The Good, The Bad and The "Pretty Ugly"

I recently overcame a battle with possible melanoma. I came across a spot on my back that was smaller than a pencil eraser, looked like a freckle but numb to the touch, and felt like a scab. Classic melanoma symptoms, according to Web MD.

Once I got over the initial shock of having skin cancer, I decided I needed to take action right away if I was going to beat this. I made an appointment with a local dermatologist to go over our plan of action.

“There’s good news and bad news,” The Dermatologist told me.

“The good news is it’s benign. The bad news- You will most likely get more as you age and those things can get pretty ugly!” My elation quickly dissipated.

“I once had a patient who had one on his knee- bigger than your fist and blacker than your pants!” he continued.

Although, I appreciate how candid he was being, I could no longer fully appreciate not having cancer.

“yeesh- that might be worse!” I said.  I had come to terms with cancer and the road I thought I was about to travel. I had no idea how ‘pretty ugly’ things could get. What will my 40’s and 50’s have in store for me? A few more harmless “freckles” like this one or a black gourd sized growth hanging from my chin?

Now I’m not normally so superficial but being out of harm’s way can leave room for the insignificant to matter, again. Immediately. Goodbye to the promises of becoming a better person! Sayonara to living a healthy stress free life! I just beat self-diagnosed melanoma and now it’s time to start preparing for just how ugly things might get!