Sounds romantic, doesn't it? No. Not at all. But that's what it amounts to. A basal cell carcinoma to be exact. Quite small. Not serious, they said. A bit of plastic surgery, they said, and you'll be fine.
What kind of plastic surgery? Well, they cut out the lesion, cut a patch from the cheek, keeping the blood supply intact, and stick it to the nose. Voila!
Questions I forgot to ask:
1. But what about the hole in the cheek? I could carry on with patches all the way down to my knees and beyond, each patch repairing the hole left by its predecessor.
2. How exactly do you apply the patch without turning it inside out and therefore severing the connection?
3. How soon will I be fit to be seen?
4. In fact, will I ever be fit to be seen?
5. You have done this before, haven't you?
Question to which I already know the answer:
Will it hurt? Yes. Like blazes. Even the doctor admitted this. Not the procedure, but the injection in the nose. I had one last week. It was excruciating. But I suppose better than having this done without the injection (well, that's the point, right?).
I phoned ( physician) son for reassurance. Response: "I don't know. I'm not a surgeon." Then, "you'll be okay, Mum". But he didnt sound very convincing.
Think of me, next Tuesday. When I and my nose go under the knife. And then I'll be able to tell you all about it (I bet you can't wait).
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Frances, Hoping for the best possible of outcomes for you. Scary stuff. Wishing you courage. McGregor
ReplyDeleteThanks, McGregor.
DeleteI shall be sending healing wishes to you. When you're getting that injection take some deep breaths and keep saliva in your mouth. Apparently that is supposed to ease pain which makes a sort of sense as a dry mouth is often a sign of fear/worry.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lynne. I'll try that....if I remember!
DeleteCan only hope for you that the simple voilà version will turn out to be very close to the truth, and the pain soon left behind. - I'm not sure if it helps, but if it does ... think of how many stars (and wannabes) choose to go through plastic surgery volontarily, hoping to come out of it looking (even) better than they did before! To cheer yourself up, pretend to be film star in disguise perhaps... (and then write a bestseller about it!) (Seriously - I do hope all goes well and not too painful.)
ReplyDeleteThank you, DT. I did think of asking for a proper nose job while he was at it. I've always fancied a nice little retroussé nose, but I'm probably too old anyway.
DeleteIn this one area I can give some info. I had a basal cell carcinoma removed from the side of my nose over two years ago. I swear if ever I have to do it again I will ask for a sedative before the injection because that was the worst part of the whole procedure. I wasn't prepared for the bruising and for looking like I'd been hit by a bus for a couple of weeks, no-one warned me and I hadn't scheduled time off work. I felt fine, there was hardly any pain but I think I ended up having two weeks off simply because I wasn't fit to be seen. Now I have a small lump on the side of my nose but it is slowly, slowly disappearing. Very few people notice it. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteGood news and bad news, then. I've already had one injection, and would far rather give birth!
DeleteAll I can say is hope it goes ok, Frances
ReplyDeleteMy husband also had this same kind of cancer on his nose. I think he is a bit sensitive that he thinks it has changed the shape of his nose but I think it is only slightly and he still looks just as handsome to me!
ReplyDeleteGood luck to you, Frances. Hope all goes well.
A nice positive comment. Thank you, Kay!
DeleteGood luck. I'll be thinking of you next Tuesday.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Adrian.
DeleteI'll be thinking of you, Frances, and hope it all goes well and that the pain is as minimal as possible in these circumstances. I've had three nose operations and found plenty of codeine was helpful. The bandage became quite a good talking point when in public.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Joanna. If I can't have a best seller as a talking point, I suppose a bruised nose will have to do....
DeleteSorry to hear that you have to worry about all this….at least ask for a sedative as suggested by Pauline. Sounds like the injection is the worst bit! Wishing you well for next week. XX ( hope it won't stop you blogging?)
ReplyDeleteFrances, I'm not sure sedatives help with pain! But I shall certainly blog. What else will I have to do? Oh yes. The Novel....
DeleteI will be thinking of you, Frances and sending positive thoughts that the injection isn't as painful as you expect x
ReplyDeletePositive thoughts very welcome, Teresa. Thank you.
DeleteFrom your posts, I sense you are a strong person and will get through this like you have over other events in your life.
ReplyDeleteNot as strong as you think, L!
DeleteAmazing that 'pain control' isn't a priority in medicine. Surely there is no need for pain for such a relatively simple op'. All the best.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure surgeons are that bothered about pain, Cro.
DeleteSorry about this, Frances and hope all goes well.
ReplyDeleteI imagine it's a piece from the inside of your cheek and that it'll grow back as it does when we accidentally take a bite out of it. Well maybe you don't do that, but I sometimes do and I don't have any holes.
It has to be the outside, Patsy, as it has to remain attached. Not sure how, but there it is.
DeleteCompletely coincidentally I was having coffee with a friend this morning who had a similar op with the skin 'flap' and you can see no sign of it at all. He didn't mention the injection. I would certainly ask for a sedative too for anything as sensitive as my nose. If my recent experience of a rather large Thing being removed from my neck is anything to go by the post operative pain is very slight indeed. I shall certainly be thinking of you Frances.
ReplyDeleteThat's very reassuring, Graham. Thank you!
DeleteAlso known as a rodent ulcer. I had one removed from the side of my nose in 2011. Don't know how they managed to take the skin from cheek and twist it over, but they did. The injection is the worst bit. It took a few month to get back to nearly normal and noone notices it now unless I point it out. You will be fine. It just takes a bit of time and inconvenience. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteI know it's a rodent ulcer, Maggie, but prefer not to call it that. It sounds too ratty!
DeleteGood luck, Frances. I'll be thinking of you.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Keith.
DeleteWill be thinking of you, too, Frances! If it was me, I'd ask to be put out completely so as to "sleep" through the entire process. Preferably for the entire time - weeks or months - until I'd be back to normal. I'm a total whimp when it comes to pain.
ReplyDeleteIThanks, Meike. But I have a phobia of general anaesthetics, so I shall have to, literally, 'see' this through. Ugh.
Delete