Skin Cancer?!?!

This is my 100th post! I feel like I should do something momentous....but I got nothing.  Maybe I'll celebrate my 107th post.

I would like to start by giving huge kudos to all of you out there that manage to take good pictures of yourselves.  Here's my deer-caught-in-the-head lights look for you. 

Back to the point of this post:  see that band-aid under my eye?  I'm pale-if it wasn't for my freckles, my skin would have no pigment what so ever.  I also didn't start using sunscreen until I was a teenager (b/c no one did) . I grew up mostly in the south and would blister and peel several times each summer. I'm a little OCD about sunscreen these days, but paranoid about past damage.

I've had a weird spot on my face for about the last year and it worried me a little.  I looked up images and warnings of skin cancer : 

 http://www.skincancer.org/the-five-warning-signs-images.html 

Mine was of the "reddish patch" variety and a little of the "sore that will not heal". It kinda looked like a little scab after a pimple pops. 
It wasn't a mole and I was worried that the doctor would think I was a huge hypochondriac. My brother-in-law had a scary run-in with Melanoma last year (he's fine now) and I figured that the chances that doctor would openly mock me were slim- so I made the appointment.

While I was there, she had me strip down  (FYI- always wear your good bra and panties to the dermatologist) and checked me all over (even in my hair and between my toes). She was concerned enough to cut out the spot and send it to be biopsied.  I have 2 stitches and get to walk-around w/ a band-aid for a week.  She said I  may have a scar, but I'm hoping it will make me look more dark and mysterious and it beats the heck out of the alternative.

Bottom line:  I'm glad I took care of it.  Ladies, take care of yourselves-if you have any weird spots go get them checked out.

From the website:
"The survival rate for patients whose melanoma is detected early, before the tumor has penetrated the skin, is about 99 percent. The survival rate falls to 15 percent for those with advanced disease."

To learn more click here: http://www.skincancer.org/

UPDATE: That thing on my face ended up being no big deal and just what I thought it would be(Basal Cell) .  I had to go back and have a second procedure and a few more stitches along my eye socket. Stitches are out and I only have a tiny scar that is barely noticeable.

 Thanks for your warm thoughts and prayers and wear sunscreen.