skin cancer of sorts.

[here]

I usually like to focus on happy things, life is too short to be bummed... but something keeps on reoccurring. Skin cancer. I don't care for it...and I also don't care for the keloid scars I get. I do like however to be cancer free after the dermatologist takes some stabs-- so that's positive! My mom has a history of melanoma (a skin cancer on moles)...so my sister and I have always been on the lookout for them. We go to the dermatologist frequently and get moles removed just in case. About 2 years ago, before my wedding I had a mole removed on my thigh that turned out to be melanoma. It was shocking. I couldn't believe the call, that as a 26 year old I had skin cancer?! I was just getting life going excited about the future not thinking about skin cancer. So I had a big ol' chunk removed from my leg... and away went the cancer. Wahoo!

Well, now I go to the dermatologist every 3 months to get my moles looked at and since then I have had two more pre-skin-cancer-ridden moles in the past couple years. And just by a fluke when I scar it becomes keloid (ie. not pretty...big pink bumpy... not a sexy fun scar). So, before excitedly birthing my first child...I have another pre-skin-cancer mole that was removed last week. But we caught it early... it wasn't a melanoma yet! Which is fantastic news. Part two is this upcoming week when I need to return to the dermatologist to get an additional chunk of tissue removed even deeper to get a clear border...then he will suture it up. But the bummer is it happens to be on my boob. Yup. Boob. I said it. Seriously...of all locations right now when I need to have a little life gain sustenance from those jugs? Close and very scary call. And not to mention it's not a fun place to have an incision with all the stretching. But it could have been worse!

So... ladies... go to the dermatologist!! Better to be alive with scars than not alive at all (that's what matt tells me all the time when I complain about my scars).

And that concludes my soap box.