Skin Cancer Surgery

I had a skin cancer spot removed from this area last fall but it came back so today my dermatologist removed it again, hopefully for the last time.  The bandage is way oversized, of course, but there are 10 stitches under it.  My lip is swollen from the freezing and is supposed to be back to normal by tonight.  There is little pain, only discomfort as the freezing wears off but I'm prepared to take a Tylenol if it's still bothering me at bedtime.

The thing with these skin cancers is that, even when removed, some cancer cells might remain but will be destroyed by our own immune system.  This didn't happen in this case but, again, I'm hoping it's all taken care of now.

I had my first dermatologist appointment today since coming home from wintering in Florida but thought it would only be for her to see what had to be done and to schedule surgery for a month or so from now.  Luckily, she'd scheduled enough time for me today to get it done immediately.  For that, I'm thankful.  The surgery isn't a horrendous experience but the bandaging looks awful enough that I won't feel comfortable going to a restaurant and maybe not even the grocery store.  I won't know until I remove the bandaging to put my own on it on Saturday.  I know from experience that the incision won't look hideous but must be kept bandaged for protection until I get the stitches out in 2 weeks.  

My dermatologist is very good and keeps scarring down to almost invisible so I'm not worrying about that.  My only worry is that the darned thing will return and only time will tell.

I sometimes feel cursed with these skin cancers but I know that it could be much worse.  At least they're relatively curable or manageable.