Early signs of Skin Cancer

[UkrainianTracksuit]

I have no idea what's Land's End so sorry to crash that party, but MM, could you care to elaborate? This is familiar and I thought it was just my out of control hormones. Might have to dig up the papers from a box of Avagraf.

To be fair, I am pretty sure my perspiration problems stem from my tacrolimus.  The patient information sheet that comes with it warns of this.

[Simon Dog]

I have no idea what's Land's End

1. The southwestern tip of mainland England (Cornwall county)  [with apostrophe]
2. A multi-national clothing store based in the US and owned by Sears Holdings [without apostrophe]

[iolaire]

My wife has taken to wearing a rash guard as sometime in the last 10 years she started being much more skin sensitive. We think doxycycline for malaria preventative caused it.  It feels like in the past couple of years rash guards became more popular and available.

[MooseMom]

UT, I think I have been mistaken about the tacrolimus causing sweating.  I've just reviewed all of my medication notes, and it is the patient info on prednisone that lists "excessive sweating" as a possible side effect.

After my tx surgery, I remember telling one of the nurses that I felt really hot but that it was not a feverish hot, rather, it was just a sweaty hot.  She said, "Oh, that's the tac."  At the time, I didn't know what "tac" was, but for all of these years, I'd been thinking that was the culprit.  At least now I know!

Apologies for the misinformation on my part.

[kristina]

Hi Katrina.  Welcome back.  I'm glad that you decided to rejoin us. 

No, I don't have lupus, and I'm not a vampire.  My problem is that I have fair Irish skin.  The solution for it is simple: stay out of the sun. 

I know you like your little walks, which you have mentioned on previous posts.  But I am an inveterate runner.  There is nothing more exhilarating than high-intensity interval training, which really gets those endorphins flowing.  And it helps to have good running music.  I share with you your love for classical music, but when it come to running, I find myself more motivated by trance or house or EDM at 180 bpm.  On good days, I can run forever. 

Plus, I'm convinced that being a fitness buff has helped me ward off the worst effects of several illnesses, including sepsis and CKD.  When I can't run any more, I'll know that I am done.

Again, let me say that your absence was noticed, and that long-time members like you bring value to the site.

Hello enginist and many thanks for your kind reply and - if I may say so - I would like to mention, that - as a "Continental" I don't mind you calling me "Katrina" instead of my real name Kristina. But it has been pointed out to me that some of our American friends here mind very much if you call me "Katrina", because the name "Katrina" reminds them of Hurricane Katrina which, back in 2005, hit the US Gulf Coast and killed 1200 and cost about $125 billion in damage.
So, with respect to our American friends could you please call me by my real name to avoid any further distress?

I appreciate that you stay out of the sun because of your fair Irish skin and the only reason why I have mentioned SLE/MCTD/Lupus is because the symptoms you have described are almost identical to mine before I was diagnosed with SLE/MCTD. Because of that, I felt it my "human duty" to mention this because SLE/MCTD/Lupus is a very-hard-to-diagnose disease and, at the same time it is very deadly. In fact, it has been mentioned as the "Lady-killer", because nine out of ten patients happen to be female, but it also hits the male population very badly ...

The reason why I go for regular walks is because my kidneys first failed in the very early 1970's and, after their function recovered a little again, medics advised me to eat an easy digestible vegetarian diet and keep as fit as possible by going for "gentle walks". I was warned against any running because - according to the doctors at the time - running unnecessarily "wobbles" the kidneys up and down and since my injured kidneys were very fragile in their function etc., medics thought it a good idea to keep my kidneys as calm as is possible, especially because of my serious kidney-disease and to avoid deterioration for as long as is possible. Perhaps it was the right advise in my case, because, without dialysis I could keep my injured kidneys functioning - just about - for another 43 years.

Whatever you are going to decide, I wish you the best of luck and please check-up with your medics and I send my kind regards from Kristina.

[enginist]

I lived in New Orleans for seven years, and still often visit, so maybe I unconsciously switch the names.  I will make a sincere effort to refer to you as Kristina, a lovely name in its own right.  However, if some people here are complaining about a harmless slip of the tongue, they should be grateful that they don't have far worse problems to complain about. 

[iolaire]

However, if some people here are complaining about a harmless slip of the tongue, they should be grateful that they don't have far worse problems to complain about.

Yesterday there was a funny post on the Facebook group starting out, "Have any of you fallen pregnant well on dialysis." The post was updated to clarify that falling pregnant was common English in south Africa for becoming pregnant!  Unfortunately she had to add the calcification because people automatically assumed her English language skills are bad or she had a slip of the tongue rather than that it might be a cultural difference.  Anyway that was a funny learning experience!

[MooseMom]

I lived in New Orleans for seven years, and still often visit, so maybe I unconsciously switch the names.  I will make a sincere effort to refer to you as Kristina, a lovely name in its own right.  However, if some people here are complaining about a harmless slip of the tongue, they should be grateful that they don't have far worse problems to complain about.

I'm going to cop to this so that there is no misunderstanding.  During private messaging with Kristina, I made the observation that it was nice to see her post on IHD and that you, enginist, had posted a very charming "welcome back".  She noted that you had been calling her "katrina" and that she thought that was a lovely name, that it was "continental" and even "Russian sounding". 

I then explained that whenever I heard the name "Katrina", it reminded me of the hurricane, and I went on to explain how people were impacted.  My mother's family is from Mississippi, and her parents, upon retiring, bought a small home near the beach in Long Beach.  I spent many, many summers there.  I remember when Camille hit and we were all so worried about my grandparents.

They had died long before Hurricane Katrina hit, but the house was still very much a part of the family.  I told Kristina about the horrific damage as I was there 6 months after the storm, and it still looked like something in a bad apocalypse movie.  My aunt had just bought a home in Gulfport, and the winds of the storm blew a container truck filled with frozen chickens onto her property.  You can imagine what that was like.

Having lived in New Orleans for some years, I'm sure you have a story or two.

Anyway, I in no way was complaining, rather, I thought Kristina might be interested in this rather significant even in the history of a particular part of the US.  While I was not "distressed" at all, it did bring back some sad memories, but I certainly did not think you rude or insensitive.  I hope this clears things up! 

Iolaire, I sometimes still use British words and idioms without realizing it, and I can get some weird reactions.  She "fell pregnant" sounds nicer than "she got pregnant"!

Edited to add:  To make this post relevant to the topic of skin cancer, both of my parents developed skin cancer in their elder years, my dad on the back of his hand (I never saw it), and my mom on her face.  It was an oval shaped, black spot that was fairly large.  Neither of them ever wore sunscreen or took any precautions at all.  My dad liked running/walking, and my mom enjoyed gardening, so they both spent a lot of time outdoors...in Texas.  So, I suppose it was inevitable.

[enginist]

Katrina does sound Russia, as does Katerina.  The former, unfortunately, has negative connotations, but I don't think that Kristina is anything like a hurricane. 

Yes, I have some stories, but nothing like a truck of chickens jackknifed on the lawn.  Although I did hear of some fraternity guys who rented a motel room in Biloxi during Camille.  They wanted a hurricane party on the beach, but the storm hurled a sailboat though their window, killing four.   

I wonder if skin cancer is considered an underlying condition. 

[MooseMom]

I remember the story of the frat boys in a Biloxi hotel.  It was a true story.

Yes, skin cancer would be considered a pre-existing condition if you were to change insurers, who would price that in accordingly.

[UkrainianTracksuit]

Is there a problem with "sounding Russian?"  Don't make me drop the gloves a second time in the same day over a similar thing!

[kristina]

Is there a problem with "sounding Russian?"  Don't make me drop the gloves a second time in the same day over a similar thing!

Hello Ukrainian Tracksuit,
Perhaps enginist might refer to me “sounding Russian” and that would be cleverly observed, since my late mother came from a White émigré family who had to leave Russia in 1917.
Kind regards from Kristina.

[Michael Murphy]

In the last 15 years I have had a cancerous mole or pre cancerous removed every year.  My symptom of these is a intense itching on my back in the area of the mole.  In fact if I contact my Dermatologist with this symptom I usually get a appointment with in the week instead of a month.  My problem is as a youth I had the same neon white skin I am cursed with today spend any time in the sun and I go from neon white to neon red and back to neon white in short order.  This was made worse by the attitude of the 50’s and 60’s that get out of the house and into the sun as it’s good for you that every one had in that era.

[enginist]

As it happens, Katrina is German in origin.  Katerina, on the other hand, is as Russian as Anastasia, who was killed with her family by the Bolsheviks in Yekaterinberg.  Kristina is Scandinavian, a variant of Christina, which ultimately is Greek in origin. 

[UkrainianTracksuit]

Ugh, so, just to close this chapter then and sorry that I let it go so long without an update. Just had to find my bearings over the whole thing in yet another "I am fed up with 2020" moment.

It turned out to be cancerous, squamous cell carcinoma to be exact. Naturally, because I was assessed as high risk, the doctor went with the surgical route. Since it was on the side of my face, I am pretty glad it wasn't a large thing to remove and the doctor does work in a cosmetic clinic so he totally understood where I was coming from. Funnily enough, he said I was one of the least demanding patients they see. Haaaaaa....

After surgery, and to be safe, he prescribed fluorouracil (5FU). Pretty routine ointment for a short period. Back for a check-up next month.

I have to practice gratitude that I am able to have such medical care, but I am just fed up at this point.

[iolaire]

So, what did your early skin cancer spots look like?

Thanks for the update.  Please would you upload an image of what the spot looked like?  Feel free to crop it down to just the spot area.  It would be good to see what you were concerned about now that you know it was skin cancer.

[MooseMom]

Well, I'm certainly glad you caught it early, when it was small, and that you've got it taken care of.  It must have been scary.  Like Iolaire has said, I wouldn't mind seeing a photo if you happened to take one before it was removed.

This is just SO 2020!  LOL!

[Xplantdad]

Ugh, so, just to close this chapter then and sorry that I let it go so long without an update. Just had to find my bearings over the whole thing in yet another "I am fed up with 2020" moment.

It turned out to be cancerous, squamous cell carcinoma to be exact. Naturally, because I was assessed as high risk, the doctor went with the surgical route. Since it was on the side of my face, I am pretty glad it wasn't a large thing to remove and the doctor does work in a cosmetic clinic so he totally understood where I was coming from. Funnily enough, he said I was one of the least demanding patients they see. Haaaaaa....

After surgery, and to be safe, he prescribed fluorouracil (5FU). Pretty routine ointment for a short period. Back for a check-up next month.

I have to practice gratitude that I am able to have such medical care, but I am just fed up at this point.

Glad to hear that you got the spot taken care of, UkrainianTracksuit!  I haven't been on here in a while-with life happening and the pandemic and all. But, I did have two recent skin cancer surgeries. One was above my right eyebrow (3 weeks ago)-where they removed a Squamous Cell Carcinoma (7 external stitches and 4 internal stitches). Glad it was squamous rather than basal cell-as Squamous then to be more localized and easier to remove during a MOHS precedure. BTW, I had a biopsy done as soon as something showed up on my face-as I've had MANY skin cancers. The trick is to get them removed early!

That being said-I also had a basal cell removed from my right upper chest area (Two weeks ago) -That was biopsied in 2018! I let this one go too long-and I paid for it! (Malignant Excision and intermediate layered linear repair). It was weird that "normal skin" had grown over the top of the actual cancer-and it made an ugly bump on my chest, too!

Particulars:

Preoperative size: 1.8X2.0 cm
Margin:  5 mm
Excision size: 2.8X3 cm
Final length: 9.8 cm


As you can see to get the area closed up, the would area ended up being about 10 cm.  Three sets of sutures, innermost at muscle area was proline (like fishing line) 5 sutures, second layer of sutures were 16...and outer most layer of sutures were 21 stitches!.

Now I have a nasty looking scar that goes from my right upper chest and ends at the base of my neck area. Oh well...I knew not to wait so long!In all I have had 20 MOHS procedures on my face and scalp area.


By the way, due to the 100's of basal cells that I've had-I was on the initial trials and subsequent prescriptions with Vizmodegib (Oral chemo pills for skin cancers-for multiple BCC-basal cell carcinomas). Vizmodegib has some nasty sde effects like most chemos-loss of taste, loss of hair and horrible muscle cramping. The longest I was on it was about 11 months. The last time I was on it was for 5 1/2 months...and couldn't stand the side effects any longer

I am lucky and I go to Mayo in AZ. The doc I see next month is one of the docs that developed Vizmodegib. The reason I am seeing him is to hope they have sometihng different I can try. If not, I will most likely go on the Vizmodegib from September to December.

I also use fluorouracil cream (5FU) which is a skin cream formula of chemo. I also use Imiquimod cream 5% as well.


I guess what I am saying is that you should get frequent checks if you are prone to skin cancers. It's a lot less painful!