Melanoma #6 In Less Than Two Years
Hi. Just wanted to throw this out into the ether because I'm having a hard time finding support from friends and family. It's "just" skin cancer, after all. But yesterday I found out that I'm going to have my sixth melanoma lesion removed since Jan. 2020. I've also had sentinel lymph nodes removed and Lord knows how many biopsies done (I'm on a skin check cycle of every 3 months).
In the grand scheme of things, I'm lucky. Things have always been caught so early. I haven't needed treatment beyond excisions. But it wears you down. I'm covered with scars and feel hideous. I feel so ugly because of all the scars and the way sunscreen makes me feel. I also just feel defeated sometimes. Like, it's not a matter of if this gets worse; it's just when. Eventually, one of these abnormal moles will escape detection and grow. It's low-level anxiety on top of the anxiety I already have. It's a slog. And it's hard to talk about with people who don't think skin cancer is real which seems to be everyone I know.
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