Melanoma.......GONE!!

It left the building this morning.  I thought we were talking about 15 minutes ... in ..out..done... WRONG.   The thing was about the size of a pencil eraser.... they drew an oval around it....... a BIG ASS oval!  4 inches by 2.   Thank heavens whatever they shot in my arm did a magnificent job numbing it.  I didn't even feel it when then cut out the whole thing..... and pretty damn deep too.   I now have a scar about four inches long ..lots of stitches, across my upper arm.  

I may start to get annoying... but  GET A DAMN SCAN!!!  You do NOT want to go through this ...and you CERTAINLY don't want to go through the alternative.  JUST DO IT!!

OH yeah.... I also can't lift anything with that arm for TEN days!  What a pain in the ass....Get a scan.

Glad you're doin' fine Kip. A little crusty but fine. Keep up the good work.

It's so sneaky. I never knew there was anything out of the ordinary. I just went in to get some sun damage taken off my face...damned lucky thing. GET A SCAN!!!! I don't want to lose any of you.

Congratulations! Do be sure to get routine follow-ups, including scans and even an MRI. It was melanoma that led to the discovery, by ultrasound & scans, that my wife had thyroid cancer. That is now removed and things are looking good.
You are so correct......Stay on top of it.

What a coincidence - just got checked over today, after many years of sun and fun. No problems. Dra Claudia de Lourdes - Quality Care.
Most people know that the world famous reggae artist, Bob Marley, died in his mid thirties from cancer. What many people do not know is that he had a black spot under his big toenail. He assumed it was a bruise from playing soccer/football in bare feet. It turns out that it was a rare form of melanoma. The doctors wanted to amputate his toe - he said (something like)" The Lord Jah delivered me to this earth as I am - I am not mean't to be leaving anything behind". So it gradually metasized over his whole body, and he died when it reached his throat.

I was teasing my elderly mother the other day, she is fair haired and fair skin - but loved baking in the sun. She had a malignant melanoma removed in her late 50's. A lot nastier than your because they left a 1 inch deep hole, about 2 inches across. Only after 1 year would they abrade it and stitch it up.When she moved to Puerto Vallarta, when she was about 62, she started tanning again, I reminded her what the doctors had warned. She said "it takes about 7 years to develop a melanoma, and I 'll probably be dead of old age by then". Now she is 84! Her father, my grandfather lived to 97.

Glad to hear it!!  Yeah...they go deep... I just took a quick peek but it looked about an inch deep.  Looked like a gunshot wound...on the way OUT!!!    Just glad she got it.. it's done... and I'll never go more than three months without someone who's qualified  taking a gander.

Been there, done that 27 years ago. Caught it in a routine dermatology check. Scars on my back that make me look like runner up in a hatchet fight. But no reoccurrence in 27 years. Annual follow ups!

Wow, glad all you guys have cured your melanoma. I have friends who weren't so lucky. Or maybe they weren't so diligent. Good for you.

Go Kip! I will make an appt for a more thorough screening, my current derm guy is not thorough enough for me and it's been nagging at me to find another one and get another check. Thank you!

Hey Kip - when you are well healed - you will have to get a tattoo which compliments your scar. Maybe a shooting star, or something like that.