Lip Cancer

I went to see my dermatologist yesterday and she confirmed that the sore on my bottom lip is skin cancer. I had sort of expected this but it still rocked me to my roots to hear it. She sprayed it once again with liquid nitrogen and then gave me a prescription for Aldara ($190) to use starting on July 25th. Apparently that gives my poor lip time to shrink a bit (hopefully) from the spraying.

The Aldara is wickedly painful. I used it a few years ago on a few spots on my chest and had to discontinue it because it actually felt like applying acid to my skin. I'm supposed to apply it 3 times a week for 2 weeks and then daily for 8 weeks. As I recall, I couldn't even tolerate it for a week when I used it before so this scares me to death.

At the end of the treatment there is a chance that any remaining skin cancer will have to be cut out and that's another big problem. Depending on the size of the cut, reconstructive surgery might be necessary. I can't put to words how frightening this is to me but it's something I have to deal with and that's that. It's also a strong incentive to be brave enough to hang in through the whole 10 weeks of treatment with the Aldara.

When I look back on how I have become afflicted with various skin cancers, I can pinpoint it to two things...sailing and tanning beds. I didn't use the tanning beds very often but we had a sailboat for many years and I got lots of sunburns during that time. Too late we get smart!

P.S. I forgot to mention that I've lost my appetite and that only happens when I'm very, very upset. Not that I want to remain very, very upset, but it would be nice if this scare at least took a few pounds off me.