My journey with squamous cell carcinoma began about a year and a half ago with an injury my good friend, Stacey, named John Mayer. We joked for quite a while about it, but who knew it would be the start of numerous procedures and biopsies and even a surgery.
I should probably explain how Stacey came up with the name, John Mayer. Four of us went to the John Mayer concert in Indianapolis. We were leaving early to avoid the crowd and were cutting across the parking lot and had to swing our legs over some guardrails. Well I didn’t clear one of them and felt my shin hit. I didn’t realize until we got back to the hotel that my leg was bleeding because blood was showing through my jeans. Stacey and I got it bandaged up and I really didn’t give it a thought until it didn’t heal and instead grew into what looked like a mini volcano over the next few weeks.
I went to my family doctor and they said they had never seen anything like it. Let me tell you, you don’t get a warm, fuzzy feeling when you hear that. They biopsied it and called me later saying it was squamous cell carcinoma. They referred me to a dermatologist who then cut it out and stitched it up. That was just the beginning. For some reason I’ve been just unlucky enough to have squamous cell carcinomas grow out of the incisions. At one point I had two growths and my dermatologist decided I should see a surgeon. It actually ended up being same day surgery, getting put under, the whole deal. I still remember sitting on the bathroom floor and taking the bandage off several days after the surgery, talking to Jeremy on the phone, and crying because the incision was so much bigger than I thought. I should mention that all of the growths ended up being on my left shin, well almost. And then the incision wouldn’t heal. Again, call me lucky, but I have what’s called venous hypertension. Basically, I don’t have good circulation in my lower legs so I had to wear compression hose for what seemed like months.
I began to dread going to the dermatologist, although they have all been awesome. I dreaded the numbing shots. I dreaded the stitches. At one point my dermatologist referred me to Dr. Lim for the Mohs procedure. I actually had to ask for Ativan because I was becoming very nervous each time I went in. My niece, Paxton, had to drive me home. My boyfriend, Jeremy, had to take me several times. My mom even had to drive me.
I thought I was in the clear because I went about two months without any new growths and then I noticed a spot on my left upper thigh in January. Dr. Lim removed it and stitched it up with 8 stitches. Again, it was squamous cell carcinoma. I just had the stitches removed this morning. At this moment there are no new spots or growths and I’m hoping and praying that maybe they have run their course.
But the point of this blog, besides warning you about checking yourself for spots and staying out of the sun if you aren’t wearing sunscreen, is that this has been the toughest time yet for my yoga practice. Just when I was able to get back to yoga, I would have another spot removed and another round of stitches. I’ve had to be very patient and accepting of the times and I could and couldn’t do my yoga practice. It has been a long year and a half to say the least.
Tonight, I showed up at Yoga 101 for a nice, hot yoga class that basically kicked my bootie. I can tell I am stronger on one side than the other, but I made it through the class and felt great afterwards. I am just hoping that I can continue to take classes and get stronger without anymore friends of John Mayer showing up.
Take care of your bodies my friends! This includes your skin!
