In Which I Get Burned

I committed to blog about this before I ever had the experience, and then it didn't turn out to be as exciting as I thought it would. I hate to break a promise though, so I think I might be able to turn it into a soapbox opportunity.

Last time I was in the doctor's office for a physical, he told me I had a mole that needed to be in a jar, as opposed to on my arm, where it had been living quite peacefully for some time, thank you very much. I took my time making a return appointment. I'd rather have a mammogram (which I did) than go under the knife. I also foolishly pointed out two spots, one on my face and the other on my chest, that looked suspicious. He said we could take care of all of them at the same time. Yay.

Like I said, I took my time. I've seen old people with those leperous-looking scabs all over their faces, and more than one person has told me that it hurts real bad. Like I'm going to voluntarily go back and subject myself to that? I don't know what I was worried about.

So he sprayed my face and chest with some liquid nitrogen, after he gave me a tiny shot in the arm to numb the area where he was going to cut the cancerous growth out. The spraying stung a bit, but it wasn't bad at all. And then he cut the mole out, and I didn't even know he'd done anything until he said, "Leave these stitches in for two weeks, okay?" and to the nurse, "Could you put a BandAid on that? Daltongirl, have a great day!" And I said, "When are you going to take the mole off?"

So here's the soapbox:

From what I hear, cancer isn't really much fun.

If you're a woman over 40, get a mammogram. If you're over 45, have a mammogram every year. Sure, it's not a walk in the park, and sure, there's a little pain involved, but it's really not that bad. It's a five-minute ordeal that could save your life. And then you (hopefully) get to go a whole year knowing you're cancer free. And in most cases, if you're not cancer free, you get to receive treatment knowing you haven't waited too long to get a diagnosis. Also, those women who do the mammograms usually have a really fun sense of humor. I think it's part of the job description.

If you have darkened spots (like huge freckles) on your skin where you've had multiple sunburns, they probably aren't liver spots like you might think. Especially if you're young. Ask your doctor about getting them burned off. And after the hideous scabs fall off, you get to live with the knowledge that those spots aren't going to turn into melanoma.

If you have moles that are questionable, start asking questions. You can learn about how to look for possible melanoma spots here.

Ladies, for extra excitement, check out this information on when and why to get a PAP smear. You may not need one as often as you think! Oh, and while you're at it, have your daughters aged 11-26 vaccinated for HPV. Here's why. I know, you're not planning on having your fifth grader become sexually active any time soon, but there are a lot of unknowns out there that would become horrible (preventable) tragedies if they were complicated by cervical cancer and sterility. Abuse and rape are just a couple of them (one in three women is raped). I know of at least two women who are undergoing treatment for cervical cancer who were not sexually active before marriage, and have been in mutually faithful relationships with their husbands since marriage. Can you guarantee your daughter will marry someone who has never in his life been sexually active? I didn't think so. Get the vaccine.

And now, as I climb down from my box, I'll simply add that colonoscopy isn't a bad idea, either. Easy for me to say, since I'm not at risk and not over 50, but I hear it's really quite enjoyable. Also, don't smoke or chew tobacco, remember to floss, and no running with scissors. Thank you.