I want to remind you to always come to the community page to see what is going on. So many of you are just using FB by scrolling your 'feed' which severely limits what you see. What you need to do is go to my group page. That way you won't keep missing out on so many things. There are fabulous quilt shares, awesome tips, and quilters who need your advice.
Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/QuiltWithPatSloan
Now let's make some flapjacks! The 1st photo below is in front of a vet in my town, look how fun that wall is!
Happy Hearts to you my friend! Valentines day is a day to celebrate the friends we LOVE.. that is You, and YOU and YOU!
In my video I go over selecting fabric for my first crumb block quilt.. let me know what you think!
Over the weekend we got some snow and a beautiful fox checked out my yard and stopped under the birdfeeder by my desk (photo below). The birds are slowly coming around to this feeder, not many but a few!
I want to tell you my journey with Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC), Skin Cancer, on the side of my nose. There were questions I had that I didn't really understand going into surgery, hopefully this will help you, a loved one, or a friend to be prepared.
What did I see that made me have it looked at
what did I not know and wish I had
and what happened during and after my surgery
My video below had all the details followed by some highlights and photos
Below is my video and some more photos that might help you
Please share your thoughts and share this with others that have questions
What I had
BCC Basel Cell Carcinoma, Which has multiple types. Many of you will experience the ‘what you see is what you get’ type. They just remove what can be seen, close it up and off you go
Others will have what I have .. a smaller surface area and it has tendrils the go deep and wide that all need removed.
When did it start, how did I notice it
My spot in 2017 that I had checked
2017 i went in for a spot on my nose that didn’t seem right.
2019 had the treatment to kill the top layer of cells to kill off some pre cancer
2021 decided that ‘scar’ just did not look right, called in to have it checked.
What I was worried about prior - My biggest concerns going into this
this photo is my nose in August of 2021 when I decided that 'scar' just didn't seem right.
would i lose most of my nose to the cancer
Will I be put out or wake? It was a bit confusing - nurses said i would be put out, Surgeon said no, I didn’t even think about the Mohs .. i didn’t know anyone personally that had what Ihad done to answer my questions
how would I survive without food or water all those hours .. then
what if I needed to go to the bathroom during the 2nd surgery?
What Happened
Photo is when i just got home from surgery
I did not lose most of my nose
Local to numb the nose, the Dr. was very good and it did not hurt as bad as the biopsy, she was tapping my nose as she put in the needle that helped
Could be 1 to 1 ½ hours for the biopsy of the MOHS to be done, first one was about an hour
Needed a 2nd removal. Dr told me it was about what she expected.
The hole was pretty big but I did not look in the mirror at it until I was with the next Dr.
I would definitely take my phone next time.
One nurse tested me about eating, out of the blue she asked what I'd had for breakfast… i wondered for a second why she would ask me that when I couldn’t eat.. I told her she was pulling a WWII GI tactic asking who your favorite baseball player was to try to catch Nazis
About 1 ½ hours for the DR to finish the other surgery he was doing.
He showed me the hole in my nose, talked about the options we had discussed at our visit a few weeks prior, then he drew on my face what he would be doing.
Taking a flap of skin by the side of my nose and that was pulled up over the hole. He told me there was dissolvable stitches in the under layer, then the top stitches to hold that layer together
I had anesthesia that didn’t put me out but during the most of what he was doing i was very out of it, later they must back it off and then i could chat some with them while he was doing the stitching.
Since I was not totally out, i didn’t have to wait long to leave.
After the Surgery & Lessons Learned
If you surgeon tells you what he will be doing, that IS what he will be doing. No matter that your friend’s Uncle Jim just a spot removed.. Or that my own dad, brother and mom’s husband did, that is not what I was having done.
Follow your surgeons advice to the letter. If it is to be cleaned 4 times a day, do it 4 times a day
My face was pretty swollen. I took lots of photos to document how it progressed
Pain… i was shocked at how little pain this caused.
Stitches out 1 week after
2 1/2 Months later
I’m now 2 ½ months after surgery
At 2 months I had my followup .. it was a bit redder than he liked but he said that will go down
I will be watching for spots that don’t heal, moles that change color, and skin texture that is odd that I didn’t have before
Swelling of side nose is less, but still there. I can’t wear my glasses the whole day yet
Be sure to see your own doctor for any type of sore that does not heal, moles that change, or weird spots that just appear. Better to have it checked than not.
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