Basal Cell Carcinoma!!!

I received a phone call from my doctor at Kaiser, Dr. Hill, who told me she had received the lab results from my recent major surgery. She told me that the lab indicated that the sample they tested came back positive for basal cell carcinoma, aka skin cancer. Dr. Hill told me they thought they got all the cancer cells in the surgery and didn't expect it to spread.

So after a quick Internet search, I learned that "basal cell carcinoma is the most common skin cancer and accounts for more that 90% of all skin cancer cases. These cancers almost never spread (metastasize) to other parts of the body, but can cause damage by growing and invading surrounding tissue.

Light-colored skin, sun exposure, and age are all important factors in the development of basal cell carcinomas. People who have fair skin and are older have higher rates of basal cell carcinoma. About 20% of these skin cancers, however, occur in areas that are not sun-exposed, such as the chest, back, arms, legs, and scalp. The face, however, remains the most common location for basal cell lesions." http://www.medicinenet.com/

I went to the doctor because I had a dime size blister on my back that kept bleeding and scabbing. So the moral of the story is to be aware of changes in your skin and don't be afraid to go to the doctor if something looks unusual.