Skin cancer ~ it's no Joke!

I have had a recent and nasty bout with skin cancer ~ I put a happy picture on the top of the page. I didn't want my nasty face to appear in the blogger feed.
But even in this photo I had a small lesion that was in the center of my upper lip.

I have that freckled faced red head skin. I wear sunscreen in everything, and a hat, and have learned to love the beach under an umbrella. I see my dermatologist every 6 months. And yet, still things managae to sneak up.
About 5 weeks ago I had a biopsy of a small little 'spot' that was in the center of my upper lip. (I should have taken  picture of that and y'all would have thought 'What spot'? )
The word was that it would need to come off, sooner than later.
Here is one of the lessons I learned during this process.
*A dermatologist who is trained to do MOEs (a cellular mapping for cancer) is NOT a surgeon. They are doctors who have done a special training on taking out as much skin as needed.
*The second thing I learned is that God is bigger... If we will shut up and allow it.
My dear friend called a friend and the next thing I knew, I was in front of a plastic surgeon. (Like boobalicious waiting room and an adjoining spa)
I had to have an radical excision of my upper lip. . . And he was only willing to wait till the next morning.
* I also learned that squamous cell carcinoma of the lip is almost as aggressive as melanoma.

I took photos along the way, to show that while it was BAD. It healed . . .

It was a surgery that took several revisions to get all of the cancer. He was able to flap the skin from my inner lip to rebuild my upper lip.

I drank through a straw . . . Everything! Coffee, soup and even Chardonnay ~ can't keep a good girl down.

The healing was not fun, but it has healed fairly quickly.

Once I was able to get most of the stitches out, it was much more comfortable. Still sipping on a straw, but I was able to sleep lying down.

It will be always noticeable . . . But I am so grateful. * I also learned that lipstick can cover anything.

As I type this (forgive the goofs) I am about to get on my flight to Positano. . . With plenty of sunscreen and great lipstick! God is Bigger than anything we need to handle! Ciao y'all ~ Sandi