When I was pregnant with Brooks, I noticed a red spot that appeared on my forehead. I honestly thought it was a dry patch thinking nothing of it. With my diagnosis of Gestational Diabetes, Carpel Tunnel, Plantar Fasciitis, and Arthritis, I thought maybe this was just something else that popped up during pregnancy that would go away after delivery. Well everything went away mere days after delivery…except for this spot. Still not thinking much of it I asked my sister about it over Christmas break. She immediately responded, “Please go and see your dermatologist when you get home.”
I had my first full body skin check when we were trying to get pregnant with Brooks. Still, I was certain it was nothing. I went in to get it looked at the first week of January and they took a biopsy. They said they would call me in a week. I didn’t hear from them at the week mark, so I called the office. The nurse called me back saying my results came back and the doctor needed some time to review the results. I was starting to get nervous and called my sister probably 100 times that day.
She called the office on my behalf asking that they get back to me. It wasn’t until the next evening they called while I was playing with Brooks at home alone. The nurse asked if I was able to talk about my results. I said yes with Brooks giggling and playing in the background. She said you have skin cancer… My heart sank. I never thought it would happen to me. She was so informative and booked my Mohs surgery for the next week right then and there. My parents were already planning on coming to town to visit us and see Brooks so they just extended their trip and my mom came with me to surgery. I was so glad to have so much going on the week before to keep my mind off of it.
I got to the office at 8:30am and was out of there by 11:30am. For those of you that don’t know anything about the surgery (like me) here’s what happens. The doctor starts by taking what they see. They then look at the skin under the microscope to see if they have clear boarders. If they do they stop and stitch you up. They came back and said mine was tested positive so they had to take more. Luckily for me it was wide, but not very deep. This means we caught it early. The doctor went in for two layers and the second layer came back negative. They got it all. The doctor stitched me up with two layers of stitches: an interior layer that dissolves and and exterior layer that will be removed 2 weeks later.
If I have any advice to give, it would be to put your AirPods in to drown out the noise of them cutting away at your skin. That was truly the worst part. They numb you up with several rounds of shots, but the first round is the worst because you aren’t numb yet. The other rounds you are already numb and you are welcoming all the numbing at that point. I was sad to know it just lasted for a couple of hours. In between the first and second rounds of surgery I had to pump. #mommode.
When we were done I was still numb so my mom and I went out to lunch at my favorite spot Flower Child. I really started to feel the pain on the way home! And it continued for the next couple of days. What helped? Taking 1,000mg of Tylenol every 6 hours. You can’t take Advil or your Prenatal vitamins because it could increase the bleeding. I’m six days in and the scar looks great and the pain has subsided and I’m only taking Tylenol once a day.
I felt called to share this to say please go and get a skin check every year. Let me know if you are in the Atlanta area and need a good dermatologist! I love mine.
I wanted to keep this post light hearted and informative so I’ve teamed up with my absolute favorite spray tan studio in Atlanta, True Glow, to give away a MONTH of free spray tans + a bottle of their Hydrating & Bronzing Face and Neck Mist. Comment on this Instagram post to enter!
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Inspired, Maryashley