Survivor of a Deadly Spider Melanoma
I had a history of skin cancer - basically single cell carcinoma and I had the spots burned off with liquid nitrogen. I had check ups scheduled every six months by a Dr. David Hoffman a very well known and respected dermatologist. I was born and raised in Colorado. I did go mountain climbing and walked almost everywhere I needed to go. This may have been the foundation of my melanoma but it is also possible that it lay hidden for a period of time. Colorado is known for the number of skin cancer patients we have here. It is the altitude and the fact that we are closer to the sun that causes skin cancer (or at least so I have been told).
One day I noticed a little brown mole on my left cheek. Many years had passed and I was a wife and mother, my days were so full that I paid less attention to my own body and more to my children. That was a full time job and besides I din't notice anything except this little pale mole.
I don't know how long I had it but it was getting darker and I decided to go back to Dr. Hoffman. I remember how he looked when he came back into the room where I was waiting. He took me to another room where he examined my face more thoroughly, consulted with some others in his clinic and then told me that they could "see" a spider melanoma. It was shaped like a spider and had 'legs' that extended down my cheek on one side and across my ace and into my sinuses. He told me that it was serious and I had to have surgery to remove it.
It was the scariest time of my life but I survived. I do believe that it was not only the skill of my doctor but the prayers of my family and church members that brought me through this trauma.
I was left with a very ugly scar for a few years. This is why I have created an exfoliating powder made from sea sponges. It is the main product of my skin care line.
The use of it has faded the scar until it can't be seen anymore.
- Francine Cinquanta
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