The ugly truth

First of all to anyone who drops in to read my news- may I wish you all a Happy Christmas.
here's the update on my nose. As I may have recounted, it all started back in the summer when I had a spot on the end of my nose. Nothing unusual, except that this spot would not heal. I asked a doctor to look at it when I was at the skin clinic and he suggested I see a specialist. He told me it was a sub-basal carcinoma.
This is what it looked like about a month ago.

As you can see, it was tiny, but it looked enormous to me. There came a time when it was the only thing I could see when I looked in the mirror.

I had an operation to remove it. This is what my face looked like a couple of hours afterwards.

I had the stitches in for a week. There was a large red scab on the end of my nose for most of that week. At last I had the stitches out, revealing this:

I have an appointment in a month or so when the surgeon will tell me the results of the biopsy. I suggest that if any of you have a mole that is getting bigger, or has an irregular shape or bleeds from time to time- get it checked out.

It might just save your life.

Minor ops etc

I've said before that I'm slowly visiting all the clinics and departments in our hospital. The other week I had an appointment with a specialist to try and sort out my colitis. Since I came off tour with a severe throat infection and diarroea back in July I've had my appendix removed, had x-rays and a CT scan, and a procedure known as a sigmoidoscopy. I now know that I don't have diverticulitis, and that a biopsy of the areas of inflammation they could see have not revealed any clues.
So I went to my appointment hoping for a successful diagnosis. I got some pills to take, and another appointment in the new year.

I had an appointment today at the treatment centre to have a growth on the end of my nose removed. The doctor diagnosed a sub basal carcinoma- but when he looked again he's not so sure, so we won't know what it was until the biopsy result comes back.
The operation went well. I sat back on the operating table, closed my eyes (the light was very bright so I had a swab to cut down the glare. The surgeon injected my nose with a local anaesthetic, and we chatted away while it took effect. All I could feel was my nose being pushed and pulled and before I knew it I'd been stitched and returned to the ward.
I stole a look in the mirror. What a sight. My nose was a pale sallow white, with a lurid and bloody scar criss crossed with black stitches on the tip of my nose- which was swollen. Not a pretty sight.

That should complete all my treatment until January, when I have a return appointment to check on my finger.

All that remains is to wish you all the compliments of the season.