Cancer and Cards Almost Two Years Later an Update

It has been almost two years since my ordeal with Cancer began. This was my blog post at that time. It was not the end of the story, but just the beginning my journey to continue to be here to enjoy my family. My story continues at the end of this blog post:

I’ve been staying busy using my wonderful Sheena Douglass stamps in another style of greeting cards. These stamps are so versatile and fun to work with. Check these out:

I’m going through a very serious health issue, which could, in the future limit my blogs. Right now I’m recuperating from a melanoma cut from the bottom of my right foot. Plastic surgery was performed reconstructing the bottom of that foot. It’s healing and I should be walking on it some time soon. But that isn’t the end of the ordeal. A pathology report shows a microscopic amount of melanoma in a lymph node that was taken out at the time my foot was operated on. Now, we are deciding on the next course of action which looks like a lymph node dissection and it might include a year of interferon treatment. At this time I am gathering information to make an informed decision.

Please be aware this issue didn’t just happen to me…although for some people it could be the case. But I was a beach bunny since I was a child. I went with friends to the beach often and to the town pool working on a good tan. Now, we know what that leads to. When you read your book on the beach lying on your belly, the sun gets to the bottom of your foot! Now I live in Florida originally because we love the beach…I haven’t been on the beach for 3 years and I only live 7 miles away!

Please be careful with your own exposure to the sun. Take the right precautions!

• Seek shade, especially during midday hours.
• Wear clothing to protect exposed skin.
• Wear a hat with a wide brim to shade the face, head, ears, and neck.
• Wear sunglasses that wrap around and block as close to 100% of both UVA and UVB rays as possible.
• Use sunscreen with sun protective factor (SPF) 15 or higher, and both UVA and UVB protection.
• Avoid indoor tanning.

I decided to update this story now because it is summer, the kids are out of school and the sun is out and it's hot! In years past my husband and I would be getting ready for a glorious day at the beach, still only 7 miles away! Now a days we take those precautions that I mentioned earlier.

Well after the surgery and meeting with the doctors who took care of me, I was of course dreading the future with what they said would come next! Then my children suggested a second opinion!

I made an appointment at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida and saw Dr. Joseph. From the moment he walked into his examination room we had a good rapport. He had read the reports, he believed that it was not the stage that the original doctors said and that there was an 85% chance there was no cancer left to treat. He also believed and showed me charts that the interferon, the other doctors recommended, did not work! He recommended periodic sonograms, CT scans and blood work to watch for any signs the cancer is there. Dr. Joseph at the Mayo became my doctor and it will be two years the end of next month since the beginning of the ordeal began.

If it had not been for my children, I would have believed that all doctors used the same guide line...well they don't! They do not use the same charts and they can read the reports and see things differently. If you learn anything at all from this updated blog post, always get a second opinion. By the way, I have had many scans and blood work and there has been no Cancer found. I will continue to be monitored until 5 years is up. I'm here enjoying my life and my wonderful family...who saved me from making a bad decision.