Well, here is the latest.
I went to the surgeon yesterday expecting to get cut on because that is what my doctor told me to expect. The surgeon was a really nice guy, but he was not going to do any cutting yesterday. The process is a little ridiculous. I understand that he would like to see me before cutting, but it is an hour and a half trip one way to see them.
He looked at where he would cut and a few other moles that he wanted to cut out. He is going to cut out a section in between my sideburns and my right eye that will be between 1/2 to 3/4 inch diameter. The stitching will pull my eye back some. He says that it will stretch back in around six to eight weeks. I never thought I would have a disfiguring scar on my face. I guess I never thought a lot of things concerning my mortality. It is sort of strange, but then I remind myself that others have it worse.
The "reassuring" information that he shared is that people that catch the melanoma at this stage have a 90% survival rate. I guess I am a cup half empty sort of guy because it made me think that I have a 10% death rate going. Strange indeed.
He also said that melanoma, the one I had, and pancreatic cancer are the two quickest and deadliest cancers. It was good that I caught mine early, but if it has spread then it will be bad news. They are going to follow up the surgery with an x-ray of my lungs and some liver tests to check if it spread before removal although they do not think that was likely. I guess the survival rate would go down a lot if that was the case.
It's this waiting period that is frustrating. I would like an all clear to go on with life or a put on your fighting armor because this is going to be tough. The slow followups get frustrating. I am still waiting for the doctor to call and schedule an appointment for the surgery.
Our prayer is still that it did not get a chance to spread before being removed or is not somewhere else on my body. It seems difficult to have faith while sitting around and doing nothing. I would much rather have faith when facing a great challenge rather than faith when sitting around.
Until I know more, I will continue to try to be a good student at school, a good worker at work, a good husband and father, and a good friend and neighbor.
