That looks good to me, Ronni. Glad that you came through it oké. I can fully understand that it all looked pretty scary from your end. These are most often little "cysts", I guess that you would call them, and skin cancer only a very small percentage of the time. As your doc said, should it be skin cancer, it is easily and completely curable. Carry on miss.
Thank you again, everyone. The doctor said that even if it IS cancer, those ocular malignancies are typically easily curable. It would require more surgery, and possibly a little reconstruction depending on how much they had to cut, but he said it wasn't like being diagnosed with some other form of cancer which is much more scary! I'm eager to get the biopsy results next week, and know one way or another what's ahead for me!
Well, there's good news and bad news. The bad news is that the small growth I had on my eyelid that was removed and sent away to be biopsied has, in fact, turned out to be a malignant cancer. The good news is that it’s a basal cell carcinoma. It’s not life threatening except in a small percentage of cases. It won’t metastasize. Once it’s removed it’s gone for good. The bad news is that it appears I have other spots on my face that are similar skin type cancers. The good news is …. well, just reread paragraph #2. I need more surgery to fully remove what’s on my lid. The surgery center will be contacting me next week to schedule that. I’ll be put under general anesthesia for the surgery, but it’s outpatient so there’s no hospital stay. They will remove whatever’s left, and while I wait, they'll have the margins of the incision site tested to ensure that there is no cancer left and if there is, they’ll deal with it, all while I’m there. In other words, by the time they let me leave, it will be fully taken care of. I have an appointment with a skin specialist later in June to get the spots on my face looked at too, so that can be taken care of as well if needed. Intellectually I understand that in the scheme of things, this isn’t a big deal. Emotionally I’m having a bit of trouble with it.
Ronni, no one likes to be told they have cancerous growths, even ones that are easily removed and are not life-threatening. You are being incredibly brave, and I'm proud of you! It is fortunate that you have caught this problem in a very early stage. Take care, do what is necessary, and know that your friends here on the Stew are pulling for you .
Ronni, sorry to hear it turned out to be a skin cancer, but glad it is the kind they can cure. Doctors have lots of choices on how to do things nowadays. Everyone does things a bit different, and it depends on the patient's needs. I am glad what I told you was close to what would happen, because I went by my experiences and training. Hopefully, they will have you as good as new in short order. Get well wishes and prayers from me too. I guess since gardeners like to spend much time outdoors, perhaps we are more susceptible to skin cancers. Guess I will try another kind of sunscreen. So far, the ones I have tried were not very good feeling. Some are greasy, some are like being dipped in wax...
Sorry to hear your news Ronni but it's good that it is caught and it will be treated. I guess I would have the same intellectual/emotional reaction as you, it's quite understandable. Sending my positive thoughts your way! >>>
It's so good you have had it removed. I'll bet you were totally shocked with the outcome. Hard to swallow, right. Good that you addressed it now. Praying all turns out well.
I'm glad the surgery went well Ronni but not so pleased to hear that the growth was cancerous. Thankfully it was caught at the early stage and any further treatment should eliminate the problem altogether for you. I know we can't actually help you out in any other way than to support you here on the forums but we're all here for you. I hope further treatments will go well and that this cancer will soon be a thing of the past.
