There are no pictures with this post. Sorry. :)
Just thought I'd pop in to let everyone know the latest with my biopsy news, and well, maybe some gardening news, too! :)
I just received word from my Dr's office about my ear biopsy results.
The news is kinda good, kinda bad, and could get ugly.
The mole they biopsied was in a pre-cancerous/cancerous stage.
Basically, it was pre-cancerous, plus it had already started to turn into Melanoma.
Which means that I have, on my little ear, Pre-Stage 1/Stage 1 Melanoma skin cancer. (The lady I talked to said it was in an odd stage, and didn't fit clearly into any one category).
Ick.
The good news is that since it is technically early in the cancerous stage, that means there is a much higher rate of getting rid of it. They can generally eradicate the cancer in stage 1 and 2, but by the time it gets to stage 3 and 4...well, that's when things get a little hopeless. But mine is before and in Stage 1, so let's not talk about stages 3 and 4, m'kay?
The bad news is, well, I have cancer on my ear.
The ugly news is that this coming Monday, I am going in for surgery. They will essentially chop off a portion of my ear - roughly 3-5mm around the biopsy site. Sure is odd to talk about my ear the same way I might about onions or green peppers - slice, chop, dice, mince ;)
On Thursday, I'll go back in, with a big gaping hole in my ear, and if they need to take out more, they will. If the margins are excellent on what they'd already taken, then they will close it up. They won't stitch it until they are completely satisfied with the margins.
She said that it was only in my ear at this point, far too early for metastasization (glad I never got that word in a spelling bee!) so that is a very very very good thing.
She also said that for the next several years, I'd have to get check ups every 3 months to make sure it wasn't coming back. For someone who makes annual physicals a once-a-decade occasion, that will certainly be odd.
Word to the Wise: If one family member has Melanoma, the chance of immediate family members getting it skyrockets. So please keep a watchful eye on yerselves, Brothers, Seesters, Dad, and DaMomma!
In even more exciting news, I harvested some of my first veggies today. One Yok Kao cucumber (honestly, he wasn't fully ripe, but he still tasted really good!) and several Rattlesnake Beans, which I ate like green beans - fresh off the vine. They were yummy delish! I'm supposed to save them to eat as Dry Beans for soup, but they're so good, I might not be able to (they taste like any other fresh green bean, but the fact that I grew them from seed makes them taste light years better - as most anything fresh from the garden does!)
The squash are all growing beautifully, although I noticed a light fungus starting on their big leaves today (the White Bush Scallop Squash). I brewed some strong chamomile tea today. Tomorrow, I'll spray it on their leaves to see if that works.
I also planted a host of things, putting things in the place where the tomatoes were slated to grow. A while back I'd planted a whole section of the bed with Rainbow Chard, and they're starting to pop up. Today, I planted:
- Jenny Lind Melon
- More Yok Kao Cukes
- Melon, Old Original
- Long Island Cheese Pumpkin
- Melon Charentais
- Marina di Chioggia Pumpkin
- Jack Be Little Pumpkins
- Jarrahdale Pumpkins
- Queensland Blue Pumpkins
- More Yellow Squash
- More Thai Green Cukes
- More Zucchini
- More White Bush Scallop Squash
I'm a bit late in planting the pumpkins and melons (the latest they are supposed to be planted here is May 1st, so I'm a few weeks behind). But I thought I'd give it a go. If they grow, great...but if they don't, no big loss. If I can get a second crop out of the squash and zucchini and the like, great. If no, better luck next year!
I also planted a mint plant that I'd bought yesterday. Mint is my favorite herb and I completely forgot to plant it. A while back, I bought seeds, but they were all squashed to a powder in the seed packet. I planted them anyway, but of course, nothing came up. Now, I have my mint. I hope it grows prolifically and takes over the whole front yard. :)
I planted Ginger and Horseradish the other day. Hopefully, they'll grow well where they are. I marked the spot, so I wouldn't accidentally plant anything else there (I'm somewhat notorious for that!)
Otherwise, everything is growing fine, and I've been getting lots of compliments on it, from strangers, neighbors, clammers... I even had two old ladies whistle at me today...that was kind of strange. Not as strange as when I was originally planting the garden, and a biker roared up to the stop sign. He was a big rough ponytailed typical biker dude. He hollered to me as I was planting seeds in the ground, "You Garden, Girl!" and then roared off.
That had to be one of the more odd moments of my life.
A lot of people take interest in my garden around here...they slow down as they're driving around the curve and stare. Some people stop completely in the intersection and just stare at it. It's rather bizarre. But I can't say I don't understand. I stalk other people's gardens, too. They're just so pretty and wonderful and I like to see what's growing.
Speaking of which...since I ate the first bean I have ever grown today, I am now completely bean obsessed. Enamored. Crazy for. Am going on bean-growing-spree next season.
I've also become a big fan of planting my groceries.
Dried beans, fruits and veg, spices, you name it...I plant them (or save their seed and plant them). I'm eyeing those sprouting potatoes in my potato bin right now. Onions, too.
Very much reminds me of my ever-constant reply as to what food I'd take to a deserted island - I always said "salad" (with the thought that I could plant the seeds of the veggies in it and grow more food).
So yes, I was always this strange.
And no, I don't plan on changing.
Aside from my ear shape.
That will be changing.
And then, like Julian of Norwich said,
"All shall be well,
and all shall be well.
And all manner of thing shall be well."
I think she ate immature beans from her garden, too.
(Not much else in the world would prompt such optimism as that!)
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