I’ve written in the past about the importance of getting screened for colon cancer and for prostate cancer. There’s another form of cancer that entails screening without any sort of inserting.
I grew up years before parents began coating their kids in SPF 5000. As a result, I had more than a few sunburns, along with annual summer-long tans that didn’t fade until Thanksgiving. I’ve tried to balance that out as an adult by getting so little sun that I actually ended up with a Vitamin D deficiency.
Still, I worry that the damage has been done. I’m constantly on the lookout for any suspicious moles or marks or bumps.
Eight days ago, I noticed a discoloration on the side of my cheek. It was pink and it was raised and thanks to my smart phone’s camera magnification feature it looked like it was ready to body slam Godzilla. I quickly progressed through the “it’s nothing” to “maybe it’s something” to “it’s nothing” to “I bet it’s something” to “no, it’s nothing” to finally resolving to get it checked. So I texted my dermatologist and set up an appointment for Monday.
He instantly told me what it was (all I can remember is “not cancer”), and we agreed that I’ll get the thing removed via liquid nitrogen blast during the upcoming PFT Live hiatus.
Good. Great. Back to work.
But then he said, “While you’re here, we should check your back,” explaining that “a little paranoia can save lives.” So I shrugged and pulled up my shirt, confident that there’s nothing back there that would be problematic. He quickly reviewed the scattering of moles and then he paused when he got to the lower right side of my back and said something that made me immediately think, “Great. Here we go.”
He’d found an abnormal mole -- maybe 3 millimeters in diameter -- that gave him concern because he couldn’t see skin lines in the surface of the thing. He thought it could be melanoma.
Within a minute or two, after I successfully avoided having my bladder and/or bowels release right in the middle of his office, he’d stuck a needle in my back (I felt it) to numb the area and then shaved the thing off (I didn’t feel it) for testing.
I pressed him to be candid because I’d prefer to know as much as possible, as soon as possible. He said he was 80 percent certain that it’s nothing. I was hoping for much better odds.
He could tell I was going to be out of sorts until the answer came, so he expedited the testing and he said he’d text me with the results on Thursday. I knew it was going to be a long three days.
On Monday, I spent way too much time researching melanoma and the treatment of its various stages. I learned a lot about the importance of catching it and removing it before the cells begin their silent journey inward, ending up in all sorts of places that are far removed from the skin and doing far more damage than a mole should be able to do. I felt stupid for not having my back checked more frequently.
So Monday became Tuesday and Tuesday became Wednesday and Wednesday became Thursday and after PFT Live on Thursday I checked my phone every three minutes from 9:00 a.m. ET to 4:30 p.m. ET for a text that either said “you’re fine” or “you’re not fine.” Then, after 4:30 p.m. ET, I went through 20 minutes of debating whether to text him, convinced that it was bad news and that he was delaying letting me know.
Eventually, I texted. And then I tried not to obsess over how long it would take for him to respond. Not long after I sent the text, he did: No melanoma.
Moving forward, my wife will be check my back once per month, and I’ll be visiting the dermatologist twice per year for formal screening.
Everyone out there should do the same, especially if (like me) you’re on the wrong side of 40 or (also like me) on the wrong side of 50. Get checked by a doctor at least once per year, and get your back checked by someone who has the misfortune of living with you once per month.
Some of you will say I should #sticktofootball, but If only one person out there decides to get checked and finds an early stage melanoma that is quickly cured, the past three days of worrying about it will have been well worth it.