Update

Hello all...1 week after my surgery and I am stitch free. I now have these tiny little band aids glued to my face to help keep the incision together for a bit longer. The surgery part was not fun. They used the mohs method which means they took as much as the though they needed to...came back and had to cut some more and than stitched me up and sent me home. The painkillers and I were not friends. Made me sick to my stomach etc. The biggest issue was that I sleep with my hand on the left side of my face...so I ended up not being able to do that...not sleeping well...taking tylenol pm...and being all foggy for a couple days. So all in all I keep my status as MAJOR WIMP and am hoping that the cut on my face heals to a nice thin line. I am now lucky enough to get to stand in front of my dermatalogist in my underwear to get checked over on an annual basis. My guess is that will move to a frequency of every 6 months. So thank you for letting me be my dramatic self and sending all the well wishes. I am glad that is over and I am sure all of you are too :)

Squamos Cell Carcinoma

So I have been pigmentally challenged my whole life. I guess you are or you aren't when it comes to that...To add to the lack of melanin in my skin I also have the red hair and freckles that accompany being high risk for skin cancer...but of course somehow it is still a shock now to be told that I have a skin cancer that I have to have surgery to remove. Not major surgery, of course...but any surgery is major to me. We have decided not to tell Bennett what is going on. I feel bad because when I go to get it removed on the 30th of the month I will come home with stitches. We originally thought the spot was a cyst and we have decided to stick with that story. Bennett has a touch of anxiety and Mark and I decided this wouldn't help ease him mind...

The type of skin cancer I have is called a squamos cell carcinoma. It is non-melonoma which I think means it doesn't spread to my organs or anything like that but only to my skin. It is very common and they will be using the mohs method to make sure they get it all during the minor surgery. Basically mohs method means, they cut, they check to make sure it is a clean cut...if it isn't clean, they cut some more.

So that is the news from the Lanier house at the moment. I will keep you posted if there is anything more to report.