The Cindy Crawford Mole
by Margaret
(New Orleans, LA, USA)
Suddenly I thought I was becoming very glamorous by developing a mole right above the left corner of my mouth.
If you remember the model Cindy Crawford, you may remember that she had a mole in pretty much that same location which was intriguing. She made moles look beautiful.
But within a couple of months, the mole began to change color and shape and to segment. Best to go to the skin doctor, I thought, so I made an appointment at a clinic right down the street from my office.
The waiting room was full of people, some of whom had been there for a long time, more than 30 minutes. Not a great way to start a relationship with a new doctor, I thought.
My wait was 25 minutes which was unacceptable to me, but which came in under the wire because I was going to leave if I had to wait for half an hour.
The doctor explained the different types of moles and skin cancers, showed me pictures and said I probably had a basal cell carcinoma (
Basal Skin Cancer ). She took a sample of the mole and bandaged me up.
When I went home that night, I got on the internet and on the phone to talk to different friends and relatives and to explore what the treatment options are.
Everyone who had had similar conditions recommended Mohs Skin Cancer Surgery as the course of action that would get out the cancer with almost exactly the amount of surrounding cancerous tissue, no more,
A few days later, the Skin Cancer Doctor called to tell me that my mole was indeed cancerous and was a basal cell carcinoma and that I would be scheduled for surgery.
Whoa, can we explore options?
I asked her about Mohs surgery, about what would happen if I did nothing (this was my face we were talking about after all).
The doctor became impatient with me but finally conceded that Mohs surgery was an option and gave me the name of a Skin Cancer Surgeon who was qualified to perform it.
Turns out this second doctor's office is in the same building!
I made an appointment. No waiting, I was seen right away. The doctor did the surgery and I had to wait while the tissue was tested.
Good news, all the cancer was removed on the first cut. The doctor did such an excellent job of fitting the cut into a wrinkle that I cannot to this day see a scar unless I look very closely at it.
The doctor stressed that this type of skin cancer can recur at other locations on the body so it's good to have a full exam regularly.
I am grateful.
Prevention of Skin Cancer
Signs of Skin Cancer
First Signs of Skin Cancer
Squamous Cell Skin Cancer
History of Skin Cancer
