A near miss?

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Matt Todd

For as long as I could remember, I had a mole on my thigh. For a long time, I thought it was a birthmark. It kind of looked like a spot of dirt that never went away. In fact, an uncle or two used to joke with me, saying that it was clear that I hadn’t taken a bath that day because they could see a dirt spot on my leg.

I might have been annoyed by that mole, but I didn’t really think much about it until I visited a dermatologist back in 1999. I was in her office for a different skin condition and I showed her something on my thigh.

“Oh,” she said. “How long has that mole been there?”

I told her that I’d had it as long as I could remember. It hadn’t ever changed shape or color. I almost found myself trying to defend my mole. But she was concerned. It was an odd enough shape that she wanted to remove it. So we scheduled a procedure for a week or two later.

The procedure didn’t take very long. After numbing my leg, she put something like a stencil on my thigh. Then she made a cut the shape of a football, removing the mole from my leg. We talked casually and joked throughout the procedure. After she was done, my leg was bandaged and I drove home. Then I just went about my business. I didn’t really think anything of it.

I got a phone call a few days later. “The biopsy was negative.”

Biopsy?

Looking back, it all makes sense. Of course there was a biopsy. That’s why the dermatologist was concerned. But I hadn’t really put all of that together. There were a lot of other things going on at the time and this was really just an annoying thing I had to do, not a reason to worry. And I guess that’s probably good. Because if I had connected those dots, it would have been a long two days of waiting.

I know I’m fortunate. My results were negative. But there are many people who don’t receive a phone call like that. Their world is rocked when they hear the word no one wants to hear: Cancer. I know it would have shattered my world.

Every scar has a story, but this one also has a message. It’s a reminder to pray for and be there for people who did not get a phone call saying that the biopsy was negative. It’s also a reminder to live life to the fullest because you really don’t know what tomorrow holds.

My scar is also a challenge to you. If there’s a lump or a mole or something that just doesn’t seem right, get it checked. Don’t wait until an awareness month like Breast Cancer Awareness Month or Movember or any other time at a later date. Get it taken care of as soon as you can. Please. And don’t forget regular self exams. Because cancer sucks.

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Matt Todd

Howdy. I'm Matt. My wife, Christy, and I have four kids and two dogs, I'm passionate about orphan care. I'm a die-hard fan of the Evansville Aces, the Indiana Hoosiers, and Star Wars. I'm trying to live life by the Todd family motto: "It behooves us to live!"