Life saving change

This post is not about spanking sorry, so if you want to head off to others that's fine with me.  This is a very important topic though,  so hopefully it helps someone out there in blogland.

As of tomorrow Wednesday, 20th January I've been five years cancer free.  This is a huge milestone for my family and I.  So I tend to get on my soap box around this time every year in the hope that I can at least get through to someone how important this subject can be.  Posting this today as Bear is taking me out to celebrate tomorrow.

Over five years ago I was attending our lovely male family doctor.  My grandchildren used to play with what  they called Nanny's chocolate spot on my leg and tried desperately to pick it off.  It was so funny to watch them doing this.  So I asked my doctor about it and his answer was "Its one of those things you get when your aging."  Mind you I would have still been in my forties at this stage, so didn't consider myself as old.  Guess to him I was though, as he would have probably been in his mid 30s, BUT what a cheek!  Anyway I didn't think anything of it after this.

UNTIL quite a few years later when I changed clinics.  I was well over due for a pap smear as hated having them done.  Don't know about any of you but they used to embarrass me. There was a nice, young student doctor I saw at the new clinic who kept reminding me to have this procedure, which I still kept putting off. She talked to me about it and said she was leaving the clinic just before Christmas so have it done as I wouldn't see her again., therefore   no need to be embarrassed.

On Christmas eve I went for my appointment and she remarked on my chocolate spot.  I told her what my previous doctor had said.  Whilst doing the pap smear she questioned me more about it and said she wanted me to see the head doctor  for an immediate second opinion.  So I was sent to him straight away and he did a biopsy.  A week later, new years eve I went back for the results.  I was really scared what the outcome was going to be.

Luckily I took Bear with me as he told me I had a malignant melanoma.  I burst into tears as thought it was a death sentence, as my mum had died from cancer.  He told Bear and I to wait in his surgery until I'd calmed down, then he would talk further with us.  So when he returned he told us it was urgent I have surgery to have further investigation and rang around all his friends to get me in ASAP. In the time between, both Bear and I were devastated thinking about the outcome. I finally went to see a surgeon and was put on a short waiting list.

On 20th January I had a huge chunk  cut out of my leg just below my right knee.  I was bandaged from the top of my leg right down to my ankle to immobilise it, which made it look way worse than it was.  When I returned to have my stitches out the surgeon said I was very lucky to have had it caught at this point as it was really deep and if left any longer could have travelled throughout my body.

I found a fantastic support group and made friends with others in the same boat.  We have all been supportive of each other through this stressful and very scary journey.  Unfortunately a lot of my friends I've made through this group have since died from their cancers travelling.   I've since had to go back for yearly skin checks, had six more biopsies which have been benign, thank goodness and count myself very lucky.  Skin cancer is known as the deadliest form of cancer in Australia.  I'm grateful to the young student doctor who was on the ball that day and took immediate action.  Otherwise I could be six feet under pushing up daisies and not here enjoying everyone's posts.. This has certainly made us appreciate life more and enjoy each day to the max.

So the moral of this post is...... Please check your skin for anything that looks suspicious and go see your doctors.  Having regular skin checks can help save your life. Also remember when going out in the sun SLIP, SLOP, SLAP AND SLIDE.   Also be careful using sunbeds or solariums.  One of my friends got her melanoma through going to solariums for a tan thinking it was safer.