Surgery

Three days post-surgery.

Monte recently had a little work done on his nose. A procedure called Mohs Surgery was performed on his schnoz to remove a common type of skin cancer called basal cell carcinoma. The surgery went really well and he's on the mend, despite the shiner and the bandage. (I'll spare you the view without the bandage... which is covering 12 stitches and a long incision.)

This little detour caught us off guard. But it's a lesson we can all learn from.

We noticed the spot a few months ago... it was small and innocuous, just a red spot at first. Eventually, it started to look like a scab that wouldn't heal. It lingered. I nagged. Monte had it looked at. A biopsy came back positive. Hearing that word is unsettling... I don't ever want to feel comfortable with the word "cancer" no matter how common it might be.

As I understand it, the damage was done to his skin years ago. Back when as a youngster, applying sunscreen wasn't a high priority. Back when the cancer thing wasn't something that people gave much thought to.

Now we know. We liberally apply creams and lotions; we wear hats. This summer we'll take extra care to ensure that the little people are protected from the sun.

The doctor told us that for most men, skin cancer presents itself as an ingrown hair that doesn't want to heal. For women, a stubborn blemish. Many times, it's a spouse that notices the spot and urges a doctor's visit. If that sounds familiar to you... don't wait, see your doctor.

We feel very lucky that the outcome was successful... we'll take extra care in the summer sun and I hope you will too.