Learning Lessons

I learned something new yesterday and there are no pictures because I simply did not want to gross anyone out.

What I learned?  Never self-diagnose.  Back in 2002, I noticed a spot on my hand.  It was an annoying spot, all red and it would crack and bleed and then scab over with this lovely white crusty stuff.

I thought it was eczema and would put some Neosporin on it and cover it with a band-aid when it would get "out of hand."

Then sometime around the beginning of September, I read an article online about skin cancers and how to identify them.  Well, one of those big-name-scary-sounding-carcinoma's sounded and looked an awful lot like the  spot on my hand.

I was still pretty sure it was eczema BUT I decided after 9 or so years of it not spreading, not getting better and being generally annoying PLUS a friend of mine passed away in April of skin cancer, I should go get it looked at.

Yesterday was the day.  Popped into a dermatology office, met my new dermatologist (lovely lady, by the way) and she looked at it for about 5 minutes.  First?  The good news.  It does not present like skin cancer.

Did you hear my "WHEWWWWW"?

It does "present," though, like a big-ol-gobbley-gook of Latin terms & phrasing so it sounds important - wound.

Yup.  A wound.  That never healed.  Nine years I've been walking around with a glorified cut on my hand.  Dealing with the itching, the bleeding, investing in bucket-loads of Neosporin and what's the outcome?

Six weeks of some potent hand cream medication and that spot should disappear.

Notice I say should.  This doctor seems nice AND savvy...  she isn't saying anything about an absolute cure until it's cured.  She thought it a bit odd that I didn't injure my hand in any way and that the spot hasn't spread or gone away on its own in over 9 years.  So...if it's not gone in 6 weeks, I get to go back.

Because then it's not what she thinks it is...

Oh goody.  :)

I'm not even going to consider all of that, though.  I'm looking at it from the glass is 1/2 full this time.  Six weeks of applying some hefty cream to my hand and I'll be FREE.  FREE...  YAY!!!  No more pain, itching, bleeding...  Neosporin can go back to being in the medicine cabinet for my son, not me... 

That's what I'm talkin' about!!  Oh - and never self-diagnose!!