Chop it OFF!

My "cancerous" lip

First of all, can I just say how unfunny it was of the universe to make it necessary for me to have bodily tissue removal about 20 hours before I left the country? The plan for Thursday was to go to a dentist appointment at 9 am for a teeth cleaning, say good-bye to my grandparents, finish packing my things, and be picked up at 1 by Amy and her mother, Melisa so we could drive to San Francisco in time to exchange currency, make an REI stop, and see Wicked (which Melisa so generously bought us tickets for), spend the night at Amy´s grandmother´s house, and then wake up the next morning for our flight out of SFO at 11:20 am. So, you can imagine my distress when my dentist tells me I have a "precancerous lesion" in my mouth and that he recommends I see an oral surgeon. I call the oral surgeon and tell his secretary that I am leaving the country tomorrow, so could I please have an appointment for that day? All she can offer me is one at 3:30 pm. It will totally throw off the day´s plans, but Amy, Melisa and I all decide it´s important enough to make adjustments for. They pick me up around 2 and we run around Auburn trying to exchange currency (no success) and buy hiking boots (success!). Then we wait in the waiting room of the oral surgeon´s practice until 4:15, at which point i am rocking back and forth wondering how we will make it to SF in time to see Wicked. Then the doctor calls me back and tells me there´s no way of telling if my lesion is cancerous or not unless we do a biopsy. He suggests that I just let him cut the whole thing off even though it probably isn´t cancerous. I ask, "What will happen if I don´t?" and he says worst case scenario is that it will be malignant and grow bigger while I´m in Peru and then he´ll have to cut off part of my lip. I promptly freak out and tell him to chop the freakin thing off. It costs $400, which my insurance does not cover (thankfully I have wonderful parents who want me to be cancer free). He gives me a local anesthetic, cuts it off, catarizes my cells, stitches me up, writes me a prescription for painkillers and antibiotics, and sends me on my merry way. By the time we start driving to San Francisco, it is after 5:30 and half of my bottom lip is as big as the Titanic. Somehow we make it to Wicked on time and I enjoy it soooo much, despite the fact that I am loopy from the painkillers and look like the Elephant Man. Yeah...not funny universe. *shakes fist*

Well, that´s about all I have time for right now...more to come later though. Hugs to all you back home!

written by  kfox on June 5, 2010 from Cusco, Peru
from the travel blog: Peru Adventure!
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