TODAY’S RAW WRITE (which sounds a lot like the Jetson’s dog, Astro, saying “Today’s all right”): Hey you! DON’T WAIT!

(If you’re running short on time, read the last 3 paragraphs first, starting with “You. Reader. Yeah, you!”)

“Shark bite?” you ask. No. The image above displays the result of a wide-excision biopsy performed on top of a prior “scoop” biopsy which had tested positive for melanoma.

“Melanoma?” you ask. Yes.

We had let it go too long — months — even though the ugly black mole on top of a subtle brown shadow kept screaming at us, “jeez, guys! Don’t you see me down here? Can’t you see I’m angry and digging my way ever-deeper into your body? Don’t just sit there! Act!”

At David’s annual physical in December, David’s GP told him it was “nothing.” But I said, “it’s something.” And who’s going to win that argument?

It was June before David saw a dermatologist. Procrastination is an art one should avoid in most circumstances, particularly when it comes to health. It was a tumor of moderate depth, one which mandated further testing. We (it’s no longer “David;” it’s “we”) were sent to an oncological surgeon for a consult. The wait for an appointment was three weeks. Three weeks of sleeplessness; constant research on the internet, in medical journals, at the library; calling friends, doctors and therapist. Three weeks that seemed to expand into decades. “Yes, you’ll be needing two more biopsies to determine if the tumor has metastasized” (such a dreaded word), he said, “a wide-excision biopsy at the original site, and we’re also going to remove and biopsy a lymph node, the sentinel node likely located in your groin.” David crossed his arms in front of his crotch as if somebody had just kicked his dick. “We can do that in 12–18 days. See my nurse to schedule it.”

Another two weeks (!) and though I believed I’d read every scholarly article out there on sentinel node biopsies, I read some more.

All went well. It was performed out-patient in the hospital using general anesthesia. We’re then 6 weeks into this, beginning with the wait for results from first biopsy. It was 9 days before we got our final results, which adds up to more than 7 weeks of anxiety and fear.

“The results?” you ask?

Yahoo! All tests proved negative!

You. Reader. Yeah, you! Don’t look at me; look at your skin. Too much sun last weekend? Or as a child? Maybe times you’ve long forgotten? Are you of the iodine and baby oil generation? Or was it sun beds? After you look at your skin (you’re doing that, aren’t you?), make notes of what looks suspicious to you, what has changed, what seems “off” in color, shape, size or texture, and call your dermatologist, even if your skin looks normal. Don’t know a dermatologist? The National Academy of Dermatology has a database.

Learn the ABCDEs of melanoma, the most common and deadliest of all skin cancers, and one of the most mysterious cancers out there. It’s easy to treat early-on. But go too long . . ..

Luckily, as Astro says, “today’s all right” for us. DON’T WAIT.