Dermatology, We Are Doing It!

So...I took a sick day on Friday for medical appointments. I managed to drag K along with me to the dermatologist. For years now, I've been going annually to disrobe, get inspected for keratoses, and then become the recipient of some fairly harsh treatments, namely the spraying of liquid nitrogen on my face to freeze off those keratoses, which are pre-cancerous cells. If left untreated, they WILL progress to skin cancer. It's a proven fact. The damage was done in my youth. These days, I'm a proponent of sunscreen, longer sleeves, and wide brimmed hats. I just embrace my caucasian-ness. Since I have no paragraphing ability yet with blogger, I will continue to ramble on! Last year, Carrie, the dermatologist, began the exam by saying, "Have you noticed anything?" I pointed to spots on my face that I had noticed. She said, "Well, you know what comes next!" And then with no time to breathe...sh, sh. Shhh, shh..." And it does hurt. But not to the point of tears. It's not as bad as getting cortisone shots in your heels or having an HSG or a few other things I can think of. This year, she said, "Let's start with your back and then we'll look at your face last." She does a full, thorough exam, but it's quick. And right before she sprayed my face, she said, "My apologies." Of course, I had to be tough, because K was sitting right there in his first ever dermatology appointment watching my reactions. I only had two spots this year: one on the left cheek and one on my upper lip. The blister on my lip now looks like a cold sore and just like a cold sore, it's going to take about ten days to clear up. Oh joy. At least we can say she saved my life. K was more concerned about a couple of moles, but she said he "may keep those." Nothing dangerous. However, while inspecting him, she found THREE keratoses! Ouchie. I felt really bad for him, because one was on his ear--so tender. One was on his nose. The third was on his back. He's still not convinced the appointment was worthwhile, but I really like K and would like to have him NOT succumb to melanoma. Ya know? While treating us, she told us about some of the old farmers she's sees and how they have thirty or FORTY spots that need to have treated every year. I guess she sprayed this one guy like forty times and after the spots had blistered and started to scab, a friend of his said, "You know, you really need to see a dermatologist!" One time when I got sprayed, both my lead supervisor at the cave and the law enforcement ranger asked if K was treating me well! When I lived in Hawai'i, I always noticed at the beach that the locals would hang back under the palm trees in the shade. Even when they went into the water, if they were just hanging around in the water, they would keep a large, wide-brim, straw hat on at all times. Not the haoles, boy. The haoles would bake ALL DAY in the sun. I hope they're enjoying their dermatology appointments as much as I am. Years ago, my teammate, Calvan, and my friend, Sterling, both went to the doctor for moles on their ears. Both were malignant. Both had parts of their ears cut off. Both had lymph nodes removed. Calvan died and Sterling lived. Don't play around with this stuff, folks. If you keep your yearly appointment with the dermatologist, they can promise you that you will never die from skin cancer. Sounds like a deal to me! Are you still reading at this point? I'll make the eye doctor a shorter story. Later in the day, I went for my annual eye exam. For the first time EVER, my eye pressure was in normal ranges! Still on the high end, but the scores actually landed in normal ranges. We/I/They have no control over this pressure by the way. However, high pressure before has always meant "glaucoma suspect." For one day at least, I didn't get that title. I have never been to an eye exam where they did not have to give me TWO sets of dilating drops. Brown eyes don't dilate as well as blue and my brown eyes are especially stubborn. It takes longer while you're in their office and it takes longer to recover. I wasn't much good for anything until about six in the evening. Then I felt like my eyes were mostly back with me again. SO thankful for access to healthcare!!!