Okay well, you knew I would do this… because it’s me… and if I have to go through this EVERYONE else should too.

Seriously… I’m wired as a teacher, and I figure if I can teach a few people about skin cancer and help a few people to NOT go through what I am going through, then this is all worth while.

First of all, thanks so much for the well-wishes and prayers. I felt them. Really, I did.

I had to go through two rounds of surgery on Thursday, and it took almost four hours. Thank goodness it was nowhere as bad as last time. (I didn’t pass out on the table) Thank you Doctor P. for letting me have my Kindle! I played a high-speed word game to keep my mind off what was happening. It did the trick!

I am giving permission to everyone to Twit and Facebook the ever-living-stink out of this. Email it to your friends. This is no joke, and the more people who see this and understand, the better. You OWE it to the people you love.

Heck, I dragged my 6, 9 and 11 year olds into the bathroom and showed them the stitches before I re-bandaged tonight.

Littlest Dude looked like he would faint. Good. I’ll remind him of it next time he complains about putting sunscreen on.

Okay. Here’s the art.

This is what Basal Cell Carcinoma looks like pre-surgery. I made note of the cute little freckle for your amusement. Remember where that little sucker is. Please click on the picture to zoom in and take a good look. If you have ANYTHING like this on your body GET TO YOUR DOCTOR.

In fact, if you have any mark that pops up suddenly and does not go away in a week, show it to your doctor. It’s just not worth the risk.

This is the pressure bandage before I changed it.

And here’s the big bad and ugly about thirty hours after surgery. It’s eleven or twelve stitches, not including the internal stitches that you cannot see. I’d guess it’s about 2.5 inches long. And what happened to that freckle? I think it’s where the arrow is pointed. Yep, they had to cut that far around the cancer spot. That’s a lot of flesh to lose for a little spot of nastiness, isn’t it? I really wish there was someone like me around to show me this when I was 16 and did this to myself. If I only knew…

Run… don’t walk to the drugstore. Wear 30+ sunscreen year round. I have a special one for my face that won’t give me acne that also doubles as a daily moisturizer.

Wear a hat! you can get a sunburn in that scalp, too where your hair parts.

Promise me you will protect yourself, and promise me you will send this to at least one person you love. Hey, who knows… you might just save their life.

Lotion up, my friends, and be safe!