Been learning a lot since my skin cancer diagnosis

This is the second in at least a three-part series about my journey with skin cancer.

After getting the reaction I had received from several medical professionals, I was pretty resigned to the fact that the biopsy taken by a Roswell dermatologist was going to come back positive for cancer. A week later, it did.

The doctor told me the lesion on the top of my head, right in my bald spot, was positive for a type of skin cancer called squamous cell carcinoma. It is the second-most common form of skin cancer and one of the biggest differences from the most common form, called basil cell carcinoma, is that it can travel to other parts of the body if not found and treated early.

That’s not great news but it is not melanoma, which is the least common and most likely form of skin cancer to be fatal. I guess I’m not home free but caught in time, squamous cell cancer is usually treated successfully in more than 90% of patients.

The doctor said I needed surgery to have it removed as soon as possible and I agreed I wanted what I’ve been playfully referring to as the “booger on my noogin” gone with great dispatch. So she began working on a referral to another dermatologist who could do the surgery in Lubbock.

Soon I heard from that dermatologist’s office and I chose a date within two weeks. That makes it fall on the morning after this column was due to my editor. By the time you’re reading this the surgery will have occurred and I’ll catch you up in next week’s column.

I’ve learned that the type of surgery they’ll perform is called Mohs surgery, named after the guy who perfected it. They’ll draw a roadmap of where they intend to whittle, then they’ll deaden the area with a local anesthesia and begin taking small slices. Each slice will then be examined carefully under a microscope for signs of cancer. They’ll keep taking slices until they find cancer free tissue or until just before it becomes brain surgery.

OK, I made that last bit of levity up, but you get the point. They only want to take as much tissue as is necessary to get rid of the cancer.

The part that sounds like the least fun is closing up this hole in my head. I’m guessing that will take sutures and even if I can’t feel them going in, I bet they’ll be uncomfortable later.

While this is in the bald patch on my head, I’ve always been careful about wearing a hat outside. One of the reasons for adopting my now trademark Aussie crusher felt hat was to protect that spot and the rest of my face from burning. I had watched my Granddad Ruby struggle with having skin cancers cut off and burned off. I didn’t like that idea but I inherited his complexion. Between him and my dad smoking as I grew up, I decided I never wanted that habit and never even tried it.

As this episode has developed I’ve remained pretty calm about it because I know how treatable it can be. I won’t lie and tell you I have no worries though.

Did we get to it early enough? Will I have more struggles with skin cancer down the road? Why am I having a hard time with my insurance just when I need it most?

Maybe the brightest part so far has been when I learned my doctor was Richard Hope. I figure if my late wife sent me a rainbow (last week’s column) and my doctor is Dr. Hope, this is bound to turn out well.

Karl Terry writes for Clovis Media Inc. Contact him at:

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