Well, it has been two years and those pesky little spots are starting to reappear all over both arms. They are starting just like last time...little red spots that crust over and then peel away...repeat but each time the little red spot is bigger. So, my next visit to my dermatologist should be interesting.
Friday, June 5, 2015
Sunday, February 24, 2013
4 Weeks of 5FU
After 4 weeks, a 15 ml bottle of 5FU chemical treatment, and two boxes of latex gloves for smearing the 5FU all over my arms I have finished this treatment option. While I thought the Blue-U treatment was going to take care of all of the sun damaged cells....it didn't. I can only hope the 5FU treatment has done that for me.
The last week has been a struggle not clawing my skin off! I finally called the doctor's office and they said it was acceptable to use some Aquaphor to put on them. If you recall, and if you don't go back to the post with the pictures, my arms were covered in lesions from the 5FU. Well, those lesions finally started drying out and created huge scabs. Those scabs began cracking...leaving long open cracks in my arm....so I had both dry itchy skin and open oozing wounds. Using the Aquaphor was a huge win. It eased the itching and help the skin remoisturize so the open cracks began healing.
As of this writing, my arms are extremely tender and I still have a lot of itching. It doesn't help that my oldest son, who is taking some classes at home this semester, came home with a gorgeous and extremely energetic Australian Shepherd mix puppy. She is great to have around except when she wants to play. She likes to use her paws and claws to attack....and that includes trying to grab my arms. Needless to say, every once in awhile she is quicker than I am and scrapes my arms with her claws.....OUCH!!! The other issue I am having is bumping in to EVERYTHING!!!
I never realized just how tender they were until earlier tonight when I was reaching in the cabinet to pull out a pan for cooking. I didn't pay attention to how close I was to the edge and scraped my left arm....again.....OUCH!! I am going to keep using the Aquaphor for a couple of days. Hopefully, the soreness goes away soon. I also realize that I have to stay out of the sun for awhile.
The last week has been a struggle not clawing my skin off! I finally called the doctor's office and they said it was acceptable to use some Aquaphor to put on them. If you recall, and if you don't go back to the post with the pictures, my arms were covered in lesions from the 5FU. Well, those lesions finally started drying out and created huge scabs. Those scabs began cracking...leaving long open cracks in my arm....so I had both dry itchy skin and open oozing wounds. Using the Aquaphor was a huge win. It eased the itching and help the skin remoisturize so the open cracks began healing.
As of this writing, my arms are extremely tender and I still have a lot of itching. It doesn't help that my oldest son, who is taking some classes at home this semester, came home with a gorgeous and extremely energetic Australian Shepherd mix puppy. She is great to have around except when she wants to play. She likes to use her paws and claws to attack....and that includes trying to grab my arms. Needless to say, every once in awhile she is quicker than I am and scrapes my arms with her claws.....OUCH!!! The other issue I am having is bumping in to EVERYTHING!!!
I never realized just how tender they were until earlier tonight when I was reaching in the cabinet to pull out a pan for cooking. I didn't pay attention to how close I was to the edge and scraped my left arm....again.....OUCH!! I am going to keep using the Aquaphor for a couple of days. Hopefully, the soreness goes away soon. I also realize that I have to stay out of the sun for awhile.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Honored and humbled
Part of dealing with and coping with any hardship in life is having a great support group of family, friends, co-workers, etc. That could not be more true in getting through a cancer diagnosis and treatment. I have chronicled how I really didn't feel comfortable with referring to myself as a "survivor" and how the people I was with in Austin, TX in October 2011 especially the CEO Doug Ulman really drove home that a cancer diagnosis regardless of the type makes one a survivor. I have also written about how I met so many people over the years who have become dear friends. Today that really hit home!
During my trip to Austin, TX in October 2011 and again in February 2012 I met Jeff Mulder, a dedicated LiveSTRONG Leader, volunteer, and a fundraising machine. I remember listening to Jeff speak at the opening night event in October while we were sitting in Lance's back yard. I loved his story on getting to know survivors by asking them about their favorite song and how he loaded those songs in to his iPod. I loved his dedication to cancer survivorship and that he has involved his entire family and they were with him in Austin! Let's just say that he is one incredible person!
Earlier today, I opened up Facebook as I do many times a day and I had an alert to review. The alert was Jeff Mulder had tagged me in a photograph. Now, it has been nearly a year since I was in the same zip code with Jeff so I wasn't realy sure what to expect when I opened the picture. Much to my surprise, I was HUMBLED and HONORED to see this picture
During my trip to Austin, TX in October 2011 and again in February 2012 I met Jeff Mulder, a dedicated LiveSTRONG Leader, volunteer, and a fundraising machine. I remember listening to Jeff speak at the opening night event in October while we were sitting in Lance's back yard. I loved his story on getting to know survivors by asking them about their favorite song and how he loaded those songs in to his iPod. I loved his dedication to cancer survivorship and that he has involved his entire family and they were with him in Austin! Let's just say that he is one incredible person!
Earlier today, I opened up Facebook as I do many times a day and I had an alert to review. The alert was Jeff Mulder had tagged me in a photograph. Now, it has been nearly a year since I was in the same zip code with Jeff so I wasn't realy sure what to expect when I opened the picture. Much to my surprise, I was HUMBLED and HONORED to see this picture
I am not sure where he was riding, what city he was in, or what event he was participating in but he had this flag with him. I didn't know what to say and really still don't know what to say other than THANK YOU! You see, today has been a really bad day entering the 4th week of the 5FU treatment and my left arm is really starting to dry out, crack open, and some of the places are bleeding. As my family says, it looks like my arms have been burned. I can't really grip anything with my left hand because the skin has dried out so much that any tension on my forarm feels like the skin is being pulled away from my arm. This picture made my day!
I can only hope to be as dedicated as Jeff. He is an inspiration and a great friend!!
Saturday, February 16, 2013
What is Skin Cancer....Part 2
Part 2 of the What is Skin Cancer post....it took a little longer than I intended but here it is!!
Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC):
SCC is the second most common form of skin cancer and is result of cumulative UV damage over a lifetime. It is so named because it comes from uncontrolled growth of UV damaged cells in the sqamous cells...the upper layer of the skin commonly referred the epidermis. SCC usually look like red scaly patches, open sores, elevated growths with a central depression, that may crust or bleed. Approximately 700k people a year are diagnosed with SCC and it can be extremely disfiguring and sometimes deadly if allowed to grow untreated. SCC
SCCs may occur on all areas of the body including the mucous membranes and genitals, but are most common in areas frequently exposed to the sun, such as the rim of the ear, lower lip, face, bald scalp, neck, hands, arms and legs. Often the skin in these areas reveals telltale signs of sun damage, such as wrinkling, changes in pigmentation, and loss of elasticity. SCC's are not to be taken lightly!!! If you an unusal place anywhere on your body....have your doctor check it out immediately! There are several viable treatment options including: Mohs Microsurgery, Cryosurgery, Photodynamic Therapy (BLUE-U), and Topical Medications (5FU).
Melanoma:
The most deadly form of skin cancer is melanoma. It grows when unrepaired DNA damage to skin cells (most often caused by ultraviolet radiation from sunshine or tanning beds) triggers mutations (genetic defects) that lead the skin cells to multiply rapidly and form malignant tumors. The majority of melanomas are black or brown, but they can also be skin-colored, pink, red, purple, blue or white. Melanoma is caused mainly by intense, occasional UV exposure (frequently leading to sunburn), especially in those who are genetically predisposed to the disease. Melanoma kills an estimated 8,790 people in the US annually.
If melanoma is recognized and treated early, it is almost always curable, but if it is not, the cancer can advance and spread to other parts of the body, where it becomes hard to treat and can be fatal. While it is not the most common of the skin cancers, it causes the most deaths. The American Cancer Society estimates that at present, about 120,000 new cases of melanoma in the US are diagnosed in a year. In 2010, about 68,130 of these were invasive melanomas, with about 38,870 in males and 29,260 in women. Citation: Melanoma
Warning signe of Melanoma: Uset the ABCDE;s:
A- Asymmetry: the moles or lesion is not equally distributed
B- Border: borders are uneven and may even looked scalloped
C- Color: a potential melanoma will have multiple colors
D- Diameter: melanomas are typically larger than 1/4" (size of a pencil eraser) but could be smaller
E- Evolving: any change in size, shape, color, or bleeding, itchy, or bleeding may be signs of danger.
Treatment options: The first step in treatment is removing the melanoma. Surgical procedures have improved and Mohs Microsurgery is the best option. For patients with Stage III or IV melanoma, surgery is usually followed by additional treatments.
Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC):
SCC is the second most common form of skin cancer and is result of cumulative UV damage over a lifetime. It is so named because it comes from uncontrolled growth of UV damaged cells in the sqamous cells...the upper layer of the skin commonly referred the epidermis. SCC usually look like red scaly patches, open sores, elevated growths with a central depression, that may crust or bleed. Approximately 700k people a year are diagnosed with SCC and it can be extremely disfiguring and sometimes deadly if allowed to grow untreated. SCC
SCCs may occur on all areas of the body including the mucous membranes and genitals, but are most common in areas frequently exposed to the sun, such as the rim of the ear, lower lip, face, bald scalp, neck, hands, arms and legs. Often the skin in these areas reveals telltale signs of sun damage, such as wrinkling, changes in pigmentation, and loss of elasticity. SCC's are not to be taken lightly!!! If you an unusal place anywhere on your body....have your doctor check it out immediately! There are several viable treatment options including: Mohs Microsurgery, Cryosurgery, Photodynamic Therapy (BLUE-U), and Topical Medications (5FU).
Melanoma:
The most deadly form of skin cancer is melanoma. It grows when unrepaired DNA damage to skin cells (most often caused by ultraviolet radiation from sunshine or tanning beds) triggers mutations (genetic defects) that lead the skin cells to multiply rapidly and form malignant tumors. The majority of melanomas are black or brown, but they can also be skin-colored, pink, red, purple, blue or white. Melanoma is caused mainly by intense, occasional UV exposure (frequently leading to sunburn), especially in those who are genetically predisposed to the disease. Melanoma kills an estimated 8,790 people in the US annually.
If melanoma is recognized and treated early, it is almost always curable, but if it is not, the cancer can advance and spread to other parts of the body, where it becomes hard to treat and can be fatal. While it is not the most common of the skin cancers, it causes the most deaths. The American Cancer Society estimates that at present, about 120,000 new cases of melanoma in the US are diagnosed in a year. In 2010, about 68,130 of these were invasive melanomas, with about 38,870 in males and 29,260 in women. Citation: Melanoma
Warning signe of Melanoma: Uset the ABCDE;s:
A- Asymmetry: the moles or lesion is not equally distributed
B- Border: borders are uneven and may even looked scalloped
C- Color: a potential melanoma will have multiple colors
D- Diameter: melanomas are typically larger than 1/4" (size of a pencil eraser) but could be smaller
E- Evolving: any change in size, shape, color, or bleeding, itchy, or bleeding may be signs of danger.
Treatment options: The first step in treatment is removing the melanoma. Surgical procedures have improved and Mohs Microsurgery is the best option. For patients with Stage III or IV melanoma, surgery is usually followed by additional treatments.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Okay, you might not want to look...!
WARNING: this post contains a photograph of my left arm taken a few minutes ago. If you go back and read the last post you will note what was bugging me so much. 2 weeks in and the red spots are actually starting to rupture and turn in to crusty lesions.
So, just as a refresher....skin cancer is real! These lesions are sun damaged cells that were "incubating" under my skin. Two years ago my dermatologist found one basal cell carcinoma spot on my right shoulder; however, my arms were covered in bright red, dry, scaly patches. At the time, and now, these were identified as actinic keratosis and that left untreated they could potentially develop into full blown skin cancer. That day, the dermatologist froze off about 12 places on my left arm and 5 on my right arm. A few months later, I decided to switch doctors and was put on a 3 month regimen of Blue-U treatment....basically....a doctor induced sun burn after having my arms doused in some chemical and placed under a sun lamp. That treatment appeared to work until.....about 8 weeks later a new spot came on my left arm.
Well, at my check up in January my dermatologist was not pleased that the AK's had reappeared after the Blue-U treatment and said we needed to get aggressive. That "aggressive" treatment was 5FU. The link will take you to some information about the way it is used to treat non-melanoma cancers. It appears to be doing what it is supposed to do...it is just an ugly process. Basically, it inhibits cell growth in sun damaged cells. Hopefully, this will destroy all of the bad cells and they will not continue developing in to squamous cell carcinoma. Needless to say, I will not be wearing short sleeves out in public for some time!!!
I hope I haven't ruined your dinner, breakfast, or any other meals/snacks you might be eating. Thanks for reading!
So, just as a refresher....skin cancer is real! These lesions are sun damaged cells that were "incubating" under my skin. Two years ago my dermatologist found one basal cell carcinoma spot on my right shoulder; however, my arms were covered in bright red, dry, scaly patches. At the time, and now, these were identified as actinic keratosis and that left untreated they could potentially develop into full blown skin cancer. That day, the dermatologist froze off about 12 places on my left arm and 5 on my right arm. A few months later, I decided to switch doctors and was put on a 3 month regimen of Blue-U treatment....basically....a doctor induced sun burn after having my arms doused in some chemical and placed under a sun lamp. That treatment appeared to work until.....about 8 weeks later a new spot came on my left arm.
Well, at my check up in January my dermatologist was not pleased that the AK's had reappeared after the Blue-U treatment and said we needed to get aggressive. That "aggressive" treatment was 5FU. The link will take you to some information about the way it is used to treat non-melanoma cancers. It appears to be doing what it is supposed to do...it is just an ugly process. Basically, it inhibits cell growth in sun damaged cells. Hopefully, this will destroy all of the bad cells and they will not continue developing in to squamous cell carcinoma. Needless to say, I will not be wearing short sleeves out in public for some time!!!
I hope I haven't ruined your dinner, breakfast, or any other meals/snacks you might be eating. Thanks for reading!
Friday, February 8, 2013
Tonight is not a good night.....!
When I was a kid growing up on the family farm and working outside several hours a day I always wanted to have a good tan. I mean, I went as far as using a home made tanning concoction of baby oil and iodine.....it did a great job, too! I can't count the number of times I had my arms, shoulders, and back as red as a boiled lobster knowing that in a few short hours they would be a nice deep brown/tan!! There was of course, the unsual things that go along with a sun burn: red skin, a few blisters, and the ultimate cracked/peeling skin. The only saving grace was knowing I would have that nice golden tan.
Well, tonight my arms have that same red, dry cracked skin thing going on but this time it is hopefully to finally get rid of the damage I did all those years with tanning oils. Tonight, as soon as I applied the 5FU drops the burning began almost immediately especially on the left arm. Over the past couple of days both arms have really "bloomed" with red spots that are turning in to nasty, dried, crusty lesions (as described by the doctor as well as my Navigate Cancer counselor). Each night, the burning last a little longer because the 5FU has basically stripped off the top layer of skin. However, if this means that all of the sun damaged cells are being destroyed and we don't have to go to the "next level chemical treatment" the doctor said would not be pleasant I am okay with a little burning.
My next mission, finding SPF cycling sleeves for the upcoming cycling season. Anyone have any suggestions?? I know I will look absolutely stupid riding around this summer with a long sleeve jersey or wearing sleeves; but, when I get this taken care of this time I am going to take care of my arms!!!
Well, tonight my arms have that same red, dry cracked skin thing going on but this time it is hopefully to finally get rid of the damage I did all those years with tanning oils. Tonight, as soon as I applied the 5FU drops the burning began almost immediately especially on the left arm. Over the past couple of days both arms have really "bloomed" with red spots that are turning in to nasty, dried, crusty lesions (as described by the doctor as well as my Navigate Cancer counselor). Each night, the burning last a little longer because the 5FU has basically stripped off the top layer of skin. However, if this means that all of the sun damaged cells are being destroyed and we don't have to go to the "next level chemical treatment" the doctor said would not be pleasant I am okay with a little burning.
My next mission, finding SPF cycling sleeves for the upcoming cycling season. Anyone have any suggestions?? I know I will look absolutely stupid riding around this summer with a long sleeve jersey or wearing sleeves; but, when I get this taken care of this time I am going to take care of my arms!!!
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Two weeks in...
Okay, so I haven't posted in a few days and I need to finish my skin cancer updates. Let's just say that work has really kept me busy for the past few days. I am currently in Houston, TX and will be going to Des Moines, IA next week. Traveling with 5FU is interesting to say the least.
So, here is the latest update on the arms. As my Navigate Cancer counselor described, my arms now red, inflamed, and covered with little lesions. Every lesion represents sun damaged cells that have the potential to become squamous cell carcinoma. My left arm, which is the worst one, now has 15 actual lesions forming and another 8-10 red splotches that will probably develop lesions as well. The right arm only has 1 lesion as of this writing; however, there are about 7 red splotches on that arm. Needless to say, I am not going anywhere without long sleeves on for awhile.
So, here is the latest update on the arms. As my Navigate Cancer counselor described, my arms now red, inflamed, and covered with little lesions. Every lesion represents sun damaged cells that have the potential to become squamous cell carcinoma. My left arm, which is the worst one, now has 15 actual lesions forming and another 8-10 red splotches that will probably develop lesions as well. The right arm only has 1 lesion as of this writing; however, there are about 7 red splotches on that arm. Needless to say, I am not going anywhere without long sleeves on for awhile.
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