Chapter 4: Mohs Surgery

Today was filled with mostly good news and good things with only minor downsides.

The short version: They cut it out and I'm mostly in the clear now.  Thanks to everyone who has given me support and helped me out.


The longer version:
It turns out that it was Basal Cell Carcinoma, the bad side was that it was "Infiltrative Basal  Cell Carcinoma."  What that ended up meaning was a few things:

1. It was a lot bigger than they originally thought.
2. There  is "only" a 96% cure rate rather than a 99.7% for standard Basal Cell.
3. If it does recur, it will most likely be another case of cutting it out of the skin.

So I was in the clinic for more than six hours getting cut and waiting while they analyzed the cuttings.
By the time they were done, it was a pretty sizable hole on the side of my face and neck.
They stitched it up pretty well, but it will be a noticeable scar.

They said the analysis indicated that it didn't go deeper than the dermis (thick parts of the skin), just that it went wide.

Thanks to everyone for their support and well-wishes.
Apologies to everyone with "Real Cancer" that had to deal with me freaking out over this.

Here are some pictures:
Warning: Some of these are graphic

At this point my major life change is that I'll need to see the dermatologist regularly to check for other skin cancer sites or recurrence of this one.
I'll take it!