Save your neck!
In early April, I visited my dermatologist to have what I believed to be a small age spot removed from my neck. A biopsy determined that the spot was actually a severely atypical mole. Untreated atypical moles, as it turns out, can easily turn into melanomas. Melanoma, more aggressive than carcinoma, is the most invasive form of skin cancer with the highest risk of death. Following a complete body screening, and four biopsies later, I was informed that I needed to have two surgeries on my neck and my tummy and that both would require a couple of inches of stitches.
Let me tell you, a cancer, or even a pre-cancer diagnosis will stop you in your tracks. I pulled myself together enough to wrap up the spring catering events that were on my books and closed my business for almost a month to have the surgeries with additional time to heal. My stitches came out yesterday, my margins are clear and I came home with a clean bill of skin health.
The good news is that skin cancers, even melanomas, have an excellent cure rate when they’re discovered early. NOW is the time to get that little spot on your chest or leg or face checked by a dermatologist. I saved my own neck by being proactive. And, I plan to stay on top of it. For the rest of my life, I’ll need to be screened every four to six months.
Special thanks to Dr. Mikell, and the whole team at Dermatology Associates of the Lowcountry for taking such great care of me! They calmed my apprehensions by taking the time to answer about a zillion of my questions. Kind and compassionate during and after the surgeries, I felt completely safe and comfortable in their care.
P.S. If someone ever comes up to you and says, “you might want to get that little thingy on your neck checked,” smile, say thank you, and call your dermatologist. That someone may have just saved your life.
– Debbi Covington, Lady’s Island
