1 EAGLETON NOTES: It Takes So Much Longer Now

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Tuesday 13 April 2021

It Takes So Much Longer Now

Somewhere about 40 years ago I went to the doc for something and he noticed a 'blemish' on my forehead which he regarded with suspicion. He gave my bonce a thorough going over and warned me that the type of skin I had would be very susceptible to UV damage and that I should ALWAYS wear a hat outside even if I was just bringing peat from the stack into the house.  He then sliced a little bit out of my upper forehead and sent it off for analysis. It came back clear. I have worn a hat ever since.

However living in New Zealand and spending much of my life in the sun on the croquet greens has taken its toll, despite me slathering myself with sunblock every day as soon as I had showered and topping it up at lunchtime too. 

A few years ago I got a Squamous carcinoma on my neck. I was referred to a dermatologist and our ENT surgeon removed it. Since then I've had several BCCs off my nose caught when she did my 6 monthly check-ups.

I was in seeing the doc about something last year over 6 months ago. He decided to have a thorough look at my head again. He spotted another BCC. He referred me to the dermatologist. We no longer have one on the Island so I saw a very thorough dermatology nurse who confirmed that it was, indeed, a BCC which needed removing. I was supposed to see the ENT Consultant next week but, Sod's Law, you get one appointment and another two come along the day either side of it. They happen to be in Ayr and are for the overdue-because-of-Covid replacement of my uretic stent so take precedence over a BCC any day.

There was something to be said for the days when the doc looked at you and just wheeked a nasty off/out.

49 comments:

  1. Hope you don't have to wait too long for the pesky BCC removal. Good luck with all your appointments.

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    1. Thanks, Fran. I think the consultant comes over once every couple of months. We had an ENT surgeon living here until last year.

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  2. Obviously sorry you have found another BCC (I've had a couple removed as well, catch them early and they are such innocent looking little b*ggers) but delighted that the Highlands healthcare continues to be on the ball.

    Yes, I remember the days when a GP would deal with things like that there and then, no messing about 🤒

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    1. Jayne, BCCs and even melanomas are such a commonplace things in New Zealand that no one bats an eyelid and it's beginning to get that way in the UK too for BCCs anyway.

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  3. Neither of this sounds pleasant, so I hope all of it can be sorted soon.
    I have recently been reading about the immense backlog of surgeries, therapies and other health procedures because of the panedmic, either because people didn't want to / couldn't go to see their doctors or because medical staff was/is too busy with handling the effects of Covid-19. It is quite scary, and therefore I am glad you still have your health-related things dealt with, and that I shall have my eye operations soon.

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    1. Meike, in actual fact none of the skin cancers I've had removed involved pain or discomfort at all. I can't quite say the same for the stent although given that it's original insertion was such an amazing piece of surgery I have always been surprised that it was painless.

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  4. Stay on top of those carcinomas and every the pre-cancerous stuff - especially with fair skin. My father had several removed over the years and they only need to miss a few cells on the side and its away and running before you know it - especially squamous cell ones.

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    1. Tigger, as you say the squamous cell ones are the scary ones. I think seeing it appear to grow almost daily (it didn't in reality of course) made it the scariest cancer I've had.

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  5. I hope that you can get the BCC removed soon. One less thing to worry about!
    My husband has a nodule growing on his eyelid that I am concerned about. He insists that it is nothing so will not see the GP. I wish he would get it checked out.

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    1. Thanks JayCee. It will probably be a couple of months to the next clinic unless I'm lucky but being a BCC I'm not worried. If I may say so I think your husband is very foolish (I'm sure you are thinking that anyway). Cancer, or any such growth, is much easier dealt with the earlier it's caught. Men, more than women I find, are much bigger fools (or cowards) in these matters.

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  6. I was only saying to my dog walking friend this morning that I thought I needed my head examined.
    They are all on your case, but a pity they can't get you to see someone in Ayr while you are thayr.

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    1. Potty, you've given me a smile this morning. Ayr just looks after my prostate cancer and things arising from that (the uretic stent was made necessary in 2017 by radiotherapy collateral damage ten years previously in 2007). It's a historic thing. They are not my usual Health Board.

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  7. I understand your frustration and hope you can get it taken care of soon. My husband is plagued with many BCCs and has been for several years now. One doc told us they were caused by exposure to the sun when he was young! I don't know if I believe that, but for the last 40-50 years he has never left the house without a hat! I think some people, like you and my Jack, are just cursed with them.

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    1. Jill, I was told the same thing because I've covered up well ever since I've been a 'grown up'. I suspect that are many causes and what you say about some people is bang on.

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  8. Good point! I hope your results are negative.
    It is much the same here in Vermont, doctor referals. An appointment with a dermatologist takes months.

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    1. Maywyn, in some things we are very fortunate here on the Island. We had our own orthopaedic surgeons, for example, so it only took the usual preparation time of a couple of months from decision to surgery for my new knee a few years ago.

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  9. I hope you are able to get things sorted out. Things get complicated with covid.

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    1. Red, Covid has definitely put the cat amongst the pigeons.

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  10. You mentioned going to Ayr some time ago. I appreciate Lewis is remote, but it seems outrageous to me that you have to go so far.

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    1. Tasker, I don't have to go so far. It could all be done in Inverness. The reason I am with Ayr is that the surgeon who did what, at the time, was a pioneering method of surgery when he removed my prostate in 1998, moved to Ayr and I chose to go with him because he has a fabulous set-up there. I have been looked after, for example, by the same advanced nurse practitioner member of the team since 2006. I see her every three months and I can contact her any time with any problems. It is she who tells me when things are looking bad and it is she who got me on the drugs trial which has had a profound affect on my life in the last three or four years. I'm just glad that I was able to make the choice to move with the surgeon. I doubt many would permit that these days.

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  11. Hope all goes well with your stent replacement, and that your dermatology appointment will be able to be rescheduled sooner rather than later. It is always a bit of a worry with these things, isn't it (I also have fair skin and once had three operations to remove all of an aggressive melanoma - not much fun). Thinking about you :) xx

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    1. Thanks Margaret. It's a biggish but fairly routine procedure. I used to be amazed by the ladies in the croquet club who would turn up in the afternoon having missed a morning match and sit play with bandaged shins and just carry on as if having melanomas removed was commonplace. Which, of course in New Zealand it is. It doesn't make it any less scary or unpleasant though.

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  12. Many years ago I had a small 'thing' up near my temple (a sort of mole). I was advised to visit someone in a nearby town, and for a few Euros he 'froze' it off.

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    1. Cro, one of the strange things I know is that cryotherapy is commonly used to remove actinic keratoses. I also know that it can be quite painful on your bonce if used to much at the same time (not, I have to add, through personal experience where I've never had any pain with it).

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  13. I hope you can get it dealt with swiftly and painlessly. My friend often joked he would prefer to visit the vet if he became ill. No waiting and all treatment under one roof. X

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    1. Jules, I think your friend has hit the nail on the head. Human medics are generally specialists these days - even some GPs.

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  14. Squamish is a municipality in Manitoba, Canada. Or, possibly, the name of a Scotsman who feels ill at the sight of blood.

    "Squamous cell" is the bad stuff they take off you when the sun's been at you. Sorry you've been through all that - it runs in my Scots/Irish/English family, as well, so I'm keeping a sharp eye out for it too.

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    1. Thanks, Marcheline. Another one attributed to the spillchucker or, let's be honest, my abysmal proof reading.

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  15. It is amazing to me that so many today seem to use those over-the-counter skin tag removers on growths, including moles, without any medical consultation, not having a clue what ill effects they might be causing, and whether the growths they are merrily attacking might be more sinister than they realize.

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    1. David, I wasn't aware that there were such things. It sounds to me crazy because, as you said, it is very difficult for a layman to determine what is basic skin damage and what is something more serious.

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  16. I wish you the best, Graham....I hope all goes well for you, and everything is back to normal...or as close to as normal as possible.

    The political correct mob are now trying to wipe the word "normal" from our vocabulary, but I don't think that is normal, so I shall, as normal, continue using the word! :)

    Take good care...

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    1. Thanks, Lee. I'm with you on the subject of 'normal' but you've just given me a blog idea. I hope I can remember it by the time I get to my memo book.

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  17. I hope your trip to Ayr goes well, Graham. I've had a couple of squamous carcinoma removed in the past year or so. Both on my back - reminders of those teenage days laying in the sun. After I had one removed from my nose, must have been nearly 10 years ago, I've been better about wearing a hat but nowhere near as good at it as you are. Hope you don't have to wait too long to have the blighters gone. The sooner the better. Take care.

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    1. Thank you, Pauline. Living in Scotland my skin had no idea what had hit it when I was living in New Zealand. I used to look at my feet when I put my jandals on on the first day in New Zealand each year. They were gleaming white. By the time I left I always had brown feet and great jandal stripes!

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  18. I had never thought of just having any suspect thing sliced off immediately! I see your point though. Going to doctors becomes almost a full time occupation if there are a few different specialists involved

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    1. Kylie, it should be fairly straightforward but now with patients suing at every opportunity many medics take the rule book very seriously and one can't blame them. I would love to tell you a story of a recent medical situation where a surgeon looked at me and said that I should be referred to a specialist by the rules before he/she could do anything. I asked he/she what he/she would do when he/she got the specialist's say so. Within a few minutes the procedure was over, everyone was happy and the NHS had been saved time and money. However, I won't mention it.

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    2. And I'll never know the story of the hassle free procedure 😊

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  19. BCC? Sounds like a national broadcasting corporation that screwed up mightily over the blanket coverage of Prince Philip's death. I hope you will be able to get a new BCC removal appointment very soon. If not, complain to "Points of View" or The Director General.

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    1. Oddly, YP, yesterday I got a new appointment for the 4 May. That's pretty impressive in these times.

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  20. The sun here seems to be so harsh, I have to be careful with my skin too, sunblock on literally all the time when I am outside otherwise I seem to burn in about 10 minutes, must be the English skin.

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    1. I'm with you on that, Amy, although my skin is pretty weather beaten up here in the Outer Hebrides.

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  21. Graham, I will admit to not having any idea what BCC meant, although from the post content and reading the comments it seems to apply to a possible cancerous skin growth. Hopefully, yours will not be ore troublesome than a removal process. Although we live in New England, I try to wear head protection and skin protection when outdoors in summer months.

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    1. Beatrice, it is a Basal Cell Carcinoma and, if you have to have a carcinoma then it's preferable over a lot of others. Ironically the Outer Hebrides in Scotland has a very high UV factor during the summer.

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  22. Hope all goes well with your appointments.

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  23. I thought I already commented on this post, but it seems I did not... Wishing you the best of luck with your trip to Ayr and I also hope you get a new chance to see the other consultant soon.

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    1. Thanks, Monica. Before I left I got a replacement appointment on 4 May which was really quick.

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  24. Dear Graham,
    I just read on Magnon's blog that you have been in hospital. I hope it was just routine and that you are now back out fighting again!
    Regards,
    Neil

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    1. Dear Neil, it was the replacement of my uretic stent in Ayr which has to be done every 4-6 months but Covid has played havoc with everyone's operations. I was in longer than expected because I went pre-sepsis but they dealt with it instantly and I'm home now. Thanks for your concern. Graham

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