Doc says "NO FISHING!!!"....

[Outsider]

....this weekend anyway.

A timely reminder for all those who venture out of the house.

Spent the day at the Redland Hospital on Wednesday having my whole bottom lip removed. Seems that little hard "spot" that peeled every now and again was actually a skin cancer.

Needless to say I was freaking out at the prospect - I'm only 30 and hadn't so much as broken a bone before. So much for the "invincibility of youth". Doc said they couldn't just cut the spot out - if they did the rest of the lip would pull together and sit funny when they stitched it back up - a bit like a "hair lip".

So off came the whole thing. They cut along the join between the lip and where the normal facial skin starts. They pulled out the lip skin and cut it off. Then they pulled out even more skin and stitched it back to the facial skin again. 30 odd stitches. After the surgery I looked like a cross between Frankenstein and Dracula! Swelled up and bled alot. Couldn't eat solids. Had to drink through a straw. Could barely talk. Couldn't sleep lying down. Couldn't stop dribbling. No stress or strenuous activity. Really just sucked all round.

Not so bad now. Should heal up like new. Looks better every day.

My sun damage was all done years ago on family holidays at the beach for months on end, sport, and just not being very carefull about getting burnt. I'll be suprised if this isn't just the start of regular trips to the surgeon to get spots removed.

I took some pics when I got back from the Hostital but there're a bit too much to post up on here!

Just goes to show - the "it won't ever happen to me" mentality doesn't work. Even 12 months ago if someone had of told me that I'd be needing surgery to remove a skin cancer I'd have laughed at them.

Looks like I'll be investing in a big hat and zinc in the near future.

[CHRIS_aka_GWH]

christ outsider - you have my best wishes. Scars are like badges of honour ya know - in my opinion you're still a boy until ya split ya chin - not sure what that makes you when ya whole lip sez byebye ;) ;D.

I've had heaps of bits removed in caution as my old man died from a skin cancer associated with a mole on the back of his neck - the same mole my 2 brothers & I both HAD - maybe start fishing at night - there was some spare spaces on straddie tonite available #;D

[Angla]

Outsider

Glad to hear they were able to remove the cancer. I'm 45 and should be due for some spots because I used to go black every summer. Guess we are all in the lottery.

Does outsider mean you have one.

Angla

[Sportfish_5]

No good to hear Brooke. Saltwater will assist speedy recovery obviously your doc doesn't fish ;D ;D ;D

Be happy to take the Fisher for a run for ya in the meantime ;) ;D

Cheers

Greg

[ccmmd1]

gday outsider hope you are ok. have trouble teaching my kids about the sun .if you dont mind can you pm me some photos to teach them a lesson.they won`t go any further i promise (if not i understand).hope you recover OK Miles

[PinHead]

I had one cut out of my arm when I was 32...GP said 2 to 3 stitches to do the job..ended up at specialist..3 internal and 15 external stitches later they had it all..thankfully..cos it was malignant. All that appeared on the surface of my skin was a red mark like a small blister about the size of the end of a biro. I still get them burnt off now from various places...don't mess around with that skin cancer.

[agnes_jack]

A timely warning to all!!!!!!!!!
Geez mate that must have been a scary visit to the docs.
Hope it all goes well for ya, and a speedy recovery.
We all think we are invincible ::)

All the best..........Tony :-X ;D ;D

[sams_fish]

outsider,
welcome to the club, had the same thing done about 2 years ago, mine was a bit more well rooted so to speak, they had to peel my chin down to remove it all then so that back on as well, :'( , but all is okay now, ;D , i only dribble now when i've had to many beers, but i used to do that anyways ;D , speedy recovery mate, maybe we can compare scars someday [smiley=2thumbsup.gif],
regards sams_fish

[Dug]

Another good warning to us all slip, slop, slap & slurp!

Can you grow a beard and mo to cover the skin?

I find mine is great as a wind and sun block.

If not try my new sunscreen and wrap hat.

I suggest wearing it to visit Parliament house in Canberra, or to wave in the crowd if ever GW Bush visits.

[dugong]

all the best on your recovery outsider.
a reminder to all to be careful in the sun, i have had a number of sun spots burnt off and one cut off due to my miss spent youth in the sun.

[rando]

I hope you have a peedy recovery mate,
thanks for the warning, time to go and have a check-up
Rando

[Bosunsmate]

Hey there outsider, best wishes for a speedy recovery buddy, have had many many spots removed "just in case" but have been very lucky......So Far......

I am sure many of us would appreciate the pics to show the kids, they are a very good educator as they usualy scare the bejeevas out of them...

[bugman]

Brooke,

I'm booked in to get my check-up after reading that yarn.

Hope everything works out well in the long run mate.

Bugman

[DICER]

Outsider ... I wish you a speedy and full recovery. Let's hope that it's the only one for good. The bottom lip is a real tough one.

I'll be putting zinc crème on me, my partner and kids that's for sure.

My commiserations.

DICER

[Touchy - R.I.P.]

Mate, very pleased to hear you are on the up N up & things are starting to heal after the initial surgery, Crikey I'm glad you didnt post any piccies,it was bad enough using my imagination re the op. I think you got your meeage across to the other ausfishers anyway. Cheers Touchy.><>.

[whiteman]

Outsider, thanks for the gruesome description. I'm going in Friday to get my bottom lip lasered off. Should make for a fun weekend!

My advice to all who think they may have sun problems is to find a really good skin specialist and get them to give you a program of care. Skin Cancer clinics are popping up all over the place and while they are better than nothing, in my experience they are aimed at treatment rather than prevention and they are very aggressive with the CO2 gun!

[Outsider]

Thanks to all those who replied. Also suprising to see the number of others who have had some form of similar issue. Great to think that by sharing our experiences we might help convince others to get treatment or avoid exposure in the 1st place.

Back to the quack tomorrow to get the stitches removed. Unfortunately I don't think they'll give me another General Anaesthetic so this time I'll no doubt feel it. [smiley=bigcry.gif]

To those few who asked for the pics to show the kids - PM me your email and I'll pass them on.