I'm going to be outside all day tomorrow for a concert, and believe me, I will be completely covered in the highest SPF I can possibly get my hands! Stitches scare me. . . .

oh oh and i was the first comment! but now i'm all concerned about the moles i have on my back, i'm going ot have to go to the doctor.

best wishes, dooce :)

I'm getting a weird red spot on my forearm checked next week. thanks for instilling the fear of god, erm um, cancer in me. I say that in complete earnestness.

as my mom says: "chin up, chest out (such as it is)" - freakouts aside, it sounds like you're handling this like a champ.

youch.

I'm so naive. When I saw the very first pictures on this post I thought they were the after shots.

Going to take an SPF 85 bath....

Goodbye Ed. Nice knowin' you, don't let the door yer ass on the way out!

Thank you for proving that I'm not a complete fool for being so concerned that my sons are covered from head to foot in SPF 6000. Have a pint or two of ice cream - you deserve it.

Now you've got me scared shitless over a couple of moles I have..and probably rightly so! Fake orange lotion-made tan, here I come!

Good riddance to Ed!
And about those other areas...hopefully it's just a matter of cut and gone. I know it's not pleasant getting them removed, but the sooner they are off your body the better.

Does your doctor recommend one type of sunscreen over another? ( just curious)

hola woman! I am sending you all my love in the form of a big shady hat, jackie -o glasses, sunscreen..and a bottle of tequila. Well maybe my better-than-sex cake too..(believe me you it sometimes is!) ((If I can part with it)) We shall farewell ED & his cohorts ,the molettes aka ED&EDDY, and kick those unruly little subtenants out! The lease is up !
Ok enough rambling, Take care and relax today!oh by the way...HAPPY BIRTHDAY...MRS. Dooce Armstrong.. Happy Birhtday to you! Cha-Cha-Cha!!

Use this as an excuse to get drunk.

Oh, wait, you don't need an excuse, do you?

Be well!!!!

Ooops. Sorry. Be WELL.

Good message, Dooce. Try not to worry too much.

I'm glad you got Ed taken care of, but I'm sorry to hear that there's more Eds now. I will heed your sage advice to slather my children with sunscreen. After all, their lives really do depend on it. Best wishes, Heather!

I know this will be me in a few years. I spent 5 years as a lifeguard. I abhor sunscreen (and lotion, and makeup, and anything else that goes on my face), and I'm ungodly pale, so I used to soak up the sun all day, all summer long. I'm going to pay for my stupidity with cancer and wrinkles.

Thinking good thoughts for you. Those stiches do look like a gross bug. Now at least you can tell Leta that if she doesn't wear her sunscreen, the gross bugs will get her too. THAT would have gotten me to wear sunscreen.

Oh, I feel queasy!

Wishing you the very best. And a happy belated birthday!

Thanks, Heather, for sharing your story. Some may think that skin cancer is no big deal and it can be if it's treated early. It's really nothing to mess with. I hope your readers take your advice and cover up.

Yours is the only blog i read religiously everyday. My workday is incomplete unless i read your blog at lunch. When I saw your first post about Ed I almost started crying at work. I'm glad you got him taken care of and hopefully Shenaynay and Zirx (Thats what i'm naming the other two until you name them yourself) wont cause you too much trouble either.

I hope you feel better and i know you'll get better ASAP and my thoughts are with you.

I wonder how many lives you have saved by posting this. Thanks, Heather, and I hope Ed's relatives are easy to evict.

It is so good that you caught Ed and his little hoodlum friends before they could vandalize your bod any further. They broke a few windows, but didn't manage to burn the joint down. Bastards.

In all my younger years of excruciating self-loathing, I never once thought I'd be 40, looking back gratefully at having spent all my youthful beach time covered up in a massive T-shirt - "Frankie Say Relax!" - because I didn't want anyone to see my body.

I've spent years as a lifeguard and many a vacation in Las Vegas sitting in the sun WITHOUT sunscreen. Because I am young, stupid, crazy, naive and because I think that I couldn't possibly get any sort of skin cancer because I'm black and I have lots of melanoma and everything will be fine. And now? Now, I'm freaked the fuck out and purchasing 45. So really, I thank you for this.

Dear Heather - Hooray for the Death of Ed!

Dear Jon - I'm sure you help her with those hard-to reach spots..you know, like...Leta. Crocs will soon be proven to excacerbate cancers, and you should know this.

Dear Edwina and Eddette: Die, bastards!

Glad that you are doing better. Is scary, this getting older crap. Love the photo doc. Although, I must say, I had a stitch pop, and your pics made me go back to the 'bad place' concerning that. Although... My stitch was, uh, postpartum ( http://annenahm.com/?p=51 ). Hey! Be careful with your stitches! Just sayin'.

Thanks for reminding people about the dangers of not using sunscreen.

I hope the pathology shows that they got all of Ed and he didn't leave his moustache or his big toe or something. Same for the other two spots, may they be removed quickly and completely!

I've been there, done that. It gets better once you know that they are completely gone. Then you just have to be vigilant about the sunscreen and about watching for new spots.

You seem so strong. I would totally be freaking out...though i did once have a pap w/ "pre-cancerous cells" and it didnt faze me - the LEEP procedure did! Thank god for you and your family that you dont have a more serious type of cancer and much luck in dealing with what comes next and next and next....

YOU ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!! (cuz i know you hate that ;> )

Oh Heather, that is aweful! Girl, you have certainly been to hell and back.

I wish you the best, and this was a great message for everyone!

Your in our thoughts and I'll say a prayer to the Flying Spaghetti Monster for you!

gag me with a bulldozer...and, i mean, like, on FULL BLAST!!!!!!!!!

please let us know when you get elvis and jimmy hoffa removed...hope that goes well and they don't end up in hotdogs somewhere.

::gag::

Thank you for sharing this experience with us. I love your style of writing and I'm in awe of how you can share this with us in such an entertaining way. Good luck and I hope and pray you will be cancer free.

you've convinced me. i'm checking myself and going to a dermatologist to check a mole i've been suspicious of for a while.

Heather, I am sorry all that this is so frightening.
You have my positive thoughts and well wishes.

I am rather pale, and last Sunday I spent the day at my friends' pool and on their boat. I did a bang-up job with the sunscreen. Except on my stomach. Which ended up striped. It's a nice look. Really.

Heather, I'm so glad that your doctor is taking precautions by suggesting the removal of these 'extras'.

My fiance just had a mole removed from his back (after years of my prompting that HE GET IT CHECKED OUT!!) and we're still awaiting the results. Scary.

Take care and be well.

I am glad it's gone, off and out and away from your body. I hope the other two spots come back negative. And I applaud you for sending that message out to everyone. You are awesome.

I think you need to transform the Ed scar into a nice anchor tattoo. Or a heart with "MOM" on the inside. Or -- better yet -- "WINONA FOREVER".

Here's to healthy, cancer-free Armstongs, now and forever. xo

Thank you for sharing!

I used to lay around in spf 8 (4 was just irresponsible) all summer, but these past few years, I've matured and have been moving up to 15 and 30, depending on the length of my exposure. I've been seeing a dermatologist (not like dating one, but going to one in an office- copay and everything) who says that everything looks fine.

Still. It's scary.

thanks for sharing your experiences and photos Heather and for reminding us to cover up, I am a fair skinned New Zealander who is dreading the day I find a mole that doesn't look right...I hope you heal well and that those other two spots are taken care of easily - do they have names by the way? Take care.

Dooce, that's scary. I hope you have no more Ed's. And that Ed was not as bad as he seemed.

Try the spray on sunscreen. Easier to get onto squirmy toddlers.

Heather, I think it is awesome that you chose to share this personal story with everybody because sunscreen is something that skips our minds. I once read that you only need about two substantial sunburns/suntans for cancer to start. I am glad Ed is gone and hopefully the rest of his family will be gone too. Good luck with everything.

It's like that tv show... Ed, Edd and Eddy. You know, except with cancer added for extra fun.

Thank you for sharing your life with us and for these pictures. I'm now looking all over for anything resembling a red splotch on my body.

I always check in for my Daily Dose of Dooce. Take care of yourself. :o)

Amy

People, people, put away that sunscreen and get yourself some sunBLOCK. BLOCK. BLOCK. BLOCK THOSE RAYS!

Products that contain zinc or titanium dioxide are designed to BLOCK the rays rather than SCREEN them out. Screening lets in some light. If you want some color, get a spray-on tan and leave those UVAs and UVBs for the more olive-skinned folks out there.

So long, Ed. Hope we never see you again.

I'm showing my kids your post. They think I am a PIA about the sunscreen. ME: Irish, grew up in the era of greasy sunscreen and blistering burns. KIDS: mother that at least tried.

Nancy

* sending you wishes for good health *

How timely to read this just minutes after getting back from my own biopsy.

I was seeing my dermatologist for an unrelated issue and thought, 'what the hell, why not throw in a mole check?' I didn't actually think she'd find anything.
And I don't know if I would have asked for the exam had I not been reading your site. So thanks.

Incidentally, I'm the one who wrote you about my shitty ex-boyfriend Ed. Imagine my amusement at the title of this post, and subsequent comments. Lots of love to you and yours.

Heather,

I was getting a mole checked out at my dermatologist when I came across the issue of Glamour which contained the article featuring you. Weird.

I'm sorry about the cancer and glad that it is gone. Thank you so much for sharing your story and pictures. You have raised awareness for all of us. My 4 year old daughter has milky skin just like Leta's and red hair so you better believe I'm not going to stop my SPF 50 campaign with her anytime we're in the sun for more than 10 minutes.

Thank you again.

brilliant advice, heather. if u look at the photos of me on my blog, u'll think that i'm not a person who needs sunscreen but after years of beach time in brasil, florida + california, i know that EVERYONE needs it.

thank god this was all caught so early 4 u. i'm sending u peace + magic 4 your healing.

Glad you got rid of the unwelcome squatter! Could be in a worse place, though. My father had to have skin cancer removed from his nose which involved reconstructive surgery, etc. Needless to say this was even less attractive than the creepy spider-like stiches in your arm.

...and on the plus side it finally got me to forgive my mother for putting so much sunscreen on me as a child that in family videos from Christmas visits to Santa I actually blended in with his beard. I looked like the kid in "Powder" and resented the heck out her for that. So the scary ugly cancer fear is totally helping with that.

For the first time, I'm posting w/o reading comments.

1) I, too, wanted my excised mole when my doctor cut it off. I also wanted to keep the small lump that he cut out of my armpit (which was straying very close to my boob). He nixed both ideas of mine. He finally gave in when I wanted my gall bladder - he didn't give me the organ, but let me keep the big, fat gallstones in a jar. I figure if it came out/off me - it's still mine. Do I need to mention that I also have my wisdom teeth in a jar? But my husband finally made me take them off the bookcase in the living room. I ended up mailing them to a friend of his.

2)As sick as this may sound, I couldn't imagine you NOT sharing these photos with all of us, who are bizarrely intertwined in your lives. Thank you for sharing.

Hang in there, kiddo. Laughter IS the best medicine, and your sense of humor (sick as it is) will help you get well!

Hi Heather, I went through a similar ordeal in February with melanoma on my scalp so I know exactly how you feel. My damn hair STILL hasn't grown back on that spot. I have a checkup in Sept, but the doctor thinks I am ok. Total scare and now I am super-paranoid about my skin. But I am so glad you got it taken care of early. There are tons of people who wait until it's too late.

THANK YOU for advocating sunscreen! I am constantly telling my friends & family to put it on. People don't realize how dangerous it is to not wear it. Especially for kids, since my oncologist said most of the damage was done when I was a kid.

Yeah, I'm going next week to get two spots checked out.

Skin cancer in my family like a bad cold. Everyone gets it.

hang in there, heather! and remember to get any suspicious looking freckles or moles checked anually!

Oh, shit. Why in God's name, when my grandfather having had half his HEAD removed for skin cancer didn't stop me, is this making me want to stop my wicked ways?

Heather, I am so glad it's getting taken care of. And the jagged line of stitches makes you look tough and intimidating and ruggedly sexy.

And smarter than most of us.

I'm making a mental note to get a skin check, since I'm already a vampire who shrieks if sun touches her.
Good luck, and kick that cancer's ass.

I'm making an appointment right now to get my skin checked too! Now I'm skeptical of every spot on me!

good luck with all your spots. I would use another exclamation point but didn't want to hog them all.

The other day my Mom told me she had a spot on her nose that looked scar-like and she was wondering if she should get it checked out, then I was all "Oh my GAWD - it's basal cell carcinoma - Dooce has it and I read all about it on the computing box - get thee to a doctory!" So see, you're helping save lives. Sending you a virtual lollipop O-- for being a very brave girl. Heal well.

Swooping in with the wonderful news: just because your extra spots look funny doesn't necessarily mean they're malignant. Of course, if you ever have a mole that isn't uniform in color, doesn't grow hairs, or changes shape: get it checked! But the good news is that this stuff can occur with moles that aren't cancerous. Only a biopsy can tell you for sure. In the meantime, sunscreen is the shit (a subject expounded upon by numerous posters)!

Again, thank you for sharing this with your readers. I credit you for letting a number of people know that those funny-looking dark spots might not be so kosher after all. Here's hoping those little moles are healthy as horses.

Calling around to schedule a mole check right now.... Take care of yourself Dooce! And be sure to bring lotsa sunscreen to San Jose this weekend - it's gonna be over 100 all weekend. Bring a hat too =).

I too have many scars from biopsy from Basil Cell Skin cancer's and one looks just like a "water bug" on my upper chest. when my kids were young they use to tell everyone that i had bugs on my chest!
I'm sorry you have now joined the sun burns of yesterday club. I have had so many biopsy that I now think of it like a weight loss clinic. every 6 months they take chunks of skin and send them of the the lab.
Try not to lift anything to heavey, thats when the stitches stretch and you end up with the 'bug scars'
Good luck with the other 'spots'. i hope they are negitive.

Had a squamous cell removed from my forehead several years ago and now use a fabu sunscreen, L'Oreal's Ombrelle. Unfortunately, not available in the States but in Canada, and has all the right ingredients, no weird smell.

Good luck to you. I have a close friend who must do self-administered chemo to facial features several times a year and it's no picnic.

Happy Birthday! You have cancer.

That sucks.

Death to Ed and his whole da*n family.....Hang in there Dooce

Good luck, Heather.

And know that I slather Max and Gus with sunscreen whenever they're out in the sun.

Take care.

dooce has a baby:
"Wow dooce must think she's the first person in the world to have a baby, sheesh!"

dooce has post-partum depression:
"Pssh, poor dooce has to change diapers. This woman actually thinks her life is hard?!?!"

dooce commits herself to a psychiatric hospital:
"Oh boo hoo, dooce feels like killing herself! Some people just need some common sense slapped into them."

dooce gets skin cancer in her arm:
"This woman is pathetic. She thinks her cancer is bad? Your cancer is the Glass Joe in the Mike Tyson's Punch-Out of cancer! Your cancer is NOTHING compared to this cancer that my cousin's uncle's ex-wife had!!!"

And a sneak preview of the responses to next month's posts, in which dooce is run over by a tractor and left a quadripalegic:
"Oh LORD now she's complaining that she doesn't have any arms or legs?!?! Aww, poor widdle dooce has to GET SERVED HAND AND FOOT! Doesn't she realize that she can kick back and take it easy from here on out?!?! Maybe she should realize that some of us aren't lucky enough to get to WORK FROM HOME!!!"

1. The fact that another 'Jeni' posts on your blog weirds me out and I always think, 'Did I already comment? Why don't I remember?'.

2. I mentioned your on going crayon (crown vs. cray-on) war today in my blog and thought of you.

3. I'm sorry about the mole drama. I, too, am covered head to toe in moles and have had many removed. So far, none have been cancer, but I'm only 25, so I'm waiting for the day the news changes.

4. I have been using Aveeno 45 sunscreen that blocks both the UVA and UVB sun rays and it works really well for me. I use the oil free kind so I can use it on my face. I apologize for the unsolicited advice, but us fair skinned, mole-y people have to stick together.

Feel better.

Laughter is the best medicine they say. Bravo to you for sharing these scary times so the rest of us will take heed.

Wishing you a speedy recovery and benign results in the future.

Not the best way to ring in your birthday. Happy belated wishes. Happiness on your birthday and ALL days.

Dooce, you are awesome. Glad Ed has been evicted, (and don't let the door hit you in the butt on the way out now, ya' hear?).

I've had a weirdness on my shoulder for a while now that I haven't liked the looks of, and your bout with Ed has made me call my dermatologist for an appointment. I go in next week. Hopefully mine won't be cancer, but if it is, thank you for making me take care of it sooner rather than later.

Thank God I'm Asian and (almost) immune to such ... inconveniences.

1 down and 2 to go, eh? It's alright. I'm sure that Jon will like the scars.

Nerds always dig chicks with scars.

Ugh. This is SO not helping me in my quest to procrastinate making an appointment with the dermatologist.

I've heard about the inspection they do.

So far only my husband, OB/GYN, and hospital nurses (and the car full of guys next to us the time I was a really drunken passenger in a car on the freeway) have seen those bits of me. Do I REALLY need to add another stranger to that list?

Apparently so. *sigh* Adding to mental to-do list for next week.

Glad you evicted your unwanted tenant successfully. I hear dysentary amoebas make way cooler parasites than cancer, anyway. At least you'd get to poop regularly. ;)

Hey Heather - I wish you the best of luck. I had four moles removed last week to be on the safe side, and while it's not a fun thing to do, it's better than having to worry about it later. Hey everyone! Get those buggers checked out!

I am a registered EMT who thinks nothing of controlling bleeding or doing CPR on a 300 lbs. person (trust me, it's not any fun!) but why is it I'm so creeped out by stitches? They remind me of spiders, but really I don't mind spiders!

As soon I saw your photos it was like little alien bugs started crawling all over my body, so Leta's expression I'm sure is what I looked like.

The fact that there seems to be more, you've scared me straight. Actually I'm very good about putting on my sunscreen, but I seems to miss spots! I'm sure I have plenty of sun damage from when I was kid...by back and shoulders are covered in freckles.

You're a strong person, and you have a wonderful family there for you....

You'll kick the Mo'Fo'!

"Ed is dead baby, Ed is dead."

One thing most people don't know about sunscreen is that it inhibits vitamin D production. Not saying don't use it, but keep this in mind.

http://tinyurl.com/g96eo

Best wishes for a fast recovery and a complete end to any canceriferous incidents! Sunscreen recommendation for your face (I have to wear 1,000 spf sunscreen at all times because I'm extremely fair-skinned and also have rosacea, which hates the sun) is Neutrogena 30 SPF Sensitive Skin sunblock. It's oil and fragrance free, and doesn't irritate even my skin, which gets irritated if someone even looks at it too hard. Also, read this article for key info on which sunblocks actually work and which are total bunk: http://www.medindia.net/news/view_news_main.asp?x=11606

Oh Heather, you are doing so much good by just sharing this information with people.

If there is a god, I hope she is kind.

We all LOVE YOU and RESPECT YOUR COURAGE!!!!

SPF 50 is at the ready.....

Heather-

I have had 5 removed myself. Only 1 had traces of pre cancer cells. I am sure you will be fine soon. The scar becomes barely visable as time goes on.

In other news I have seen your name mentioned alot in recent days due to this website and woman. http://www.petiteanglaise.com. Any comment on this and have you reached out to your counterpart in france?

Here's to wishing you a speedy recovery and as little discomfort as possible; i'm sure a fifth of your favorite liquor would certainly do the trick ;)

-be well-

I hope everything goes well for you. being a whitey myself, I have tried to cover up but recently got 2 bad burns.. for the first time. My dad had pre-cancerous moles and such.. I am probably doomed. People think I am crazy because I respect my husband's religion and cover up (married a Muslim, don't cover my hair! I'm not Muslim) but I decided not only for him but also for me.. because the sun is killer. I did it 50% for health reasons alone.

I enjoy the fact that you went with Ed; it is totally a logical choice to designate to your cancerous entity.

I had three moles removed last week that were suspicious, but don't hold a candle to Ed! I agree - make sure you use sunscreen and pay close attention the little buggers on your body. And your children, too.

I'm SOOOOOOOO glad you posted pictures. I've wanted to see what Ed looked like since you first posted about "him".
I'm one of those weirdos that likes to see and post wounds of an interesting nature. My blog readers were fairly grossed out when I posted pics of my husbands staples from his Gall Bladder surgery this past January, no blood or gore just staples.
I've also been through the biopsy process on several moles before. I never got any stitches so when my "holes" healed they looked like large white freckles, now they look like large regular colored freckles. Luckily mine were benign. Sending you healthy vibes from Arizona! Actually we'll be in Salt Lake for 10 days starting tomorrow...so maybe the vibes will grow stronger the closer we get?

i'll send good thoughts your way for Ed's little friends. if you're up to it, send some this way. dh had more biopsies done this week. he's had so many that we have lost count. he's had so many come back as melanoma or "pre-cancerous" that we've lost count of those too. some people think, "oh, it's just skin cancer. they cut it out and it's no big deal." yeah, well, it's a big, big deal when it happens in your house. if you stay vigilant, it can be managed quite well. however staying vigilant eats up a lot your day and your stress level.

You and I have the same skin. Exactly. And you're right. It's never over. In the back of my mind, I'm always thinking the big "M" is getting closer and closer.

As I sip my wine tonight, I'll give thanks that Ed is dead and pray his evil cousins don't ever come to avenge him.

Aww..... Heather, hang in there.

PS My dog that looks like Chuck and all his colleagues lick the plates too, to hell with the naysayers...

i'm a long time visitor, first time commenter. heather, i LOVE your site. I first found you thru a link on a friend's blog and soon had to read all about your pregnancy and baby experiences, as I am currently 11 weeks pregnant myself.

But anyway, I hope that Ed is the last of your cancer woes and I wish you the best as you get the rest of your gang removed. I have always been a sun worshipper myself, but you have scared me into wearing sunscreen. Thanks for running such a wonderful site!

I was thinking of wearing all black in mourning of your dear and beloved Ed. But then I realized, hey, Ed was a bastard. And also, a bringer of the stitches. And then I also realized that it's 90+ degrees outside, so black is just plain impractical as a wardrobe choice.

Better luck next time, Eddie. Or you know, suck eggs.

I had a similar situation back in January. I noticed one of my moles had a bit of a red spot in it and went in to get it checked out. I was 22 weeks pregnant and just thought that the moles were changing because of hormones. Not the case. The mole came back as having cells consistent with melanoma. They just hadn't finished mutating yet. A nearby mole came back as severly a-typical. I had to have outpatient surgery and now have two 2-inch long scars on my thigh. I went in for my 3 month check up and had one taken off of my hand. That came back as moderatly a-typical and more outpatient surgery, 2 inch scar on my hand. Just went back and had one taken off of my leg, just a-typical so the doctor was able to take that out in the office, with 3 stitches afterwards. I'm turning into the Bride of Frankenstein. Hang in there. At least they are cutting this stuff out of you before it spreads and does some real damage.

Love,
D

I am very glad that you got that taken care of. Along with the sun protection I also want to remind all the wonderful women to get annual Pap tests. I know. Like anyone wants to hear about that. On Aug. 11 I get to to have some unruley cells burned off my cervix by the LEEP procedure. Fun!!! I can hardly wait!!

i hesitate to post unsolicited advice, but if the other lesions being removed are even remotely suspicious for melanoma, make sure it's not a shave biopsy. everything about a melanoma depends on its depth, and the shave biopsy totally ruins the chance to accurately determine it.

good luck to you. i find it a little frustrating that so many people who have posted here seem to have ignored all of the publicity and warnings about the dangers of sun exposure and are now suddenly because of your post changing their ways. but, if you have that kind of power, then i am happy you're able to use it for good.

I have always joked that I won't be surprised if I have skin cancer by the time I'm thirty. I spent years outside as a lifeguard and swim instructor, and have had some severe sunburns during my life. I used to hate being so white but I've come to be quite content with the lack of sun touching my skin, and slathering on the sunblock over the past while.

Shortly before your original post about Ed I noticed a mole that seems to have changed, and have promised myself that I will have it looked at. When I made a comment last night about it to some friends they went "yeah, but it's not like skin cancer's going to kill ya". I shouldn't have been shocked, as they both smoke [and one has the most OUTLANDISH thoughts about her reasons for not quitting] but I still stood there in shocked silence and stated "are you kidding me?"

Thank you for sharing this with us, in hopes that everyone will start to wear even just a little bit more sunblock. Sending lots of happy vibes your way.

I'm glad Ed met a horrible death. Serves him right.

I hear ya about that initial needle prick, though - my BCC was right aside of my nose. Having novocain injected into my nose was the most excruciating experience (well, I'm sure there are worse experiences, perhaps I just haven't had them yet).

Take comfort in the fact that the body is quite elastic, and I'm sure in no time at all you'll hardly even see evidence that Ed was ever a resident in your body. When I first saw my stiches, I thought I'd have a horrible scar right there in the middle of my face. Now, unless I actually tell someone I had a BCC gouged from my nose, no one would ever even notice. After you get the stiches out, Neosporin or Vaseline works wonders to keep the area hydrated and the skin happy.

Someone told me there's actually SPF clothing out there. I personally haven't seen it yet, but it may be worth looking into...

I hope the other two offending little fu*****(ahem) residents are removed without incident. All the best!

Joanne

Glad you're ok - sorry there's more. I have one that's been removed too. Neosporin!! And whatever ani-scarring stuff you can get - because the scar can be ugly. And don't you dare pick this one - trust me, you won't be happy with the result. Mine came out looking worse than it started (totally my fault, of course)

Dude, based on what you said the other day I pictured this being MUCH worse than what it actually is. Not that I'm making light of your situation... just letting you know that I've known at least three other people with larger basal cell carcinomas that turned out to be absolutely nothing in the long run. And, all of us have little enemy spots all over us. You're going to be just fine, Heather, and I'm really glad for that. ;-)

Death to Ed and his no-good cousins! This isn't easy to deal with, I know, but we're all rooting for you.

--Amanda

Love ya, Dooce.

Being a skin cancer patient is no fun. (Take it from somebody who dealt with it at age 19 and will, as you mentioned, have the possibility of recurrence hanging over me for the rest of my life!) Although it's probably less painful than say, colon cancer, it's cancer nonetheless and therefore just as scary. (And those craters they leave behind hurt like a muther.)

Glad you got Ed before it was too late.

Why are they surprised that you'd wanna keep Ed?

You're handling this with much better humor than I would. As a whitey whitey white girl of shamrockian descent, I've had enough sun damage over the years to be very vigilant now. Your separation from Ed just reinforces the notion.

Oh, and happy belated birthday! I wish you enough more birthdays to harass your great-great-great grandchildren with a kickass camera.

Thanks for writing this, Heather. My husband just found out he has the same type of skin cancer you have and so I'm forwarding him this link so he can see that other people get through it and keep their sense of humor.

Thanks again.

HI Heather!

I was just looking through all your cool photos and I thought to myself how lucky your daughter is to have such a cool mom! I just think you are such an inspiration and you are a creative spirit. Thanks for sharing your personal life with the world. I have you in my thoughts and prayers... and again thank you!

L

It is a great thing you are doing by sharing this information with such candor. Your warning will resonate and influence so many people.

Ten years ago one of my clients had skin cancer at the same time I had ovarian cancer. People were treating my situation as so much more serious than hers. She died a truly hideous death but I'm still here.

I cleared U.S. Customs in Miami last winter and the Customs Officer literally did a double take because I was so pasty white after a week in Mexico. "Stop using the SPF 60", he joked.

I don't think so.

Take good care of yourself.

Hey, be glad they upped your insurance before you had Ed sucked out of you! You can bet your ass that next time a $72 increase is going to seem like nothing!

Heather,

Glad that Ed is gone, but, ack, more? Sorry learn it's not over, and that there are more moles to be removed and examined. Are you going to name them like NOAA names hurricanes?

I hope you are ok, given the circumstances. Thanks for sharing all of this with us. Reading about your experience had prompted me to change my behavior as I'm going to be more diligent putting sunscreen on my kids and myself from now on.

Wishing you all the best.

I am probably beyond saving (Summer when I was a kid included an expectation that I would get a severe burn at least once) but my children are not. They are 12 and 14 and I can honestly say that they have never been sunburnt in their lives, due to me applying sunscreen when they were young and indoctrinating them when they were older. It is now a habit.

I generally suck as a mother so I'm claiming the kudos where I can. At least I've done something right.

Glad you got rid of Ed, hopefully the Doc can destroy any of Ed's relatives. You got lotsa' folks out here sending well wishes your way.

I stopped with the whole Sun thing at 18. I was drunk and laid out and was badly burned. From that point on, I've been known as "the girl in the bubble". It's not easy being milky white, but hopefully it'll keep me skin-cancer free.

My birth father is a carrot top, he has to have his skin PEELED. Not a pretty site at all.

Glad your Doctor's caught it.

Yikes, these photos are not what I expected. I am very sorry you had to go through this but am also glad you are able to get the care that you need.

This has to be a short comment, I don't think I applied sunscreen in the last few minutes...

Gosh, that is scary. Without wishing to sound entirely fawning, I do think that you are very brave to blog about this.

Your message and honesty will probably reach further than any non-personal-well-meant-money-wasting publicity campaign will ever do.

I am really sorry you have to go through this but thanks for sharing it with the world.

Wishing you all the best.

I volunteer to do full body skin searches on you every 90 days. No charge, but you have to speak Southern to me, I miss it something awful.

Kyla

I'm sorry, Heather.

I am so thankful that you are ok, that Ed is Dead (doesn't that sound like some punk song?). I will be thinking of you and wishing you well especially during the next procedure to remove Ed's family from the belly and back....Living here in Sunville, it's easy to forget to wear sunscreen "just" for everyday walking around, but I will from now on. Much love to you and your family, and continued thoughts and prayers for you, Heather.

ps.......Happy Belated Birthday! Mine was just this week too. :)

I had a bcc mole removed last year, the procedure was much more extensive than I anticipated and left a 2 inch scar on my back! Photos documenting the event would have been awesome, great idea!

Wow, Heather, your arm looks way better than mine looked when I had my tumor (named Oscar, after the Grouch-I was six) removed. I have been a slave to sunscreen ever since. I can only hope Cass (my daughter, five months old) ends up with her Daddy's Greek skin instead of my Celtic skin. Good luck, there all sorts of life after skin cancer. I hope your recovery and subsequent spot checks are as speedy and uneventful as mine were.

So many, many things to love about this blog -- perhaps the first and foremost being the total candor (on topics that won't hurt anyone close to you). Thank you for this post.

Skin cancer can kill and people thinking otherwise need to educate themselves.

My grandfather passed away two and a half years ago from skin cancer that he had not gotten checked out. He had been in the sun all his life without sunscreen or other protections. The weird spots went ignored and unnoticed. So the cancer went internal. It attacked his spine, his organs, and was about to move to his brain when he died.

My maternal aunt has a chunk of her nose and a piece of her forehead just gone due to skin cancer. We were afriad we were going to lose her too.

My entire family now watches "weird" skin like crazy and we go to have it checked out. Skin cancer can kill. And cancer is an ugly, nasty disease.

Thank you for sharing your story and the photos that bring it home. Hopefully you will have saved some lives by making people think so that they can protect themselves and be proactive about getting checked.

I had my gallbladder removed while I was pregnant with my second. I asked the surgeon if he would save the gallstones for me, hoping I could make a baby rattle out of it, and I got the same sort of reaction. These are doctors, for godness sake! They've dissected a cadaver to within an inch of its afterlife. Why would they find wanting to keep a little memento of a semi-traumatic event so morbid?

All the best to you and yours.

First... I am so sorry. I am thinking of you, and wishing you the very, very best.

Second... Happy Birthday!

SPF 45, plus that great Jergen's (or Olay) fake "glow" cream to give me a tan without a second of sun exposure. I like the look of being tan, and luckily now the bottled tans look really natural.

Thanks for the close up picture of Ed. My boyfriend is very fair skinned and has tons of freckles, he also works outside all day. Since your posts about this, I bought him some SPF 60 and ordered him to wear it or they will cut chunks out of him. I hope Ed's relatives don't decide to come over for a uninvited stay.

Ed's dead, baby, Ed's dead. (No, i didn't read the other comments, something about lack of attention span.)

So while there MIGHT be a Ned, or Ted I will faithfully keep my fingers crossed that they are, in fact, just really sassy moles.

Best Wishes and good vibes sent your way!

Heather, cancer is a scarey thing. I lost both my mother and grandmother to cancer. Lung and skin respectively. I am so glad that yours was caught early!!! I wish you a speedy recover and that no more Ed's are found. I love your website. You truly have the gift of writing and a wonderful sense of humor. Thank you for inviting us into your world. Love Leta too, my son, a 2 1/2 your old thinks she is pretty!..Regina

I suggest you read the Margaret Atwood story about the girl who had a "hairball" removed from her innards. It was some sort of tumor. (I actually knew someone in real life who had this. It had teeth and everything.) Margaret's girl packaged the hairball up and sent it via mail to her jerk-ass ex boyfriend. Maybe if you could get them to give you Ed back you could use him to exact revenge on some deserving mutherfucker.

Thank you for writing about this. My husband is going in today to have part of a mole removed for a biopsy. We are both pretty nervous, but reading your saga of Ed has made it less scary. We feel more prepared for what may come. You are awesome.

Thanks for sharing Ed's last days. This is so important, you are brave. Even a "little cancer" is very scary. Did you ever read the short story "The Carcinoma Angels"? You might dig it. Healing vibes your way...

You know, the scariest thing about Ed is that he looks so harmless, at least to my untrained eyes. Thank you for sharing the pictures to help us recognize him for what he is. And I hope that the other spots turn out to be nothing to worry about. Thanks again.

You might find it helpful to do a search on Can-X, or Black Salve, both are ointments which you can use to draw out the skin cancer yourself. I've used Can-X myself and know others also. The main site for it was discontinued by the FDA because it claimed to do what I just told you. But there are sources out there for it and it's an amazingly simple process, especially if you can reach the site yourself. It's also effective on animals. And if the item in question isn't a cancer, the initial treatment will have no effect at all.
It's too bad more people don't know about this, or take more responsiblity for their own treatment. It's so cheap, easy, and effective.

It is my understanding that you and Jon are incorporated? Have you looked into buying group insurance through your company? My hub and I have a little computer consulting business, and when we were both working full-time for it we found out that a company with at least 2 employees qualifed for group insurance. This was before our child was born (or conceived) and we had been dismayed by the lack of any individual policies that cover maternity. The ability to buy as a group was wonderful. Plus, we ran the expenses through the company's books. I promise, I'm not an insurance agent, nor do I represent one. :)

(BTW, I'm a friend of Jenorama's, don't have a blog of my own, although she's bugging me to start one)

Hope your mind is at ease, the other two punks notwithstanding.

My daughter said the most interesting thing today: I was out stacking firewood and she pulled into the driveway and came over to pretend to help. She said "Have you been reading Dooce lately?"

"Sure." We're both regular readers.

She said. "It's the weirdest thing. I feel like when I'm watching a sitcom, and then out of left field something serious happens. So my reaction was "Ohh, they gave Dooce cancer!". And now I have to keep watching, because you know it's going to turn out all right but you don't know how they're going to do it."

I totally got what she was saying.

I realize as I'm tying this that there's really not much you can do with it. But - it felt like something worth mentioning. I'll bet a lot of people in your readership will go, "Huh. Yeah, I get that."

I guess I really need to be more careful when in the sun too and to stay out of it whenever possible. I worried about it a bit, but not enough really. And I'll have to really make sure my doctor checks my skin real well next time I see she too.

Heather, I'm so, so sorry about this. We are all thinking of you!

I am so making an appointment with my doctor to see a dermatologist next week. *sigh* Even with my very dark skin (Mexican & Native American), I know I am not immune...even though I acted like I was my entire adolescence. Ugh.
Thanks for these public service announcements, Heather. We would do well to pay attention!
*hugs* I wish you the very best. You can kick this cancer's ass! And you'll have the tough-woman scars to prove it!

I think I could do a better job with the stitches ... couldn't they have used a lighter weight suture? Ask them that with the next two ... tell them you are a fragile flower ... you don't need to be stitched up like you were made out of leather. Sheesh.

Ha. When I had cancer of the thyroid, I nicknamed it Bob. My Uncle Bob wasn't thrilled but it was the first name that came to mind.

Hi Heather... cancer is scary, period. You have every right to tell every single one of those nasty people to fuck off if they tell you that your skin cancer isn't a big deal.

I'm actually one big walking freckle with boobs, so looking at Dead Ed actually looks like a few spots I have on me. And I'm calling a dermatologist on Monday, so thank you.. by posting pictures of Ed Who Is Dead, you are doing a huge service to everyone who thinks that the little bump on their body is just a sore/pimple/pink freckle. I actually sent 6 of my girlfriends a link to this post too, just so they can see that this happens to REAL people.

Please keep us updated on this, and know that you have loads of people sending you well wishes.

You know how doctors attributed the increase in screenings for colon cancer to Katie Couric's on-air colonoscopy? And how they called it the Couric Effect?

Take heed, Doctors, for The Dooce Effect. I predict you'll accomplish for skin cancer what even the good senator from Arizona was unable to do.

Thanks for taking care of yourself, and for looking out for your faithful readers in the process.