Quick background info: I have lived all my life in Florida. In other words I’ve been exposed to a lot of sunshine (see state motto). I’m approaching middle age so I’ve begun to take stock of my well being. One of the things that I have noticed recently (last 18 months) was a bump on the side of my nose. During a routine physical I point out the abnormality to my physician. My physician notes it and the fact that a similar abnormality is developing on the other side of my nose. The physician refers me to a dermatologist.
Fast forward to this afternoon:
I go to the dermatologist. Long story short, he anesthetises(sp?) the sides and scrapes off the necessary material for the biopsy. The problem is this leaves my nose sore/stingy/itchy. Do you have any fucking idea how hard it is to keep your hands off your nose when it is sore/stingy/itchy? How the hell am I supposed to go to sleep tonight? The nurse attempted to place band-aids over the treated areas, but that’s like putting gauze over a leak on the alaskan pipe line. My nose is oily, very oily. The sites in question are on the leading edges of my nostrils. There’s no goddamn place for a bandage to adhere along the edge and the other edges of the band aid are mired in the oily mess that is my nose. I’m supposed to keep these bandages on for 24 fucking hours. This whole situation would be laughable if not for the fact that I don’t want to bleed all over the bed tonight. Not only is the immediate situation sucky but I have to wait 10 miserable days to get the biopsy results. I just hope it ain’t cancer!
P.S.
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Sorry to hear this, man. I can picture it, and it sounds like the only viable option is, in fact, bleeding on the bedding. Hell with it, you got bigger things to worry about. Best of luck, and here’s hoping for good news in 10 days time. Say it with me, now, “It’s just a mole, it’s just a mole, it’s just a mole…”
On a lighter note: I just got an image of how to bandage the mess up, but, it involves wrapping your nose in gauze, and taping yourself up like Pee Wee Herman. Forget it.
[sub]It’s amazing how often “Don’t be cancer” or “It’s just a bug” becomes a mantra for every little medical oddity after you hit 30 or so.[/sub]
Even if it is cancer, it’s far better off your nose than on it. Mr. Legend had a suspicious mole removed some years back, and it did turn out to be melanoma, but because it was out at a lab being dissected instead of on his back working its way in, he’s still around to talk about it.
Maybe a thick, soft towel on the pillow? I hope the healing goes well - maybe all that oil will have a curative effect.
And if it IS a melanoma, you won’t have to wait ten days to find out…they’ll be notifying you more quickly than that.
I have regular biopsies because I’m extremely fair skinned and have a history of basal and squamous cell carcinomas (no melanomas as yet thank goodness). Yes, biopsies are a bugger, but they are really no more than an inconvenience. I DO hate to say, “Stop Whingeing”, but what would you prefer? A slight itch and a bleed on the pillow case, or a giant gaping hole where your nose used to be?
I had a strange spot on my shoulder that prompted my Dr to do a plug biopsy. The results came back “atypical nevus” and the nurse explained to me that it meant it wasn’t pre cancerous, but it would get that way soon. So I went to a dermatologist to have it removed. The hunk of shoulder they hacked out was sent off for another biopsy. That one came back pre-cancerous. :eek: So they requested a re-test - that came back like the original biopsy. But since the dermatologist dug deep, he got it all out, and he checked the rest of my moles/spots/freckles and he said nothing looked weird (not his exact words, but you know what I mean) - so I think I’m ok.
Ummm, the moral of the story is, you’ve done the right thing by getting it looked at, and I hope it turns out to be no big deal. Wear sunscreen!
Routine skin biopsies should be diagnosed and reports made available within no more than 2-3 days (speaking as someone who handles them routinely in my medical practice).
There are special circumstances where it might take longer (i.e. diagnosis of lymphomas and certain difficult tumors where special testing is required), but certainly moles and typical carcinomas that occur on sun-damaged skin can be reported on a lot more quickly than 10 days, unless you’re mailing them to some distant reference lab.
Or, 10 days down the line is when the next available appointment for dermatologist followup is.
Bottom line, I’d expect better biopsy turnaround than that.
kambuckta,
I just felt like bitching last night because I didn’t realize how much of a nuisance it is not to be able to touch your nose. I’ll stop “Whingeing” now. By the way is “Whingeing” anything like whining?
Jackmannii,
Thanks for the info, I’ll call the dermatologist back and find out why it takes so long. I know there’s a lab associated with one of the local hospitals but maybe they don’t handle biopsies.
My fingers are crossed for you, BeerFan, but your biopsy was a cakewalk compared to mine.
Mine happened when I was nine. It was a kidney biopsy to diagnose a bad infection. I could feel them scraping inside my kidney with the needle, and my back hurt like hell for a week.
Afterward, too, I was passing blood clots the diameter of dimes through my nine-year-old sized urinary tract.
So the Dermatologists office called last night, ok not the building itself but one of the staff. The good news is the left side of my nose only has an over sized something, I forget what she said it was, but it’s benign. The bad news is that the right side is host to a bouncing baby basal cell carcinoma. :eek:
At least it’s not a melanoma, that’s what I was most worried about. This is fairly easily treatable with the only down side being the deformation that might be caused by removing any remaining cancerous tissue. So two days before Thanksgiving the Dr. will perform the surgery to remove any remaining cancer. That will make Thanksgiving special this year since I’m getting off relatively easy.
Yeesh. Sorry to hear it, but, like ya said, could’ve been much worse.
Best o’ luck with the ensuing surgery. Do you know if it’s going to be an outpatient treatment, or if you’ll at least be able to be at home on Turkey Day?
[sub][Real Genius]
Well, then, I’m happy and sad for you.
[/Real Genius][/sub]
Biopsies suck, but they can save your life. I just had this happen…and was diagnosed with cervical cancer. If you think having a hunk taken out of your nose is fun, just imagine having a hunk taken out of your cervix. (See my recent Pit thread.)
Oh yeah…you don’t have a cervix. Well, try imagining anyway. At least with your nose, it’s as plain as, well, the nose on your face when something weird is going on. I still feel your pain, though. Good luck with your surgery.
It’s outpatient surgery, they use a local anesthetic. So I’ll be home on Turkey day.
Eva Luna,
Sorry to hear about your cervix, I read your other thread. I can’t imagine what your situation is like, I was just bitchy because I couln’t blow my nose for a few days. I hope everything works out ok for you, good luck.
Thanks for the good wishes! Well, if I could blow my cervix, I guess that would be a whole separate issue. I’m actually sort of OK about the surgery at this point.
However, could someone please go drug my mother, though? She is driving me batty with unsolicited and incorrect medical advice, and encouraging others to do the same. Perhaps a nice, special batch of brownies would do the trick…
So it turned out to be 8 days before you got the diagnosis. Any explanation given for the turnaround time?
I was thinking about this in connection with two basal cell carcinoma cases I finished up with on Friday. In both cases the diagnosis was available within 10 minutes (by frozen section), surgery was complete because the margins were clear and the final report was out the next day. The frozen sections add to the cost some, but it must be nice having everything done with at once.
Beerfan: Good news. Spending pretty much any holiday in a hospital sucks. Well, even more so than every other day of the year, on which it still pretty much sucks. Enjoy, mate.
You’d never leave the house, right?
<rimshot>
Sorry. Immaturity and bad humor is my first line of defense against bad things in general. Best o’ luck on your recovery. Here’s to smooth sailing for y’all.
I haven’t gotten around to asking why the biopsy results would take so long. During the conversation on the phone the other night the nurse informed me that the remainder of the procedure will be exactly as you described. They will take a sample and make me wait until they test right then and repeat until the margins are clear. I’ll ask them when I go in next week and try to remember to let you know.
Eva Luna,
Instead of drugs try getting Skeezix to share some cervix blowing jokes with her, that ought to put her off the subject.
