Melissa Keir-Small Town Romance Author
  • Welcome
  • Blog
  • Melissa's Books
  • Missy's Children's Books
  • Contact me
  • Privacy Notice
  • Welcome
  • Blog
  • Melissa's Books
  • Missy's Children's Books
  • Contact me
  • Privacy Notice
Search

Melissa's Musings

I'm One in a Million #truestory

6/30/2022

 
Picture
How many of you have a mole on your finger? According to my doctor, that's very rare. He hardly ever sees someone with a mole on a finger. Maybe two in a year. 

As a woman who deals with body issues, I always loved my hands. They were one of my best features, if you didn't look to closely at my chewed down nails. My fingers were long and thin, the back of my hand plump. Everything in a nice proportion. Best of all, they worked great! 

As a writer, my fingers would peck away at the keyboard all hours of the day as I penned my stories of love and happily ever afters. I didn't spend a lot of time and energy on my hands. No fancy nails. They were hardly ever polished, most often natural and trimmed short. I loved what they did, from baking scones to applying lotion to my baby's bottom. 

It was my daughter that mentioned that the mole on my left hand was looking dark. In passing, she'd mentioned that "you should get that looked at". My husband agreed with her. Besides it was time for a full body check. I hadn't had one in years. But there wasn't anything I was worried about...it was my husband who had issues with skin cancer. 

I was able to get a pretty quick appointment for the skin doctor because I mentioned that my regular doctor was worried about a few spots. I had a lot of skin markings along my legs, stomach and back. Those I was worried about. They often itched and became irritated. While my regular doctor told me those were normal, I wanted to see the specialist in the hopes they had a magic cure for those spots. 

The doctor wasn't worried. My spots were normal. Even the adult acne on my face was treatable. The mole on my finger, my middle finger was unusual, but even rarer than having one.... was having one that was cancer. He prescribed some medication and suggested we take off the finger mole, just because. 
Picture

Picture
The surgery was successful and the mole was removed. He'd stitched the area up and when I went back in two weeks later to get the stitches out, the doctor told me that I was one in a million. The mole was cancer. While he was fairly sure that he'd gotten all the cancer during the first surgery, he wanted to go back in and make sure. Words like margins were talked about. So was reconstruction. Because my finger wasn't very big, taking more would mean that my finger would have a deep hole in it, one not able to be stitched back together. 

Instead the doctor wanted to take part of the back of my hand and move it over to the finger, giving it a more normal appearance. I'd already faced two surgeries to get rid of "cancerous cells", getting this surgery was a no brainer. The second surgery was scheduled about a month out to give my finger time to heal up from the last one. 

I wasn't worried about how it'd look. I was more grateful that we'd found it early and that the doctor could get it all. 

​Saving my life?? a no brainer. 

Needless to say, I wasn't prepared for what would happen, nor how much I used my hand. The doctor had warned me about pulling the stitches. I was told to "take it easy". Of course, that was easier said than done. Typing was a challenge. I could finger peck with my right hand. Anything from opening a door to putting toothpaste on my toothbrush was a challenge. I did overuse my hand. I did pull my stitches, but it was impossible not to. Two more weeks and I'd get the stitches out. But the reconstruction was major. It impacted three fingers and the back of my hand. The doctor had taken the skin from the back of my hand and moved it up and over to my finger to use where he'd taken out so much. 

Just a warning... the images below are graphic. They are from the day of the surgery and the weeks after. You can see how my hand changed. I faced an infection from the stitches. My body didn't like them. I had scab issues and more infection even after the stitches were out. This wasn't a journey I thought to take but as I said before... the choice was clear. I wanted the cancer out. 
Picture
What a long way from the beginning until the end. The doctor shared with me the report that he had gotten all the cancer. My hand is still tight and I'm finding the interior stitches poking through my skin on a daily basis, forcing me to remove them. But I can type and use my hand. Even more importantly--I don't have to worry about whether the doctor got it all or if cancer will show up once more. 

Halfway through this adventure, my husband told me that he probably wouldn't have recommended the surgery, knowing how hard it had been on my hand. But I'm glad it's done. It will be interesting if next year, I look at my hand and will see the changes to it. Once more I can lift that middle finger and say "Fuc# Cancer".
D'Ann Linscott-Dunham
6/30/2022 11:10:12 am

Good lord!
So glad you're healing.

Melissa
7/1/2022 10:12:30 am

Thank you D'Ann. Each morning my finger looks a little better.

Marika Anne Weber link
6/30/2022 03:04:24 pm

Oh, my word. Glad that they got the cancer. Recovery is no joke.

Marika/Harlie

Melissa Keir
7/1/2022 10:20:55 am

Thanks Marika. It was certainly quite an adventure.

Brenda link
7/1/2022 01:14:50 am

First off, I'm so happy you're cancer free. Second, I had no idea you went through so much.
Glad you're healing up.
You truly are one in a million, my friend ❤️

Melissa Keir
7/1/2022 10:22:59 am

Yea. It was a lot and I over used my hand during Lloyd's struggle. But it was so worth it to be there for him.


Comments are closed.

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Melissa Keir

    Gator Girl Extraordinaire

    RSS Feed



    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011

Proudly powered by Romance
Melissa Keir-Author

Photos used under Creative Commons from emilyonasunday, imagesbyk2 Photography, Beverly & Pack, thisreidwrites, jDevaun, Ken Wilcox., jan_krutisch, wiesiek_kr, ginnerobot, Tim RT, erasergirl, wheatfieldbrown, fivehanks, Ⅿeagan, theilr, symphony of love, Abhishek Singh Bailoo, Max Braun, Daniel Leininger, EliJerma, sean_reay, DafneCholet, Pablo Tocagni, kevin dooley, CarbonNYC, Loren Javier, marco monetti, shannonkringen, Peter Werkman (www.peterwerkman.nl), tekkbabe, Aditya Rakhman, MilitaryHealth, almarWho, raganmd, snowkei, wuestenigel, Amal Hathaway, augustineisnotmyname, digitizedchaos, photologue_np, -stamina-, Jessica_Branstetter, I woz ere, Erháld, Tostie14, kdinuraj, feline_dacat, RobBixbyPhotography, glaciernps, aussiegall, Pink Sherbet Photography, Poul-Werner, Loren Javier, Diamond Farah, AForestFrolic, williamcho, shannonkringen, gagilas, ben.fitzgerald, Tony Fischer Photography, rufusowliebat, emilianohorcada, George Deputee, LadyDragonflyCC - >;< - Spring in Michigan!, brick red, citymaus, Emery Co Photo, midiman, Thragor, jdegrazia, dane brian, sibikos, nan palmero, r.nial.bradshaw, US Army Africa, bambe1964
  • Welcome
  • Blog
  • Melissa's Books
  • Missy's Children's Books
  • Contact me
  • Privacy Notice