Outcome of cancer surgery.

[trof]

Basal cell carcinoma on lower eyelid.
Basically a non-event.
Painless, except for a little pin-prick for anesthesia.
Surgery took about 5 minutes.
We chatted while he sliced.
The grossest part was smelling my flesh burning while he sealed off some tiny blood vessels.
Not really too gross.
Hour and a half wait while they biopsied the tissue to make sure he got it all.
Miz t. and I went down to the Waffle House for breakfast.
Got back to hear he got it all.
About 10 minutes for the suturing.
Home and dry.

Only thing that's bugging me is the bandage. Right up against my lower eyelashes and it itches.
Oh well, it comes off in the morning.
Thanks for all the good wishes.
:hi:

[Mizmoon]

1. Thank goodness

How did they find it to begin with? Was it bothering you?

[trof]

5. Annual dermatology checkup. Which I highly recommend.

Just a litle pin-head sized bump.
Thought it was a mole.

[Mizmoon]

6. Do you actually go to a dermatologist for yearly check-ups?

or a regular GP?

[trof]

11. Dermatologist, definitely. He found melanoma on Miz t.

Honest to god, it looked like a mosquito bite, except it stayed and stayed.
3 1/2 years ago. She had a lot more involved surgery than mine. Regular oncology surgeon, lymph node removal, the works.

[Dave Reynolds]

22. Agreed there,

catching it early saves people from having scary excisions, as opposed to little excisions.

I got some stories, I tell ya...

[Shell Beau]

2. Yikes! Best of luck. Get 100% better!

[WCGreen]

3. Eye surgery sucks......

But I am so happy they got it all........

Good Thoughts to you,,,,,,

[CaliforniaPeggy]

4. That's great news, my dear trof!

Thanks for letting us know...

So glad they got it all...you'll never have to worry about that one again...


Celebrate!

:toast: :toast: :party: :party: :toast: :toast:

[trof]

7. In about 23 minutes. Cocktail hour at 4:30.

Oh heck, maybe I'll fudge it a bit today.
Special occasion and all that.
Thanks, Peg.

[TNOE]

8. Ahhh - I didn't know

but so happy to hear!!!!!!! :hi:

[deadparrot]

9. Glad to hear everything went okay.

:)

[AnarchoFreeThinker]

10. way to go, trof!

[Rising Phoenix]

12. heal well : )

[bleedingheart]

13. glad that all is well!!!

[roguevalley]

14. bravo. I am so glad. Now, enjoy life with new vigor. :)

[trof]

15. Interesting story: dermatologist vs. ophthalmologist.

A few days before my dermatology exam, before I knew about the little cancer on my lower right eyelid,I went to an ophthalmologist.
The very same lower eyelid was itchy and puffy.
He examined it, VERY CLOSELY, and said a couple of little oil ducts were blocked. Gave me some antibiotic eye drops.
No mention at all of that red bump.

So, a few days later,when the dermatologist said it looked like a basal cell and biopsied it, and, in fact, it WAS a basal cell carcinoma, I thought about the ophthalmologist. Shouldn't he have...um...NOTICED it and said maybe I should get it looked at by a dermatologist?

I put the question to the derma guy.
"Well, the ophthalmologist is an MD. He's a doctor. Yeah, I think he should have noticed it and told you to see a dermatologist. I think I'd get another ophthalmologist."
Done.

Boy, you gotta watch 'em all the time.
:-(

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

27. There's a reason why dermatologists are well compensated for being

specialists, it's because they've looked at a LOT of skin.

Things that non dermatologists might not notice or might scratch their head wondering whether it's anything, are often immediately obvious to a dermatologist with just a glance.

Sometimes early basals or even melanomas can be kind of subtle. Just giving your opthamologist the benefit of a doubt, although if you are uncomfortable with them you should certainly get a different one.

[Darth_Kitten]

16. Glad you are okay!

:)

[Pithlet]

17. I'm so glad to hear it went well.

:)

[Cyndee_Lou_Who]

18. So glad to hear!!!

Get well soon!

[bearfan454]

19. Glad it turned out good.

[swag]

20. Good!

Glad you're out of there.

[GOPisEvil]

21. Glad that went well.

:thumbsup:

[In_The_Wind]

23. rest easy ~ feel better soon

[trof]

24. It don't hurt. Honest.

Nurse made me take two x-tra strength tylenols before I left the office.
"For when the numbness wears off."
:shrug:
No pain.
It just ITCHES!

[In_The_Wind]

25. I'm sorry it itches. I'm happy that there isn't any pain or complications

[trof]

31. So far, piece a cake. Taking medicinal whiskey, just in case.

Cheers.
:toast:

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

26. Basal cells are generally just locally invasive. Sometimes, depending

on how much sun you've gotten in your life, they can be plentiful and recur and be annoying as hell, but it's rare for them to be responsible for anyone's death unless they were allowed to just get HUGE and erode into a lot of stuff before surgery.

[trof]

32. Right. My mother-in-law had a HUGE one on her arm.

Three or four inches across.
She did not see doctors on a regular basis.
Like pulling teeth to get her to one.
By the time they saw what it was they said it was so big it would do more damage to remove it than the risk of just leting it go.
She didn't die from it.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

33. When I was in the Navy, the common scenario was old WWII salty sailors

who spent their youth on the decks of ships in the South Pacific, with a lot of shirtless and hatless time, just covered with these things on their heads and upper bodies, needing a lot of little surgeries to remove 'em.

Of course no one had clue number one about sun exposure and skin cancer etc. then.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

28. Keeping you in my thoughts...

:hug: For you and Mrs Trof :hug:

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

29. Glad everything is under control

Take care!

[Midlodemocrat]

30. Best to you, trof.

Glad things went well.

[KatyaR]

34. So glad to hear that everything's okay!

My mom had a BSC behind her left ear. She was always so careful to wear long-sleeved shirts and a floppy-brimmed hat when she was outside working in the yard, so I never thought anything about it. We thought it was some kind of skin condition for over a year, and I could never remember to mention it to the doctor when we would see him (my mom was in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's at the time and had a hard time remembering things). When we did tell him about it, he could tell it was BSC just be looking at it and the way it bleed when he biopsied it.

She had outpatient surgery to remove it--it was a piece of cake, and she never had a reoccurence.

The whole thing was very strange, but you never know what will happen, I guess.

Anyway, congratulations--I'm glad it was so simple. I would have been scared to death to have anyone cutting that close to my eye!

[cally]

35. Glad you're OK

and that you caught it early.

[UrbScotty]

36. Nothing like the smell of burning flesh.

}(

Glad you're okay.

[slackmaster]

42. Is it as bad as the sound and smell of a dental drill in action?

:scared:

[CBHagman]

37. Good for you!

And welcome to yearly visits with your friendly dermatologist. He/she ought to do a scalp-to-toe look.

[lumberingbear]

38. Good News Mr trof !!!

Stay healthy buddy! :pals:

[brook]

39. Happy to hear your good news.

I had four 'cryosurgeries' Tuesday. About half my nose is a mess - one arm, one leg and the one I keep hitting with the hairbrush on the top edge of my forehead. I disinfect with single malt.

I second your advice re: once a year visit with a good dermatologist. Caught an early melanoma on my back that way. Since I'm from the old "if it's not a deep tan, it ain't a good tan" era, there's generally something that has to go each visit.

:toast: to you and mrs.t.

[trof]

40. Update on the update:

Took the small bandage off this morning.
No swelling and no black eye.
You can barely see the tiny stitches.
I'm not horribly disfigured and so I guess can continue my pursuit of a career in modeling.
;-)

[slackmaster]

41. I may be looking at the same kind of action very soon

Thanks for posting this, trof.

I have an appointment to see a dermatologist about several suspicious growths.

Miz t. and I went down to the Waffle House for breakfast.

Mmmmmmmmmm. Breakfast.

Best wishes for a prompt and complete recovery!

[MissMillie]

43. That's good news

:hi: I'm sure your doc will be watching your skin closely from now on... but you be sure to take care too!