Gone

My skin cancer is gone. Gone like a freight train, gone like yesterday. The doctor got it on the first cut.

I have pictures but I’ll spare you. I did email them to a friend in the medical field but she hasn’t given me her reaction yet. I don’t know if she laughed or was grossed out. I’ll bet she laughed.

Why can’t every doctor and hospital be as patient-focused as this place is? I have never had such a positive experience in a medical setting. From the person at the reception counter to the surgeon tech who got things started to the surgeon who did the procedure to the tech who wrapped things up, each person was friendly, positive, fully explained every step of the process and patiently answered my questions from the most serious to the goofiest. And the doctor did a follow-up phone call this evening to see how I was feeling.

So how am I feeling? Good, all things considered. The anesthetic wore off mid-afternoon and now my forehead alternates between itching and hurting. Tylenol helps a lot.

This experience is fairly routine and although all cancers are serious, this one is the least serious. I have friends and family who have and do go through far more difficult medical situations, dealing with everything from breast cancer to heart disease to diabetes to depression to a rare condition called neurofibromatosis; all of those things are worse than what I went through today. I am grateful for their emotional support and they know they can count on me if they ever need the same.

So I’ll go now. I want to read the brochure one more time to see how long I have to wait before I can have a glass of wine. Cheers!