Back on the Set

“Cut,” the director yelled to the small crowd of extras posing as churchgoers.

As I climbed back to my original position, I smiled. Who would have thought I’d be an extra on a film set after all the cancer challenges of the past several years?

Multiple cancers hit hard and fast

Being an extra wasn’t an unfamiliar experience for me. I acted in a football movie called My All American and appeared in an episode of American Crime Story. My biggest role, and my five seconds of fame, was Extreme Makeover: Home Edition with my oversized blue T-shirt and red hard hat. However, all these opportunities came before cancer or what I like to call B.C.

I thought that my "extra" days were over when I received multiple cancer diagnoses starting in 2016. The first was a rare blood cancer called polycythemia vera. Invasive ductal carcinoma (breast cancer) followed two months later. The chemo, surgeries, and medication did a number on my appearance, both physically and emotionally.

Mohs surgery left facial scars

Then came my skin cancer diagnoses. In 2019, a dermatologist determined a spot on the left side of my nose was basal cell carcinoma. The Mohs procedure that followed left a small, but hardly noticeable, scar. Soon after came another basal cell, once again on my face. Ugh. They used a Mohs procedure to treat it as well, leaving a more prominent scar.

Another skin cancer diagnosis followed in 2021. A dermatologist diagnosed me with melanoma in situ. It was on my right cheek. To remove the cancerous lesion, I had the slow Mohs procedure, which left a quarter-size hole in my face. Closing the hole left me with a 5-inch incision from the side of my eye all the way down my cheek to almost my chin.

More basal cell carcinoma

When I removed the bandage a few days later, I was dismayed by the image in the mirror. The surgeon had pulled the skin across the hole, leaving a raised and downright ugly ridge.

I avoided going out in public (and was thankful for the masks most were still wearing) as disfigured as I was. The last thing on my mind was going back to being a movie extra, unless, of course, they were looking to do a Bride of Frankenstein remake or some other horror movie. In that case, I could have been the star.

Shortly afterward, I had three other basal cell Mohs procedures and a couple more biopsies. This left my face a mess.

Evidence of skin cancer faded with time

Flash forward two years. I still have many skin cancer remnants. I have had several rather painful laser procedures in the past couple of years, which have helped. Over time, most of the scars, even the face-altering largest one, have slowly faded.

When a friend asked a couple of weeks ago if I wanted to be a movie extra, I laughed.
“Um…seriously, look at my face. Do you think they would even want me?”

We all have scars, so why not?

Now, to be fair, from a distance and with a smile on my face, they are not as visible anymore. However, on a theater screen, they surely would be. I debated and then thought, everyone has scars. Some are more obvious than others. Let’s do this!

I’m glad I went, but part of me hopes the scenes I’m in don’t make it to the big screen!