"Thankful for the team & their kindness"

During summer 2019 I noticed a red spot just above my lip which looked as though it was growing in size ( I had been told in 2016 it was an upside down wart)  so I felt it needed to be reviewed & made a GP appointment at The Stennack Surgery (which I had to wait  4 weeks for)

I met a new young Dr Taylor in June who totally agreed & said he would fast track me back to the Dermatology Clinic at Treliske Hospital, Truro.  One week later I had an appointment at the 3 Spires Surgery, Truro with a Dr AS Anderson who, after examination, said that it was actually skin cancer & apologised that I had previously been misdiagnosed & explained kindly & efficiently that I required surgery plus he checked my whole body to be sure of no further signs.   

An appointment for surgery was to be arranged as soon as possible & one arrived during August along with the thousands of annual tourists which unfortunately, as usual, meant appointments were having to be put back whilst Treliske Hospital struggled to cope with the influx of extra patients there.     

I then received a second appointment for September at Treliske Dermatology unit with Dr Bailey, who with her nurses, could not have been more caring & efficiently explaining all that was about to happen, plus Dr Anderson, also being in clinic, popped in to discuss with Dr Bailey the surgery & give me more reassurance.

While it is the weirdest experience having surgery on your face with local anaesthetic , a nurse  apologised that I was unable to join into any of the conversation, to me it was just comforting to hear  their voices in the knowledge that  they were doing their best to remove the cancer from my face. Finally after using 3 or 4 different yarns with over 20 stitches & instructions how to care for them I left for home feeling slightly battle weary but relieved & thankful for the team & their kindness.    

Within 2 weeks Dr Anderson wrote to me saying  the lab results showed Basal cell Carcinoma which was completely removed & for any future changes to see a GP again to be referred back to him. The following weeks were spent sleeping propped up with numerous pillows & rubbing vaseline into the stitches as advised as I watched my face changing daily make a steady recovery.       

As instructed after a certain amount of days I had to visit our local surgery for a nurse to remove the stitches & face the world especially as it was my golden wedding anniversary 3 days later.  My scar soon began to fade thanks to Drs Bailey & Anderson in their making their incision decisions to work within my own lines plus it gives me the chance to warn others about skin care in the sun.        

Last month I received an unexpected appointment from Dr Bailey for February at the Dermatology Clinic which I attended. Dr Bailey explained she had called me in to check if my mouth had been disfigured through the procedure so I was happily able to thankfully reassure her otherwise & be signed off from the clinic. 

Thank you so much to everyone involved, my gratitude to you always.