FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER!

(re-run)

The other day I went to the dermatologist for the second time in two months. The physician’s assistant from the first appointment gave me a full body skin check since I’ve had melanoma. When I pointed out the strange colorless bump above my eye, she said, “I don’t do eyes. Go see the other physician’s assistant.”

Two months later, I went back.

“It looks like a plugged oil gland,” she said.

“Will you please biopsy it?” I asked.

She did, a pinch of pain, then the anesthesia, then the scrape followed by the smell of burning skin when she cauterized the wound. You can’t put a band-aid on your eyelid.

Then the phone call yesterday. Basal cell carcinoma. When did I want to come in for Mohs surgery? It would be a four-to-five-hour procedure. Every time they’d go back in for another layer, they’d have to top off the anesthesia.

It’s almost Memorial Day weekend, then my birthday, the summer in full swing. The scheduler offered a couple of dates.

“Is this the Asian doctor who did my melanoma surgery?” I asked. “She is in her thirties, I think.”

It has been four years. I couldn’t remember her name. I’ve had so many Asian doctors – heart, endocrinologist, dental, dermatology.

“No,” the scheduler said. “She works out of a different office. I’ll send a message over to that scheduler. You’ll get a phone call tomorrow.”

“I liked her. I like my scar,” I said. “She did a good job.”

Now I’m waiting to schedule. I’ll need a driver since I’ll be going home wearing an eye patch.  I’ll surely miss dancing that week. This is not going to be fun.

Damn me for wearing cheap sunglasses all these years and not the kind with UV protection.  All those summers spent outdoors. Heck, I’m still outdoors a good part of every day. I always wear a hat on dog walks, when gardening and at outdoor music venues.  I’ve been wearing a hat for 25 years.  Now I’m wearing a hat from car to store, store to car. It’s a bit late for that.

To all you fair-skinned friends, get some good UV sunglasses. Wear a hat with a brim. Ask for the biopsy.

I’m glad I did.