Plain as the Nose on Your Face

(this is a reprint of the post on my personal blog called Reading the Tee Leaves. To be abundantly healthy requires that we pay attention to our whole body. If you haven't been to a dermatologist for a "mole check", please schedule one yearly. It is an important piece of the overall good health puzzle. Love to all - Tee)

This morning, I had a procedure done called Mohs Surgery. It is a specialized form of surgery specific to having skin cancers taken from the face. I had a tumor on the side of my nose that I had been ignoring for the last two years. The tumor is gone now and I have a very attractive (and LARGE) bandage in its place. For the next two weeks we have to monitor the location to see if it heals on its own or if we will need to do a skin graft. I can't lift anything or bend over or do strenuous activity. They told me to take it easy for the next two weeks. For anyone who knows me, that's easier said than done. Taking it easy is not my thing.

I am religious about taking care of my skin and about using sunscreen and staying out of the sun. The doctor said that this cancer was probably the result of a bad burn when I was much younger. Yowza.

I can remember being younger and the highest sunscreen SPF was Coppertone 8. My mother would make me wear a t-shirt. When I was in college, I ignored sunscreen completely. I can remember hanging out on the roof of our sorority house to "get color" (translation - a sunburn) before big fraternity formals. I got blistering sunburns at a Grateful Dead concert and at the Preakness and just from hanging out.

Now, I wear sunscreen everyday. I use excellent skin care products. I can ROCK a hat!

Bottom line is make sure you wear sunscreen ALL year long. Learn to rock a hat. And get your skin checked by a dermatologist every year. Meanwhile, I will be learning to appreciate the new "character" of my nose.

PEACE.