The Update

Sorry to everyone who has wanted e-mails and phone calls. It's been a busy/rough week. As you can see from the hideous pictures, my surgery was in a very inconvenient spot--right on my elbow where it bends. If it was even a centimeter lower on my forearm, I'd actually be able to move it. Consequently (and VERY gratefully), I've had a lot of help come in, since little things like showering and changing diapers are either impossible or exhausting.

But enough of the complaining. Since I won't have time to get back to everyone, hopefully you will read this and get the update. Since Josh's last post, there have been some great updates:

1. The biopsy came back from the surgery. Apparently there were still some remnants of melanoma in the chunk they cut out, but from the edges and deeper skin, it looks like they got it all. YAHOO! The top layer of stitches was taken out (the bottom two layers of stitches are the dissolving kind), so the wound is healing nicely. The only bad news on that is that with the top layer of stitches out, it's more likely to tear at this point, so I need to be even MORE careful with it over this next week. With an almost two-year old, that is quite the feat.

The last few things I need to do will be taken care of Monday. I need to get a full body check to make sure that there are no other melanomas that need to be cut out, and I need to have my lymph nodes checked to make sure it hasn't spread. The Dr. is optimistic that it will be a quick appointment and that we're out of the woods after the biopsy--I sure hope so because I don't enjoy being dissected.

2. We found out that the type of melanoma that I have/had was genetic, so it wasn't really sun related at all. That means that there really wasn't anything I did or could have done to either cause it or prevent it. The good news: I don't have to be a sun hermit--just need to take care of my skin like everyone else. The bad news: these little suckers can pop up at any time. Here come dermatology appointments for the rest of my life (the good news: they should never go undetected long enough to spread too much). Also, with this type of melanoma, I also need to watch out for breast cancer (the good news: my doctors' kids will be able to go to college because I will keep them in a job with 6 month to annual visits). For some odd reason, ovarian cancer really doesn't factor into the equation. Just goes to show that we DO pay Dr's the big bucks for a reason.

Thank you to everyone who has shown their love and concern and who have kept us in their prayers. Even though skin cancer is fairly common/routine these days, it's still scary when you hear things like "possible radiation and chemo," "potentially more biopsies," and "you really need to stay on top of this, especially since you had melanoma at such a young age." There shouldn't be much more update on Monday, but we'll keep you posted!