Butterflies

I now have butterfly suture strips (3M Steri Strips) covering the stitches on my cheek.  The surgeon put three strips on yesterday, after removing the bandage that had been in place for a week.  I looked at my cheek in my compact mirror after the assistant had taken off the bandage; the area looked a bit swollen and red.  The Steri Strips don't cover the whole area--they're very thin--so you can see redness and some rawness where the lower part of the bandage was.  That's where some blood seeped and stayed on the bandage.

 The edge of the Steri Strip near the corner of my mouth never really adhered--I push it down, but it pops up again.  He said the strips should stay on for a week, until next Friday; the assistant said they would be on about 4 days.  So I asked him what I should do if the strips fall off before next Friday.  He said that was OK, I shouldn't try to put new strips on.  Once the Steri Strips come off, I can put makeup on the area.  And of course sunscreen.

He didn't recommend using silicone or vitamin E oil or anything else I've read about on the Internet to reduce scarring.  He said I should wait 6 weeks, then take a close look at the area and if there was anything about it I didn't like, I should see him and we would discuss what to do.

I'll take my morning walks, but will otherwise try to stay indoors until I remove the Steri Strips (or they fall off).  Both because I can't really put sunscreen around the area--I don't want to have to wash around the strips too much, because they're not supposed to get wet.  But also the sun and heat could loosen the strips.  I'll be happy when I can finally wash my entire face without worrying about getting bandages wet.

Yesterday my son came home from a doctor's appointment and asked me what kind of cancer I had--that he didn't know.  I said I had told him--melanoma--and he looked distraught.  I think he discussed it with his doctor, and probably had been told melanoma was the "bad" skin cancer.  Even though I had already told him that.  He hugged me hard and said he loved me.  And then he said "even though it's over, I'm still really upset about this".  I gently told him it wasn't over, since I have to now watch for other places on my skin that might turn into melanoma.  But then I let it go; I didn't want to dwell on that.

But I do look at a splotch near my wrist on my left arm, and a splotch on my left leg, and wonder.  And I wonder whether I can prevent splotches from becoming melanoma.  Or is the die already cast?