Mohs Surgery

First a warning: I have added some photos that may be distasteful to some of you. I hope that they will encourage all of you to protect yourself from the suns rays. And please go see a dermatologist.


I woke up this morning anxious to get to the doctor and get this stuff out of my face. Coffee, always first on my list poured into one of my favorite mugs. Perhaps a little ironic that today it is this mug I drink from. Pink for breast cancer. But today it is my skin that we think of first.

Janice and I got to the doctor's office. We are strangely quiet. I think we both feel the stress of what today brings. We got to the office early but sat in the car, both of us quiet as we think about what will pass today.

Janice had packed a survival bag of computers and such, but I don't think she ever opened it. My appointment was scheduled for 8:00 AM as they allow for an entire day to complete the surgery. It was pretty close to 8:00 when they called me back and prepared me to see the surgeon. As I sat in the chair I stared at the light. Knowing that it would soon be shining in my eyes.

The surgeon is about my age and a very pleasant man who speaks easily about many subjects. He made sure that I understood the surgery then prepared to go to work.

Mohs surgery is done in stages. The idea is to get all of the cancer while leaving as much of the healthy cells as possible. So they start by taking a layer of skin and cells then immediately looking at it in an on-site lab. As they were preparing and looking at the first cut I went to the waiting room to sit with Janice. She was unwilling but took a photo of me as we waited for the results of step one.

The surgeon said I was lucky. As long as the cancer had been there it hadn't spread beyond what we saw. Him and I both had been prepared for a long day of steps to remove the cancer. One was all that it took. So my next session in the chair was to close it up and try to minimize the scar.

I've called my doctor a surgeon throughout this today. The truth is that he is board certified in both surgery and dermatology. So he performed the Mohs surgery, which is normally done by a dermatologist, and he performed the closure which is often done by a plastic surgeon.

No matter how much I begged he couldn't make me look like Robert Redford. Janice is a little upset at that. But in time I should at least look more like myself. And he did get rid of a few of the wrinkles in between my eyes. I'm having some pain this afternoon. And it is hard to get ice anywhere close to my nose. But I feel pretty lucky right now. The cancer is gone. My face will mostly recover. And I have a lot of friends and family who have been here to help me. For that, I am the most thankful.

The chances of getting shin cancer again are increased for me. So I promise to get checked regularly. I also promise to reduce future damage by using hats and sunscreen. I hope you will all do the same. For no matter how much fun I made this seem, it wasn't fun. Not at all.