Super Toe update

Super toe, so named from the cape during the biopsy procedure, needs to make a reappearance.  

I downgraded the "fingertip" bandaid to a regular bandaid.  . . but I ordered more of the fingertip ones from Amazon to get just those (since I dislike the knuckle ones with the four tabs of adhesive). 

I even managed to get toe socks on with the regular bandaid:  

WOOT! toe socks return to the foot

I was feeling pretty good. The toe area still is sensitive to pulling on the skin. I haven't run on it yet. I had the biopsy on Monday and on Thursday I did yoga. The doc said I'd be able to go on Tuesday morning, but I kept waking up in the night and bumping it, so that was a no-go.  I have worked up to 7 miles walking on the treadmill and it tingles/throbs after about an hour.  

The white area is the biopsy section. I've kept it covered with Neosporin and bandaids.  

Wednesday --fifteen days after the procedure--we decided it was healed enough I could go without bandaids. This is what it looks like now.   That little spot of color at about the 1o'clock position? Yeah, it needs to come off, as well as more skin. 

A week after the biopsy I called the doc's office expecting to have had the results the Thursday or Friday before.  No results.  I called again last Thursday, the 5th, and they said the results were sent to Mayo. Hmmm. Didn't tell me why though. 

My doctor called me on Saturday --thought it was about the biopsy. Nope, it was to tell me my measles tiger test was showing the vaccine was still working.  --yeah, my doctor herself called to tell me that--on a weekend to boot! 

Tuesday of this week, the 10th, I had a message from my doctor to call her back.  EEEK!  That's never good news.  

I called back. said I was returning a call to her. She came on the line quickly, so I hope she was at the nurse's station and not in with a patient.  

The long and short. I have Melanoma. Probably from my immune-suppression medication for my colitis which can cause it--as I referenced in my earlier post about Super Toe.    

Wow. (gulp) I have skin cancer. 

Superficial Malignant Melanoma 

Apparently it was only 1/2 millimeter deep, considered small, and just "removing it should be the cure" for this, per my doc.  

The bad:   I have to get a "wide margin" of skin removed to ensure that all the melanoma cells are removed. Doc said they'll go in at least once, and probably twice more, to remove skin. 

My response:  Glad I haven't registered for any races this year (laughed). 

Dr. reply:  Oh, you can run. (cheerleader doctor). You can do this. Your race is in May?  

LOL.  I want to do a race at the end of March, plus one in May, plus one in June, and every month, but I have to be able to run without too much pain to do the training! 

So much information is available at skincancer.org

The most dangerous form of skin cancer, these cancerous growths develop when unrepaired DNA damage to skin cells (most often caused by ultraviolet radiation from sunshine or tanning beds) triggers mutations (genetic defects) that lead the skin cells to multiply rapidly and form malignant tumors.

From the American Academy of Dermatology:  

Melanoma is a type of skin cancer. Anyone can get melanoma. When found early and treated, the cure rate is nearly 100%. 

Family/medical history:  

• Melanoma runs in the family (parent, child, sibling, cousin, aunt, uncle had melanoma).

• You had another skin cancer, but most especially another melanoma.

• A weakened immune system.

Now, my "saturn" shaped spot just appeared, as far as I know. I last had a pedicure in June and nothing was said then. I've painted my nails since then and don't remember seeing any spot there. I probably hadn't done a nail job since October.

My symptom:  an itch of the toe which felt like a hangnail rubbing the other toe.  I scratched and scratched then yanked the foot up to inspect--saw the spot and was quite happy that I already had an appt with the doctor three days later for my sinus infection.  

From my dermatologist's office: "While melanoma is the least common type of skin cancer, it is by far the most dangerous."   

The Mike and I were already trying to figure out which dermatologist to head to for full body checks based on our age and what we've always heard for that.  We picked the doctor and will have our full body exams the morning of my toe excision.  

Source

More to come in March on the Super Toe saga.