Yesterday, I had the unpleasant experience of having some skin cancer removed from my cheek. Ick.
I don't know how the nurses and doctor do it. I'm sure as they work on people like me their thoughts are, "dummy, if you hadn't laid out in the sun covered in baby oil in your teens and early 20s, then you probably would be spared this." But no, I just had to have the golden, even tan that many European descendants covet. Somewhere along the line, I heard that rubbing lemon juice on your face would lighten the freckles dotting my nose and cheeks. It doesn't work.
In my younger years, I tanned along the shores of Cancun; Padre Island and Galveston, Texas; Nassau, Bahamas; and San Diego, Calif. So, my skin cancer has quite a travel log.
But now I'm older and wiser. Emphasis on older. Today I have a lot of weapons to help contain, and hopefully prevent, skin cancer. I have sun lotions with high SPF's. By the way, my dermatologist recommends a lotion called "Aloe Gator Sunblock" because he says it absorbs into the skin and will absolutely not rub or sweat off. It literally has to be washed off with soap and water. Additionally, I sit in the shade at my kids' baseball/softball games. Sometimes I bring an umbrella to create such shade. And of course, there's my sun shirt, wide brim hat and sunglasses for water aerobics. As my husband says, I look like an old lady. That may be, but he hasn't had to have his whole cheek area deadened.
"Now, don't panic at the area we are deadening," the nurse told me. "We're just want to make sure there's no pain because all of the nerves connect."
Then I heard, "wow, nice shoes."
"Are you talking to me, " I asked. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be moving my mouth. Yes, they were talking to me. They liked my new striped espadrilles. Or as my husband corrected me, "the ladies at the office said they are called 'wedges.' They have never heard of espadrilles."
Well, now I'm feeling like an ancient mummy in my bandaged face. But I do have really cute shoes.
When I left the office, I was like the late actor Dudley Moore in the movie "10" after the dentist scene. I probably shouldn't have been driving since my left eye was drooping. When I got home, it was lunch time and I was starving. Half of my lunch ended up on my shirt.
The good news is the doctor told me to rest and relax for a few days. Ahh, doctor's orders. No lifting anything heavier than 5 lbs. (does that include laundry?), no bending over (does that include picking up shoes off the floor?), no exercise (oh darn!). And the other good news is that the Doc got all of the cancer.
So, that's what I'm doing now. Watching TV and finishing this while holding an ice pack to my face.
Wondering if I should tell my family the "rest and relaxation" orders are only for 48 hours. Nah, I'm going to push it to 72 hours.
The Wondering Texan
In my younger years, I tanned along the shores of Cancun; Padre Island and Galveston, Texas; Nassau, Bahamas; and San Diego, Calif. So, my skin cancer has quite a travel log.
But now I'm older and wiser. Emphasis on older. Today I have a lot of weapons to help contain, and hopefully prevent, skin cancer. I have sun lotions with high SPF's. By the way, my dermatologist recommends a lotion called "Aloe Gator Sunblock" because he says it absorbs into the skin and will absolutely not rub or sweat off. It literally has to be washed off with soap and water. Additionally, I sit in the shade at my kids' baseball/softball games. Sometimes I bring an umbrella to create such shade. And of course, there's my sun shirt, wide brim hat and sunglasses for water aerobics. As my husband says, I look like an old lady. That may be, but he hasn't had to have his whole cheek area deadened.
"Now, don't panic at the area we are deadening," the nurse told me. "We're just want to make sure there's no pain because all of the nerves connect."
Then I heard, "wow, nice shoes."
"Are you talking to me, " I asked. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to be moving my mouth. Yes, they were talking to me. They liked my new striped espadrilles. Or as my husband corrected me, "the ladies at the office said they are called 'wedges.' They have never heard of espadrilles."
Well, now I'm feeling like an ancient mummy in my bandaged face. But I do have really cute shoes.
When I left the office, I was like the late actor Dudley Moore in the movie "10" after the dentist scene. I probably shouldn't have been driving since my left eye was drooping. When I got home, it was lunch time and I was starving. Half of my lunch ended up on my shirt.
The good news is the doctor told me to rest and relax for a few days. Ahh, doctor's orders. No lifting anything heavier than 5 lbs. (does that include laundry?), no bending over (does that include picking up shoes off the floor?), no exercise (oh darn!). And the other good news is that the Doc got all of the cancer.
So, that's what I'm doing now. Watching TV and finishing this while holding an ice pack to my face.
Wondering if I should tell my family the "rest and relaxation" orders are only for 48 hours. Nah, I'm going to push it to 72 hours.
The Wondering Texan
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