Another Thing I Will Miss About Moving from LA

I will miss my dermatologist, Dr. Eric Lewis. He is the most amazing individual I have ever met. I will make trips back to California just to see him and have him handle my skin issues.

About 6-7 years ago I noticed both of the tops of my ears had, what looked like, tiny light brown scabs. I think that they might have begun to itch and that is what called my attention to them. They looked just like the picture on this post.

I asked all of my friends, "Check this out. What do you think it is?" And I got a variety of answers, "Looks like freckles. Looks like age spots." And then one friend said, "It looks like skin cancer."

I was referred to Dr. Lewis by a friend. I went in and he explained to me that it was squamous cell carcinoma. Dr. Lewis freezes the cell with liquid nitrogen.

My regular doctor would not pay attention to the spots until it would be too late and then surgery would be required.

I think I get this from my Dad's side of the family. Around the age of 70 my Dad had a chunk of his nose and the tops of his ears removed due to skin cancer.

Dr. Lewis also removes questionable moles. A brown mole with a tiny black dot in it (not necessarily in the center) is considered a questionable mole.

Dr. Lewis also does varicose vein stripping. I get the varicose veins from my Mom's side of the family. As a teenager I had them so bad in the backs of my knees that they would hurt and throb. I had my first procedure done in my early 20's. Not much has changed with the procedure. It's very painful. The great part is that it doesn't return. New varicose veins may develop. I remember fighting with my insurance company in my early 20's they didn't want to pay for the procedure because they said I was too young. It didn't matter how much pain I was in. So I paid for the procedure myself. The next time I had the procedure done was 20 years later.

I am getting "tweaked" before I move. So I have been seeing Dr. Lewis twice a week, for the last few weeks, until I leave, in a few weeks. Needless to say, I look and feel like I have been in a war zone. I have burn spots on my face, arms and chest. I have stitches in my thigh, back and shoulder and now the one of my legs is bandaged from the vein stripping I had done this morning.

The picture is just like what I discovered on the tops of my ears.

Ciao