 (part 2) The surgery date was 6/18/13. The wound site along my right jaw was 1.3x3.4 cm, took 2 stages and was cancer free. This site was stitched up and has a fading scar line.
Mile # 3 is visible mostly from the "front view" and is addressed in that section.
Mile # 5 The surgery date was 7/30/13. Three spots along my cheek. One of which took 1 stage the second took 2 stages and the third took 3 stages. I was not feeling well at all and wanted to leave opting not to stitch these. That was not the wisest choice. This scar tissue is like my nose and will have to be dealt with to make less obvious.
Mile # 7 The surgery date was 9/10/13. This site behind Mile # 3 was multiple stages and left a wound size of 5.1x4.8 cm. It was left open to heal and only has an open area the size of a pencil eraser with no hair. The surrounding hair has it almost covered.
Mile # 9 (part 2) The surgery date was 10/8/13. The wound on the right rear scalp was 4.1x5.8 cm, took multiple stages and was cancer free. There is a spot the size of a quarter remaining from this site. The jury is still out on whether hair will fill in completely.
Mile # 15 The surgery date was 2/4/14. We worked on multiple spots that appeared small. The two that became the most surprising were in front of my right ear and behind the same ear. They almost met at the top and after 5 stages each, the front of the ear was cancer free the wound behind the ear was not.
Mile # 17 The surgery date was in early March. We went after the remaining tumor behind my ear from Mile # 15. The bottom rear edge of this site still remained not clear after another 4 stages. The size left to heal is about the size of a 50 cent piece.
So that's my recap now read on to see Mile # 19.
Take Away Nugget:
actually this song verse has been stuck in my head..
"...how many times have I cried God please take this...how many times have you said just keep breathing...God I need you now..."
I have reflected about the last year. The last 21 surgery days. The number of days I have had to sleep in my chair. The functions I have missed and the ones I went to in bandages and all. The blessings I have received from loved ones and strangers. The rudeness of others, both family and strangers .
In less than 3 months I will be 50 years of age and have worked in some capacity since I was 12 years old. My inability to return to work at full capacity by July 30, 2013, has rendered me jobless. No longer just out on leave. The thought of being jobless bothers me a lot more than I thought it would. You have to love your mom. My mom says, "Your JOB is to get ahead of this cancer".
That being my new mantra I arrived at my surgeon's office in a take no prisoners state of mind. My nurse reviewed a few options for me. We looked my scalp and face over good, making mental notes of the previous Miles and the current state of each one.
A lot of preparation has gone into this race. I had to have consultations with my primary physician, my primary dermatologist and my Mohs surgeon. These appointments began in March of 2013. Then there came the plan for treatment and conference calls followed by information being submitted to my insurance company
The Front View shows:
 |
| Front view before Mile 19 |
Mile # 3 My right forehead, the surgery date was 7/2/13. After 6 stages the wound site was 8.2x8.0 cm and cancer free. I had been doing great with secondary healing so this wound was left open as well. It was UGLY. This surgery is when the dizziness and nausea hit me full force and what lead to my being on leave by 7/31/13. There is a lot of scar tissue and my hairline is farther back than it used to be. Cocoa butter and awesome skin care have softened the area immensely.
Mile # 4 My chin, the surgery date was 7/16/13. After 2 stages the wound was 1.1x1.5 cm and cancer free. This wound was stitched up and is now just a dimple in my chin.
Mile # 8 (part 1) Under my left eye, the surgery date was 9/24/13. One stage left a wound of 1.1x.5 cm and cancer free. This wound was stitched up and you really have to know where it was to see it.
Mile # 13 The surgery date was 12/12/13. There were 10 small tumors on my left upper and lower eye lids. Only 3 were one stage, 4 others took 2 stages and the remaining 3 took 3 stages. When the Mohs surgeon was finished these tumor sites were cancer free. Reconstruction was done the next day under general anesthesia. My eye reconstruction surgeon used a skin graft from behind my left ear to repair the left end of my eye. These sites now are difficult to spot except for the grafted area. There are some baby tumors visible that look almost like little white pimples. These will be treated with a laser in my eye specialist's office on August 12th of this year.
Mile # 14 The surgery date was 12/19/13. There were 5 tumors on my right upper and lower eye lids. Three were one stage and the other 2 were 2 stages. Theses tumor sites were also cancer free after surgery. Again, reconstruction was the next day. No grafts were needed this time. My right eyelids like my left have baby tumors which will also be laser treated on August 12th of this year.
Mile # 18 The surgery date was 4/17/14. This is documented in my last blog post. All the graphic pictures are there and show all the tumor sites on my forehead. Reconstruction was done the next day by my eye specialist. Some of his peers in other states have been following my story and because of the extent of the surgeries are convinced he had ticked off my Mohs surgeon. Not the case I am just a hot mess with this Basal Cell. The scaring is fading more every day. The grafts on my forehead and upper nose are still prevalent. My hairline is softening up and hopefully bangs will grow back to disguise any abnormalities. My right eyebrow is no longer a natural curve and makes me consider shaving both off and drawing on new ones. NOT. Just another uniqueness for me to live with.
The Left Side View shows:
 |
| Left side view before Mile 19 |
Mile # 6 The surgery date was 8/20/13. The wound site on my left temple area required 5 stages. It was 4.9x5.7 cm and cancer free. This site was left open to heal. It has lots of scar tissue with no hair returning to my hair line. My new hairline is crescent shaped down to my ear and over 3/4 of an inch behind where it used to be.
Mile # 8 (part 2) The surgery date was 9/24/13. This tumor at left jawline took 2 stages and the wound site was 1.4x3.1 cm. This site was stitched and has left a barely visible scar line.
Mile # 9 is visible here but more so on the rear view. So I will address it with that photograph.
Mile # 16 The surgery date was 2/18/14. The wound site took 3 stages and was cancer free. This site was closed with stitches and is the fading scar line in front of my ear.
The Rear View shows:
 |
| Rear view before Mile 19 |
Mile # 10 The surgery date was 10/22/13. We removed 4 tumors off the back of my neck. Two on left and 2 on right. All were cancer free within 3 stages and were stitched up. Scarring at first was dimpled, and overlapped. Now the scars are visible to the naked eye but flattened and fading.
Miles # 11 The surgery date was 11/5/13. Three sites across the crown of my head were left open and healed completely. The three sites are dimpled on my scalp but filled in fully with hair. Nothing is visible in photographs.
Mile # 12 The surgery date was 11/19/13. Three sites just below those done on Mile # 11 were all left open and healed completely. They are barely recessed and filled in fully with hair. They are not visible in photographs of these either.
The Right Side View shows:
 |
| Right side view before Mile 19 |
Mile # 3 is visible mostly from the "front view" and is addressed in that section.
Mile # 5 The surgery date was 7/30/13. Three spots along my cheek. One of which took 1 stage the second took 2 stages and the third took 3 stages. I was not feeling well at all and wanted to leave opting not to stitch these. That was not the wisest choice. This scar tissue is like my nose and will have to be dealt with to make less obvious.
Mile # 7 The surgery date was 9/10/13. This site behind Mile # 3 was multiple stages and left a wound size of 5.1x4.8 cm. It was left open to heal and only has an open area the size of a pencil eraser with no hair. The surrounding hair has it almost covered.
Mile # 9 (part 2) The surgery date was 10/8/13. The wound on the right rear scalp was 4.1x5.8 cm, took multiple stages and was cancer free. There is a spot the size of a quarter remaining from this site. The jury is still out on whether hair will fill in completely.
Mile # 15 The surgery date was 2/4/14. We worked on multiple spots that appeared small. The two that became the most surprising were in front of my right ear and behind the same ear. They almost met at the top and after 5 stages each, the front of the ear was cancer free the wound behind the ear was not.
Mile # 17 The surgery date was in early March. We went after the remaining tumor behind my ear from Mile # 15. The bottom rear edge of this site still remained not clear after another 4 stages. The size left to heal is about the size of a 50 cent piece.
So that's my recap now read on to see Mile # 19.
Take Away Nugget:
actually this song verse has been stuck in my head..
"...how many times have I cried God please take this...how many times have you said just keep breathing...God I need you now..."
