New Adventure - Skin Cancer

I'm sitting at the doctors office ready for my surgery - removal of a "Squamous Cell"!  My appointment is for 9 AM & the procedure may take from 3-5 hours depending on the extent of the cell.

The surgery is called - Mohs Surgery.  They go in and remove the cancer cell layer, by layer.  Take out a small section, analyze, and then go back again until there is not cancer left!

Here we go.........

OK, back from my first round!  Less than one hour and feeling light headed!  (This is always an issue for me, but it helps to be typing!)  First, they took my blood pressure and all the normal nurse stuff.  Doctor came in and started - seemed to last about 15 minutes.

First numbed the area.  Then, the doctor drew a circle around the problem area.  I heard a scrapping sound & a cutting sound,  NO PAIN!  The nurse then told me I would hear a few beeps & it felt like a burning feeling & sensation.

Went to the waiting room to wait for next step!

11:30 AM - Round 2 finished!
Had my second cut.  Feel better, as far as light headedness!  They found more and were concerned with more areas.  Doctor was happy I was having PDT treatment & will be looking for more cancer areas.  Will be going back again for more information in round 3!

The PDT Treatment will be on November 19th.  Here is what I found out about PDT:

What is photodynamic therapy?

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a treatment that uses a drug, called a photosensitizer or photosensitizing agent, and a particular type of light. When photosensitizers are exposed to a specific wavelength of light, they produce a form of oxygen that kills nearby cells (1–3).

Each photosensitizer is activated by light of a specific wavelength (3, 4). This wavelength determines how far the light can travel into the body (3, 5). Thus, doctors use specific photosensitizers and wavelengths of light to treat different areas of the body with PDT.

This will be another way to treat the problem areas!

1:30 PM - Finished - stitches & glue
Finished the process, stitched under the skin & glued above the skin.  The incision was about 3 inchesin length.  Will keep the bandage in for 24 hours & remove tomorrow!  Anxious to see what it looks like! Of course, concerned about the incision, but hope for the best!

The doctor was a 1983 graduate of the school I taught at!  It is amazing how many ex-students I have run into in my medical adventures!!

Here are the next steps:
1 - Oct 24th - Follow up for this procedure
2 - Nov 19th PDT treatment of entire face area
3 - Dec 16th - surgery for the Basil Cell
4 - Jan 7th - 2nd PDT treatment