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Annual checkup at the dermatologist
Headline in today's N.Y. Times:
'Republicans' Big F.B.I. Cut Came From Scrapping One Senator's Earmark'
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/08/us/politics/fbi-budget-earmark.html
I'm glad to see that retired Senator Richard C. Shelby's earmark has been scrapped (sp?) and indications are that his prognosis looks excellent. I recall my late father had an earmark years ago that was also treated and taken care of. I wouldn't call it a 'mark', it was more like a raised patch of skin on his earlobe which never seemed to go away. The dermatologist determined it was a squamous cell carcinoma after taking a biopsy.
He felt the best treatment would be to use a curet, a medical scraping tool. He would scrape a tiny portion of skin from the ear and do a biopsy. If cancer was found to be present, another scraping would occur. Scrapings would continue until no cancer was found. This is an alternative to surgery. I remember how my father complained about sitting in the waiting room all day as the doctor did 4-5 scrapings before he felt all the cancer was removed. It may not be pleasant sitting in a doctors office all day, but isn't it preferable than dying of skin cancer?
According to one estimate, over 5.4 million basal and squamous cell skin cancers are diagnosed each year in the US. Be smart. Make an appointment with a dermatologist today!
