gobbledonk Posted January 13, 2005 Report Share Posted January 13, 2005 Hi All, Many of you are probably huddled up in 4 layers of clothing, somewhere in Europe or North America, and this is the last thing on your mind. Living in the skin cancer capital of the world (per capita), its somewhat more immediate for moi. Given the ferocity of the sun across SE Asia, its also conceivable that other board members could be at risk. After several months of denial, I finally went to see a doctor yesterday, at one of the local clinics which specialise in detecting cancerous moles. The good news is that I dont have any moles, the bad news is that I have a few other unpleasant areas. The doctor used dry ice on a few spots on my hand (I think they are called 'solar keratoses') and the back of my legs, and I have some on my face which she will do at the next appointment, but the biggest worry is a growth on my upper ear. She said it looked like a vascular lesion (birthmarks are the most common example), but I'd describe it more as a 'blood blister'. Its not very large, but hasnt shown any signs of disappearing since it appeared six months ago. She took a biopsy - the worst part being that they only ring you if there *is* a problem. As you can imagine, thats one phone call I'm not looking forward to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCgringo Posted January 13, 2005 Report Share Posted January 13, 2005 If you lived in a sunny area all your life and are fair skinned you are at risk. I grew up near the beach ,I am sure I have had 1000s of sunburn days. back in November I finally went to the skin doctor at Bumrungrad, There were 2 bad places on my face that looked bad , had an operation a few hours later where they cut them out, Biopsy said one was not cancer but the bigger one had started , luckly caught in time and removed. When we were kids no one thought about the effects of sunburns 30-40 years later ! Realistically I will get sunburn many more times, but now I try and use sunscreen. Good luck OC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USVirgin Posted January 13, 2005 Report Share Posted January 13, 2005 Welcome to the club. I need to go have skin caner excised about every two years, and I really should go more often! First got it when I was only 21, probably the result of years of frying on the beaches around Malibu as a child, being an avid surfer and, oh yeah, having parents from Ireland. I've never had a melanoma, just harmless basal and squamous cell carcinomas, and the actinic (solar) keratosis that you described, which are actually a 'precancer'. The lesion on your ear sounds like basal cell, if it is a cancer at all, but good for you getting the biopsies. I find it strange that your doctor wouldn't call you with the results, even if there is no cancer, and I'd think you'd want to have it removed anyway. I've had cancers on my upper ears, and in both cases they did mohs surgery (scraping) and left the wounds open to heal by themselves. But I prefer stitches wherever possible, because I find the scar less disfiguring than a saucer shape blotch of skin that never regains its pigmentation. In one case, on my leg, where the doc didn't think the cancer was very threatening, he prescribed Aldara (a genital warts cream) and it cleared the lesion right up. For AKs, the doctor can zap 'em, but if you have many in one area, he might prescribe Efudix or Carac (both of which can also be used on genital warts, LOL). These are effective, but really nasty because your skin will be inflamed for several weeks, and you'll look so bad that you'll have a hard time pulling, even from Nana Disco. I don't know what I'm going on about, but the important thing is to have these things looked at as soon as you find them, that way you'll have the smallest possible excision. I tend to get lazy about these things and, last year, had a big chunk taken out of my nose for what started as a red dot the size of a pinhead. I've got an appointment with the doc coming up and I've probably got about 10 areas to be looked at, none that I'm worried about, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted January 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2005 Thanks for the feedback, OC and USVirgin. I know that I'm certainly not Robinson Crusoe in this area, and that the majority of problems are treatable if detected and treated early : its just the phone call and the word 'malignant' that I dread. The fact that its on my ear leaves me with visions of losing part of the ear and that side of my face, given that surgeons always have to remove a section of healthy tissue to ensure that they get everything. I'll leave the panic button until I get the call, and try to think happy thoughts. Picture Eddie Murphy in Bowfinger : 'Keep it together, keep it together, keep it together !' ......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nervous_Dog Posted January 13, 2005 Report Share Posted January 13, 2005 I too grew up in Qld, lived on the coast and am very pale so I expect in a few years to start getting peices cut out. The Doctor I go to "Maps" my body by taking photos of it, then comperes that hen I go back.. Good service DOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted January 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2005 The Doctor I go to "Maps" my body by taking photos of it, then comperes that when I go back.. That sounds like a distinctively scary process, esp for those of us who have gained the odd kilo over the years ! The doctor had me in stitches when she asked me to step behind the curtain and disrobe. I replied that it all seemed a tad redundant, as she was about to see my jock-clad bod anyway, provoking the following reply: 'No, I really wish some people would use the curtain !' So much for professional detachment :: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nervous_Dog Posted January 13, 2005 Report Share Posted January 13, 2005 <<'No, I really wish some people would use the curtain !'>> Maybe it's the way I humm the "stripper" tune and do a Go Go girl impression that makes them insist I go behind a curtain and please stop singing, and NO they will not turn on a funky radio station, and that, Mr Dog, is NOT a Chrome GO GO pole but a medical apperatus! Then I ask them, ok, why do you have a gyno chair just like the PB Hotel? BECAUSE I AM A DOCTOR AND THAT IS A GYNO CHAIR NOT A SEX AID No sence of humour! DOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelgianBoy Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 The doctor used dry ice on a few spots on my hand (I think they are called 'solar keratoses') and the back of my legs Artie, Need to have that doen soon as well..... how is that done ? Just the dried ice, no injections whatever ? I have dozens on my 2 hands BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nervous_Dog Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 Lquid Nitrogen stuff my mum describes, but I too now want too know? DOG Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCgringo Posted January 14, 2005 Report Share Posted January 14, 2005 mine was a real operation , in the operating room , I think it matters how far it has progressed OC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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