A rough end to 2011

Well I had a rough end to 2011 and have been dealing with some health issues.
In November I was diagnosed with Basal Cell Carcinoma on my right cheek. Skin cancer? At 36? Really? Could I have any more worse luck. Wasn't enough to have pre-melanoma 5 years ago?
Being blonde haired, blue eyed and fair skinned is the pits sometimes. I have no idea what Hilter was thinking when he was saying that this is the perfect race. It has given me nothing but trouble. I burn so easily in the sun, my eyes water when its bright outside and my skin is also super sensitive to everything!
The spot on my face started out as nothing super spectacular. It looked like a pimple that wouldn't pop or go away (this spot has been there for a number of years now). Earlier in 2011, it changed shape a little and I headed to the dermatologist to get it checked out. He thought it looked like a cyst and was treating with freezing it. It would burn when he did it, scab over and then not change. After 2 freezing and no results, it was biopsied. My derm was skepitcal that it was anything serious, so it made me feel better and I didn't worry about it. After a week not hearing anything, I forgot about the test results. Surprise...I was called to come in. It was Skin Cancer...and my derm couldn't do anything about it in his office and refered me to another Dr.
Dr. Stiff was awesome. He is also a dermatologist, but couldn't get me in until early december. So on December 3rd, the misery began. I had to have MOHS surgery on my face. Its a local anestethic, with old fashioned lidocaine and a scapel, the only difference is, the derm is trained to look at the tissue under a microscope and decide if more skin needs to be taken in order to get all of the cancer. The surgery went well and I had a huge hole in my face.

Unexpected

Well I recently found out that I had Skin Cancer. I have had a spot on my cheek for about 5 years. It started out as just a small spot, similar to a pimple that wouldn't pop. I saw my dermatologist and thought it was a cyst and he lanced it and I was on my way. It never went away, but it wasn't something that seemed to be so obvious or even that noticeable, so I let it be. In the past year, it seemed to change. It got larger and seemed to turn inward and develop a perfect circular ring around it. I went to my dermatologist again, he thought it looked suspicious and starting freezing the area. It would scab over and peel off, still nothing. In November this year, he took a biopsy of the area, the result: basal cell carcinoma. I panicked. He told me this wasn't something he could do in his office and referred me to Dr. Stiff. Dr. Stiff is a Mohs trained dermatologist. Mohs surgery is basically microscopic surgery. They removed the area with a scapel and review it under a microscope to see if they got all of the cells. If they didn't they go back in and take more and more again if they need to. He was a great Doctor, but unfortunately, I am now left with a Large hole (or crater) in my cheek. But the good news is I am now Basal Cell Carcinoma free. yay!