Tuesday, July 12, 2011

NYR 7-12-11 -a little visit to the dermatologist

Today I had an appointment at the dermatologist's. I was going for a routine skin cancer checkup but had a specific concern about this little white scaly thing that had been on my lip since our trip to Sao Paulo in April when we spent a week at our favorite beach and where I may or may not have regularly applied the 50 SPF lip balm that I normally use.

That little scaly thing turned out to be a keratosis from sun damage and it was removed by freezing with nitrogen.

O.U.C.H.

The doctor told me a blister would form and then heal up. I informed the doctor before the freezing that I was traveling to Washington, DC on Sunday and asked would it be healed by then. He laughed and said it would look like an awful fever blister by Sunday. Yay for me.

When I suggested that we wait until after Washington and our subsequent trip to the mountains and our subsequent trip to the beach, the doctor said we were doing it today so we could see if we needed to do it again.

I think I have a pretty high pain tolerance, but I have to tell you that this really, really hurt. Like laser surgery was nothing compared to this. Like it better work or else I'll pick the keratosis off with my fingernails to avoid more freezing.

I kind of have an Angelina Jolie bottom lip right now. Well not really, but a girl can pretend right? Now I just wait for the ugly fever blister part to form so it'll fall off and heal up.

(On a related note, I have been studying actinic keratosis on the internet and on The Skin Cancer Foundation's webpage devoted to this diagnosis, some of the photos are provided by my doctor, who was also my father's dermatologist, and who has elevated status at the West household for his extraordinary love and devotion to the dermatological game.)

For great doctors and ridding myself of what could be a pre-cancerous growth, I am most assuredly truly thankful (even if I'm going to have a disgusting lip malfunction when I see my husband on Sunday for the the first time in 3 weeks).

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