On a more serious note . . .

Recently I had a couple of moles removed and one of them came back as Melanoma. Yeah, i was kind of shocked too. I am mostly writing this post to "inspire" or encourage any of you out there that have a mole that you have been concerned about or feel like you should get it checked but haven't, to go and get it checked.

I noticed this weird mole maybe a year or two ago and thought to myself i need to go get it checked. But not until recently did i make the call to a dermatologist. Thankfully for me my husband, who has a friend with a very serious case of Melanoma, made me make the call after learning how scary melanoma can be. I am so glad i went in when i did!

So I went in and had a full body scan by the dermatologist, and she noticed two moles that looked atypical, and would need to be tested. She removed those moles on a later date. This past friday i got the call from my Dermatologist telling me the results. I kind of knew it wasn't good news since it was her and not her nurse or something. She told me one of the moles was Melanoma and i would need to go see a Surgical Oncologist to have more tests and surgery done on the site.

When i got that call i was in shock and couldn't believe it,  i have cancer. . . . It was very humbling and i immediately had a different perspective on life, and how precious every moment is. I didn't know how bad it was and i didn't know what it all meant i was just scared. That day i was lucky enough to get to go to my wards Rough Out Camp at my parents cabin to get my mind off everything.

On the drive home i had plenty of time to think about everything. I had this weird feeling like when you have a strange dream that just makes you feel weird all day. That is how i felt, like it was all a dream. So I told myself that i didn't want to be sad or scared, i didn't want the cancer (if there was any cells left in my body) to feed off the fear. So i told myself i had to be positive and own it, take control, and for some strange reason it worked. My brain won't go to that place anymore, it won't let me think of the awful outcomes that might be. So I have been just fine and really have enjoyed my life so much since hearing the news.

Today i went to see Dr. Noyse to learn more about what is going on and what is going to happen. He told me that i have a Stage 1B melanoma. Which means i have to go in and get another surgery in the same site to take out a lot more skin to make sure there are no more cancer cells in the area. They also have to go in and take out the sentinel nodes to make sure the cancer hasn't spread to my lymph nodes. If those two surgeries come back negative (no cancer cells) i am good and will just have to go to a dermatologist every 4 months for 3 years then every 6 months for 2 years. If the skin comes back with cancer cells in it they will go in and take out more until they get a clean result. If the nodes have cancer in them, i will have to get body scans to see if there are any signs of tumors anywhere else in my body.

I am going to get these surgeries done next Wednesday and will know the results Friday.

I am honestly telling you all of this not for sympathy because i really feel positive, but to hopefully encourage you to get any moles checked by a dermatologist that you might think looks weird or different. I would also love your prayers! i am really praying that after the surgeries everything will come back negative!

I hope you don't think i am weird for posting this on my blog, i just wanted all of you to be aware, and i want all of your prayers and i feel like this is a good place to let you all know.