My Damn Irish Skin and Giving Thanks

I guess it was inevitable… pasty Irish skin ,summers in #Rockaway beach and Sea-n-Ski sun tan lotion with an SPF of Zero, that I would end up with Skin Cancer. In a strange twist of fate it was my ‘Irish Skin’ that kind of saved me. I have Rosacea (which affects many fair-skinned people) and I needed to renew my cream. I called the office and they refused to renew the cream over the phone (because it had been too long since my last visit) they said I had to come into the office. Needless to say I was really annoyed at the idea of having to make a trip into the office for a stupid prescription.
While I was there I figured I would make the most out of my visit so I asked the Dr. to look at a few moles that I had (I was convinced that they looked like all those cancerous moles you see on posters in the office waiting room) He said they were fine, no worries. Kidding around I asked if he could do anything about this age spot on the tip of my nose. He looked at it, felt it with his finger and said “Hmmmn”.He then retrieved what I would refer to as a Jeweler’s loop ‘to get a better look’. He examined the tip of my nose under magnification for what seemed like an eternity, I was afraid to breathe (partly because I was scared and the other because I had onions for lunch and had really bad breath).He eventually walked away and I could finally exhale. He mumbled something but I wasn’t listening, I was ready to leave. He then turned around and said that “it warranted a biopsy”. (WHAT, are you kidding me?) He said that the Age Spot was fine but it was a blood vessel that shot off of it that concerned him. He was quick to say that there was only a 20% chance it was ‘anything’ and if it was ‘something’ this was the time to ‘catch it’.
The biopsy was done and he said I should hear something in a week. Two days later I got a call from his office and the nurse said she was sorry but it came back as positive for Cancer .My heart sank and a flood of thoughts went through my mind. I wallowed for about 30 minutes and then started to look at all my options (which turned out to be many).
1. It could be a lot worse
2. I was kind of lucky it was caught when it was
3. I am older and looks aren’t as important
4. Free Nose job
5. I had the ‘Good Kind of Cancer’
6. If this is the worst thing that happens in my life – I’m grateful

Here is my PSA for the day – 1 in 5 people will experience some kind of skin cancer – no group is immune –you need to get a body scan 1x a year (more often if you are in a high risk group). Over the past three decades, more people have had skin cancer than all other cancers combined. Use sunscreen and protective clothing when out in the sun.