Faye went with me to the cancer clinic today so I could find out if radiation would be done on my lip. The doctor (old and cute) said that the skin cancer was a small one (looks big to me, though) and he would do 20 daily radiation treatments on it which will take a month to complete. I am so happy!
Apparently you can only receive radiation once so if the skin cancer returns in that spot (10% chance) it would have to be removed surgically. He is only going to treat the sore on the one side of my lip and not the whole lip because the right side is only pre-cancerous. It might never get any worse but I'll need to watch it and, if it does become skin cancer, then that part of my lip can receive radiation treatments.
This whole summer has been a sort of misery for me because of this lip and the original treatment (Aldara) that I suffered through. This was supposed to be my "easy" summer but it didn't turn out that way. I guess I should thank my lucky stars that I'm only dealing with a skin cancer that has such a high cure rate and not something deadlier, though.
One other thing that I am very thankful for is our Canadian health care system which, although sometimes imperfect, has been a godsend to me this summer. My dermatologist probably did what she thought was best for me (but it wasn't), my family doctor quickly referred me to the cosmetic surgeon who, in turn, quickly had the skin cancer biopsied. Quickly again, he made the decision that I might be better off having radiation treatments and he referred me to the cancer clinic. I was in there 3 working days later. Don't ever let anyone tell you that our health care system isn't damn good for the citizens of this country. And don't expect perfection because that doesn't exist anywhere.
Anyway, a weight has been lifted from my shoulders and I feel as though I can easily deal with what is to come. Oh yes, they weighed me at the clinic and I've only lost a couple of pounds over the summer. I didn't let a sore lip stop me from eating!
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