The Best Christmas Present Ever!

My Christmas present came a little early this year. Actually it arrived this past Monday in the form of a voice mail message on my cell. The message began, "This is Robin from Dr. Levine's office and he asked me to call and let you know that your melanoma has been completely removed." I was so elated. What an awesome gift! I had an appointment to see Dr. Levine today (Friday) to have him check the incision and share the results from the wide excision done of a melanoma I had on my back, so getting the news 5 days early was such a relief.

Back on the 14th I posted about my experience with having the wide excision done during what I thought was going to be a consultation. Quite the shock. To read about that experience and how I discovered the mole in the first place, click here.

I posted about that experience and I'm sharing the good news now for three reasons. First, runners have a higher incident of skin cancer than the average non-runner because of our exposure to the sun. I knew this before discovering I had melanoma, but never really took it seriously. "It won't happen to me. I don't have any family history of skin cancer. I'll put on sun screen next time." I even blogged about the higher chance of skin cancer in runners. But when it came to practicing what I was preaching, I fell short. It took a brick falling on my head (actually a mole on my back) to wake me up to the seriousness of sun exposure.

Second, skin cancer, when detected early, has a very high cure rate. Runners, be vigilant about regularly checking your body for moles. Know the ABCDEs of Skin Cancer.

• Asymmetry-Normal moles or freckles are completely symmetrical. If you drew an imaginary line down the center of a normal mole or spot, the two halves would be symmetrical or look the same. With skin cancer, mole or skin spots will look different on each side.
• Border-A normal mole or spot has even edges. With skin cancer, a mole or spot will have blurry and/or jagged edges.
• Color-A mole or skin spot with more than one hue is suspicious and needs to be checked by a doctor. Normal moles and/or skin spots are usually one color. This can include lightening or darkening of the mole.
• Diameter-If a mole or skin spot is larger than a pencil eraser (about 1/4 inch or 6mm), you need to have it checked out by a doctor. This even includes moles and skin spots that do not have any other abnormalities (color, border, asymmetry).
• Elevation- Elevation refers to a mole that is raised above the surface and has an uneven surface. 

Use the ABCDEs of Skin Cancer as a guide in initially evaluating moles and skin spots on your body. But if you have any doubts, GO TO THE DOCTOR! Moles may never change, they make take a long time to change, or they can change fairly quickly. My mole began to change rather quickly. Problem was I couldn't see it. It was in the center of my back. Luckily my wife noticed the sudden change.

Third, you can drastically decrease your chances of skin cancer by wearing sunblock and/or sunscreen with an spf of 15 or higher.  Cover as much exposed skin as possible and wear a hat and sunglasses. My dermatologist it trying to get me to set a new trend among runners by wearing a big floppy hat. I'm not quite to the floppy hat stage yet, but I'm definitely now a daily wearer of sunblock.

Below is a sketch showing what was involved in the wide excision done to remove the skin around the melanoma on my back, followed by two photos of the incision on my back after the procedure. The first picture shows the size of the elliptical patch of skin about 2.25" wide and 4.25" long that was removed.

An excision is different than shaving off a mole or freezing the mole off. A wide excision is done after the mole has been removed and biopsied. If the biopsy reveals skin cancer, especially melanoma, then a wide excision is often done to remove the skin from around the area of the original mole. The entire layer of skin (down to the muscle is removed. Then the site is sutured. My wide excision had at least two layers of internal sutures and then the outer skin was closed using  steri-strips (see the middle picture below).

If you have a suspicious mole, don't let the pictures above keep you from getting it checked. I can think of a 1000 things I'd rather do than have a wide excision done, but I did it. The initial shots to deaden the area were the worst of the procedure. Honestly, I didn't feel much after that. The following week, my back was a little sore and I couldn't do much twisting or turning. My clients in the studio this week were awesome and helped out with toting weights around and re-racking them for me. I only needed the pain meds the doc prescribed me once and that was just the first night and it was more to help me sleep than for intense pain.

So check those moles frequently and slather on the sunblock!! I'm a practice-what-I-preacher now!

Not Just a Statistic

“Statistic.” On the surface it’s a fairly cold word. Bland data. Heartless. Void of feeling. Just a number. About a month ago, during a doctor appointment, I became a statistic. Like a light bulb that shatters from a surge of electricity when you flip the switch, I realized that all those statistics actually represent people and suddenly, way out of left field, I was one of them.

What had begun as a routine follow-up visit at the dermatologist ended up something way beyond routine. The doc was checking to see how the medicine she prescribed for some dry skin on my face was working. She was really pleased to see it had cleared up. Upbeat and chipper, she asked if there was anything else, I needed.  I asked if she would mind taking a look at a mole on my back that my wife had encouraged me to get checked. The previous upbeat tempo of the earlier conversation came to an abrupt halt as if a thief had just walked into the room.  

After lifting my shirt, I heard nothing. Silence.  That nothingness was the thief that had crept into the examining room just a second or two earlier, stealing all the air out of the room. I couldn’t breathe. When my lungs finally expanded, I realized the doc was asking if anyone in my family had skin cancer.  I said, “Not that I know of,” but soon realized that no sound was coming out of my mouth. I eventually managed to eek out an audible, response.  She asked how long I'd had the mole.  I told her that I had noticed it about six months ago and at the time had my family doc look at it. He thought it was okay, but said to keep an eye on it. 

The mole was in the center I my back; I actually couldn’t see it. So, like so many things….out of sight, out of mind. I had forgotten about it. But earlier in the week, my wife saw me changing shirts and said, “You really need to get that checked again.”  I told this to the doc and she said, “Your wife probably just saved your life.” She had me roll over, injected the area in question with something to numb the skin and proceeded to scooped out a pretty good chunk of me to send off to the lab. She wouldn’t, couldn’t, confirm anything, but said that I’d get the results back next week from the lab.

Luckily, I didn't have to wait that long. The doc called me personally the next day. The news hit me like a brick. Melanoma. The rarest and most aggressive type of skin cancer. Numb, I asked her what the next steps were. She explained that she’d make an appointment for me with a surgeon at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Hospital in Winston Salem. They would more than likely do a more invasive removal of the skin from around the area the mole was located and possibly inject radioactive dye into the area to see if it drained to a lymph node. If it did, a biopsy would be done of the lymph node. If cancer was found in that lymph node, then the surrounding lymph nodes would be removed and probably other types of more rigorous treatments would be implemented. The phone call ended with, “Your wife really did just save your life.”

Stunned….a statistic….a number, but determined I waited for the consultation with the doc at the Cancer Center at Wake Forest Baptist Hospital. 

After a long 4 weeks, the consultation finally took place today. Well, I thought it was going to be a consultation. Turned out the doctor at the cancer center wanted to do the procedure today. A little shocked and overwhelmed, I headed to the operating room with my wife. I was a trooper and with my wife's support I did well during the surgery.

With a rather large hunk of me missing, I’m now the proud owner of a 5” incision down the center of my back. I’ll know in about a week if the tests come back negative.  As I tell my runners when in training… "Trust. Believe. CONQUER!” That’s exactly how I plan to tackle this unexpected life-bump in the road.

About a year ago, I posted on the blog an article I’d written title “Runners!Block That Sun!" never knowing I’d be writing about me. Please read that article and re-read it if you’ve already read it. Runners do tend to have a higher incidence of skin cancer. I’m proof of that. Also, check your body thoroughly (everywhere) for moles. Have your doc check them out. If you don’t have a spouse or significant other, get a running buddy to check your back. Like I said, I can’t see the spot where mine was located. Don’t let modesty keep you from finding a questionable mole. If you’re a runner, it’s probably a good idea to have your doc check your moles at least once a year.  And heed the words of wisdom my doc gave me as I left the hospital today, “You now love sun block. You will wear sun block every day. Sun Block is your best friend.”