Skin cancer - don't delay

The COVID pandemic was difficult in many ways for many people. One of the aspects for myself was that I delayed some medical things which I now know was a mistake. If you are uncomfortable with pictures of medical wounds then skip those at the end of this.

Normal I wouldn't say much about medical items in a blog entry since it makes me very self-conscious. I'm making an exception for this since it could help others to decide to get checkups and prevent them from going through the same issues.

Late last year I decided to start getting some checkups and one of those was for skin cancer.  This wasn't my first checkup but it had been sometime since the previous one.  At that November checkup, I ended up getting multiple biopsies done.  One of those biopsies came back as basal cell carcinoma on my nose.  The good news is this is much easier cancer to treat than some others. 

I was quickly scheduled for a Mohs surgery in early December. That surgery involves repeatedly removing skin layers and testing for cancer.  So you go into the surgical office and they numb up the area and remove a layer.  You then sit in a waiting room while they test it.  If it comes back cancer free then you are done.  If the sample still contained cancer then you immediately repeat that process.  I'm under the impression that 1-3 surgical rounds are normal. It took 3 rounds to get all my cancer. Once done, they use some sort of laser to cauterize the area to stop any bleeding.

The numbing method involved injecting lidocaine at a number of spots surrounding the target area for the surgery. This was a little uncomfortable but not even close to passing kidney stones.  With this numbing method, this is an outpatient surgery and you remain awake during it.  I think I was at the surgical office for about 4 hours.

The cauterization was a bit difficult for me.  Another patient had mentioned it in the waiting room beforehand so I was a bit prepared. The nose area is very sensitive, bleeds easily and my blood had been thinned a bit for other stuff. It took them some time to get the bleeding under control.

I was pretty worn out by the end up surgery but needed cosmetic surgery to cover the hole.  I went back to the surgeon the next day and she ended up doing a skin graft. She took skin from slightly above the area and shifted it down over the wound.

It has been about 6 weeks since the graft. Every week or 2 I go back in to get the area looked at.  It seems to be healing well but the resulting scab is still there.  I'm supposed to keep Vaseline and a bandage on it most of the time. As of the last follow-up appointment, I'm supposed to soak/wet the area with a rag or gauze for 20 minutes a day. Hoping that it will come off cleanly before the next 2-week appointment.

Here I am after the initial surgery but before the skin graft. It felt like I could store a couple dimes in the wound.

The below picture is immediately after the graft was done.

This picture represents most of the 6 weeks after the stitches were removed and the initial swelling went down. 

I'm supposed to put Vaseline on the area and keep it bandaged. Our "medical kit" was original put together when our kids were young.  Our kids are adults now.  I was desperate for a bandage this day before going to a followup appointment.  I got a few looks, smiles and maybe a few laughs at the surgeons office.

Before going in for surgery, some friends from up north gave me some ideas for my resulting "nose job". I touched up a photo to represent one of my friends ideas for me.  The "blue nose" is from some fish picture.  

I hope your day is blessed and your family is healthy!

Scott