Cat: 2, Cancer: 1
Jan. 30th, 2015 12:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
willowispI managed not to have breast cancer (Confirmed via 3D mammogram and breast MRI) or ovarian (Confirmed via biopsy after my surgery on 19 January 2015).
One thing I forgot to mention, and I may go back and add to the re-introduction post, is that I had a severe infection in my right foot which ended up involving hospitalization and removal of part of the bone in my middle toe. I've spent most of September-December healing over the wound(s) the infection left on my right foot. Part of this involved, for the most part, seeing a podiatrist on a weekly basis.
About two years ago, what looked like a birthmark appeared on my left foot. It was small, round, and dark enough brown that it looked black. Last year or so it began to change, lightening in color and becoming slightly raised. Closer to when I had the infection in my other foot it began looking as if it was bubbling up. I mentioned it to the podiatrist several times, but she was more concerned with getting the wound(s) from the infection under control.
In mid-January I had a final appointment just to confirm the wound(s) had healed to the point of no longer needing to be watched. She took a more intense look at the thing on my left foot and decided to do a biopsy, which occurred a few days later. My followup was yesterday on the ten day mark, at which point she was to remove the stitch and review the biopsy results with me.
The stitch removal was painless and quick, but when she tried to access the results online, she found out that there weren't results yet. She left me to deal with another patient while her nurse tried to contact the biopsy people. I'm guessing the sample fell behind a filing cabinet or something, because while I sat and knitted more of Andy's scarf, I overheard the nurse saying they were working on the sample at that moment. The podiatrist sent me home and I went to The Yarn Store at Nob Hill, my home away from home, to hang out.
When I got home there was a message on the machine from the podiatrist, saying the results were back, but she wasn't going to be in the office for the rest of the day or today. After waffling for a bit she left her cell phone number and asked me to call her. I began the game of phone tag and decided to take a nap. She called back and asked if I was sitting down, then told me it was melanoma. She had been expecting a wart, or possibly squamous cell or basal carcinoma. The actual diagnosis blindsided her, and she wanted me to know as soon as possible.
She believes she is the most qualified to excise the melanoma given its location on the foot and the fact that she's a podiatrist, but she also wants to consult some oncologists to make sure she does due diligence. She said it's superficial at this point, but that it should be operated on in the not-too-distant future. I'm inclined to wait at least until after my birthday, which is Tuesday of next week. I'm not sure whether this will be an office procedure or a hospital one and, if the latter, if I will need to wait longer to finish up healing from the surgery on January 19th. I'm also not sure if she planned on calling the oncologist(s) today or waiting until she's back in the office on Monday.
More updates as events warrant.
One thing I forgot to mention, and I may go back and add to the re-introduction post, is that I had a severe infection in my right foot which ended up involving hospitalization and removal of part of the bone in my middle toe. I've spent most of September-December healing over the wound(s) the infection left on my right foot. Part of this involved, for the most part, seeing a podiatrist on a weekly basis.
About two years ago, what looked like a birthmark appeared on my left foot. It was small, round, and dark enough brown that it looked black. Last year or so it began to change, lightening in color and becoming slightly raised. Closer to when I had the infection in my other foot it began looking as if it was bubbling up. I mentioned it to the podiatrist several times, but she was more concerned with getting the wound(s) from the infection under control.
In mid-January I had a final appointment just to confirm the wound(s) had healed to the point of no longer needing to be watched. She took a more intense look at the thing on my left foot and decided to do a biopsy, which occurred a few days later. My followup was yesterday on the ten day mark, at which point she was to remove the stitch and review the biopsy results with me.
The stitch removal was painless and quick, but when she tried to access the results online, she found out that there weren't results yet. She left me to deal with another patient while her nurse tried to contact the biopsy people. I'm guessing the sample fell behind a filing cabinet or something, because while I sat and knitted more of Andy's scarf, I overheard the nurse saying they were working on the sample at that moment. The podiatrist sent me home and I went to The Yarn Store at Nob Hill, my home away from home, to hang out.
When I got home there was a message on the machine from the podiatrist, saying the results were back, but she wasn't going to be in the office for the rest of the day or today. After waffling for a bit she left her cell phone number and asked me to call her. I began the game of phone tag and decided to take a nap. She called back and asked if I was sitting down, then told me it was melanoma. She had been expecting a wart, or possibly squamous cell or basal carcinoma. The actual diagnosis blindsided her, and she wanted me to know as soon as possible.
She believes she is the most qualified to excise the melanoma given its location on the foot and the fact that she's a podiatrist, but she also wants to consult some oncologists to make sure she does due diligence. She said it's superficial at this point, but that it should be operated on in the not-too-distant future. I'm inclined to wait at least until after my birthday, which is Tuesday of next week. I'm not sure whether this will be an office procedure or a hospital one and, if the latter, if I will need to wait longer to finish up healing from the surgery on January 19th. I'm also not sure if she planned on calling the oncologist(s) today or waiting until she's back in the office on Monday.
More updates as events warrant.
