GET YOURSELF CHECKED!!!

I know I am horrible about going to the doctor.  My dad had colon cancer about 8 years ago.   He is doing great but I know my chances are much greater because of it.   My mom is on me all the time to go and get checked so I guess it is about time for me also.
 
Recently my wife was not feeling well and I pretty much made her go to the doctor.  Luckily it was only a sinus infection but I made an appointment for a physical for her anyway.  The doctor found lump on her thyroid gland and after further tests it looks like it might be cancerous but they are not 100% sure.  In a couple of weeks she will have her thyroid removed and completely checked for cancer.  The doctor says even if it is cancer she will likely be just fine but it is still a scary time.   As much as I hate going to the doctor I guess it is a lesson for me to go and get checked too. 

Good luck Mooch.  I have not gotten active in NCKA events like I had planned yet but I have always enjoyed reading your posts.   You can tell a lot about a man by the number and quality of his friends.  You sound like a hell of a guy and I look forward to meeting you someday. 

Thanks Steve - I hope for the best for your wife! Keep us in the loop. The more we can share our personal experiences, the more we can make a difference as a group of like minded people!

I went to the doc last week to have two moles checked out that have looked strange for a few years.  My wife had been bugging me forever to get them looked at, never thought it too important.  I thought he would simply "shave" them off, nope...cored them like an apple.  10 stitches, moles gone, test results this morning they were benign..it's all good but early detection is critical.  With as much time in the sun we spend, keep it covered and keep an eye on it.

Wishing you the best Mooch, thanks for inspiring me to get my clean bill of health.

-beenfishin (Ben)

Good for you Ben  And thank you for sharing your experience. Hope we can get others motivated enough to go see a doctor NOW. We are no longer the teenagers we once were.....our one to two day healing process is looooong gone 

We are no longer the teenagers we once were.....

...except mentally

We are no longer the teenagers we once were.....

...except mentally

AMEN!  I say "Stay young at heart" 

A while back when the reports here first surfaced, I was talking to some coworkers and the subject came up. Several people said they would go get checked, four did it, three got a clean report, one found some polyps and she is being treated, it looks like it was caught in time. Good news overall. Let me reiterate, GET CHECKED!

I don't want to beat a dead horse but getting checked saved me from a probable heart attack.  I also had a mole removed from my head that had been there for too long, fortutnately was benign.  I too was neglectfull in going for a check up I did not get a physical for 11 years from 18-29.  When I finally went for one, I found out my cholesterol and triglycerides were higher than my doctor had ever seen in some one my age and with a family history on both sides of heart problems needless to say he and I were quite concerned.;  i have since with diet and medicine got them under control, and have routine blood tests to monitor.  The doctor said that even a few more years left unchecked I more than likely would have had a heart attck in my early thirties.   Like has been said here before, doesn't matter what the ailment, Cancer, heart disease, etc.  get it checked, even if you feel fine.  I had no symptoms of anything. Thank you Mooch for sharing your experience with us, and inspiring all of us to be a little more proactive in our health.

Anita is a cancer survivor. She had a mole on her arm checked and it was melanoma but she caught it before it got deep or in her bloodstream, so she just has a scar where they took out a medallion sized chunk, if you have spots and spent your youth in the sun, get them checked, when they get too deep, they hit your bloodstream and spread very rapidly, most melanoma deaths are from spots that have been there for a long time and never checked out. There are certain types of moles to look for, others that dont fit the bill......

For moles my doc said anything two-toned (brown/red) or very dark, anything rough on the surface, one that bleeds, or anything that's noticeably growing in size.  My old man is going in and having melanoma plugs removed every few months, years of SoCal surfing and highway construction.  Makes me a bit paranoid, my munchkins barely leave the house without sunscreen and a big hat!
-ben

I finally shut up the teenager in me & listened to the guy who said "you are over 40 now" (funny, that little guy seems to communicate through knee & elbow pain most often, the bastard) & did the big checkup.

All systems good at the baseline, now off to the skin doc next.

I finally shut up the teenager in me & listened to the guy who said "you are over 40 now" (funny, that little guy seems to communicate through knee & elbow pain most often, the bastard) & did the big checkup.

All systems good at the baseline, now off to the skin doc next.

Sean, do you know a good doctor here in the area??

I usually just go to the walk in Mar Monte clinic in Watsonville when I have gotten sick or burned myself with hot-oil while frying fish!!

I got some skin/mole/growth stuff I'd like to get checked out and maybe get the "big check-up" done too, but don't have a ton of faith in the walk-in place...I went once before and they just burned one off (didn't check it to see if it was benign or anything as far as I know) and now it is back and there are several more that have popped up right around it....

Worst thing is the location...right between upper thigh, nutt-sack and butt-cheek...to be honest I thought it might have been a little something that followed me from my single days down in Nicaragua, but doc at the clinic said no...

Now with it coming back, and there being a few more that seem to be coming up right around it, I think I should get a second opinion???

Sincerely,

Jim

Glad to see this thread growing!

I've been asked many times why I went public with my Cancer. It's simply "awareness" and I know Brent and Jim are with me on this.

Being in a family plagued by cancer, it's something that's hard to ignore. Early detection can make a big difference and that's where I failed. I was stubborn and now I'm paying for it. Don't do what I did - DON'T WAIT and DON'T think you are invincible. You can look and act healthy but that's just not enough.

In my family of 8, (mom, dad, 3 boys and 3 girls) my mom and my eldest sister battled and survived breast cancer. My dad passed at age 52 of Lymphatic cancer and my other sister at age 42, passed from breast cancer. And now I'm the 5th in the family with cancer. My biggest fear is having my mom go through the pain of seeing another Lotilla pass. I'm on a mission to beat this and I'm blessed to have so many friends backing me up. THANK YOU!

and now I leave you with this  

Glad to see this thread growing!

I've been asked many times why I went public with my Cancer. It's simply "awareness" and I know Brent and Jim are with me on this.

Being in a family plagued by cancer, it's something that's hard to ignore. Early detection can make a big difference and that's where I failed. I was stubborn and now I'm paying for it. Don't do what I did - DON'T WAIT and DON'T think you are invincible. You can look and act healthy but that's just not enough.

In my family of 8, (mom, dad, 3 boys and 3 girls) my mom and my eldest sister battled and survived breast cancer. My dad passed at age 52 of Lymphatic cancer and my other sister at age 42, passed from breast cancer. And now I'm the 5th in the family with cancer. My biggest fear is having my mom go through the pain of seeing another Lotilla pass. I'm on a mission to beat this and I'm blessed to have so many friends backing me up. THANK YOU!

and now I leave you with this 

That is a unreal family history bro... What your doing by going public is right on! OSmething to be proud of, shit i went to the doc, i hadnt gone since i was a teenager... I was scared too.. Your doing the right thing and Ill back ya 100%...

It was good to see people chatting cancer at the vent, thats the awareness part, my old man was stubborn too, it cost him his life... Right as he retired and was ready to travel the world with my mom....

I feel for your Mom, that's tough, I can't imagine my girl being sick, id ramage for sure.... Thank you for you honesty Joel....

Joel, you da man!

This thread was on my mind when the family doc gently reminded me to check in with a new dermatologist. I went yesterday for a thorough looking-over. Not bad, at least skin-wise.    

You can't be too careful. I'm here now because the women in my life noticed something looked wrong with my skin. It was melanoma, caught early, way back in 1994. I was 27 at the time. That's 16 years of bonus time and counting.

Thanks Joel for raising awareness. You're making a difference.