What Are the Odds?

Now that the melanoma in situ has been removed from my cheek, I've been researching the likelihood that I'll get melanoma again.  The research suggests that I'm at some risk, but the percentage seems fairly small.  One source (which I now can't find on the Internet), indicated the risk of a recurrence is 7-9 percent.  Yesterday's Wall Street Journal had an article about skin cancer; it cites a melanoma recurrence rate of 1 in 20 (5 percent) patients 10 or more years after treatment.  Not clear what that means--whether it includes all the intervening years as well, or whether those are additional percentages.  One source on the Internet simply said people who've had melanoma are at increased risk of getting it again, but that the percentage is unknown.  So who knows?

The three Steri-Strips that were holding my stitch line together have all fallen off.  I have about a 1-1/4 inch gash on my cheek--it's prominent at the ends, especially at the lower end near my lip where the line is curvy and jagged; the middle, where the cancer was,  looks raw, but I don't see a cut line.  Who knows what the surgeon did.  He said it wasn't a problem if the Steri Strips came off before Friday; I hope not.  I'm covering the area with Vaseline to be safe; guess I'll wash that area tonight for the first time in nearly 3 weeks.  I'll wait until Friday to use sunscreen or makeup on it, to be safe.  I'll cover the jagged edge when I go out tomorrow.  My cheek feels raw, and hurts a bit; the interior stitches will take a few months to dissolve, so they may be part of what I'm feeling.  If I push my tongue into my cheek I can feel a pulling and a soreness.  Guess I should be careful with that--not sure if it's possible to damage the inner stitches.

Flute playing is getting a little better--yesterday was rough; it didn't seem like I could make a clean tone on any note, and I was having a hard time with the third octave--especially high C and C# (the beginning of the fourth octave), which are the highest notes I've learned to play.  I was blowing much harder than I should have to, and getting nothing but air.  Today I was able to direct the air better, and got tone with much less effort.  Maybe my facial muscles are getting the hang of playing again.