Squamous Part Deux

On Tuesday June 18, Dr. Ting removed the tiny carcinoma from my left cheek. The procedure only required one pass--to remove cancerous tissue to be examined under the microscope. When Dr. Ting returned from the lab, he asked me if I wanted to see the incision ("excision" is more precise). I normally prefer to be involved in my own care as much as possible, but I didn't have the heart to see the results.

A soft paper cloth draped over my face caused me the most discomfort. The purpose of the cloth was to keep the wound sterile. Feeling smothered is a personal quirk of mine, but it was no big deal, and no pain whatsoever was involved otherwise.

Stitching the wound required more time than anything else, partly because the skin needed further cutting to compensate for the gap made by the vacant hole. Dr. Ting made some sketches of potential cuts he could make as part of Mohs procedure that I previously described.

Here are Dr. Ting's sketches:


Holy guacamole, Batman! Can't you just spackle the hole, instead of making it bigger?

I'm usually a control freak about my medical care. But since my dismay about getting my face cut made it difficult for me to picture minimal scarring, I asked Dr. Ting to do what he thought best. Mohs procedure is a bit bizarre. The idea of making a relatively big incision in order to keep scarring to a minimum is hard to grasp. You can judge for yourself whether you think it works or not by viewing the photos below.

The biggest problem in dealing with skin cancer has been the inconvenience of the surgery and the $2000-deductible I have on my medical insurance policy. Once I removed my bandage a few days later, I looked like Frankenstein's distant, distant cousin.

Day 6 before my office visit:


I suffered no discomfort, getting the stitches removed. I had opted not to take antibiotics for this procedure. And when I found out that the topical antibiotic ointment was $48 a tube, I did not buy the prescription. I kept the wound very clean and used the topical ointment that Dr. Ting gave me.

Day 6 after the removal of my stitches:


In two weeks I return to Dr. Ting to get more moles and precancerous bumps off my skin that are typical to baby boomers who worshipped the sun when we were young, especially here in California.

If anyone reading this gets skin cancer, I'd try not to worry. A melanoma is more likely to cause problems than a squamous cell carcinoma or a basal cell carcinoma. Early detection of all of these is the key. It is definitely time to wear a hat when I go for a hike, play a game of golf, or work in the yard.

Dr. Ting swears by sunscreen with an SPF rating of 50 or higher. He also recommends that I get a chemical peel to remove other recancerous marks on my face. I will research both these topics and post what I decide here on this blog.