The Big "C" has entered my life forever!

Wow! you just never know what you will face in life...you can be traveling along everything hunkadory ..notice a little ugly fatty growth on your forearm. go have it removed and biopsies. Then you get THE CALL that changes your life forever! No this couldn't be a wished for fatty cyst or even a little basal cell, or you could even hope for a melanoma instead of the dreaded merkel cell!

I noticed the little intruder early February, a few days later made and appointment with Dr. Gary Monheit, a renown dermatologist in the Birmingham area. Even talked to that ugly little thing and told it it was coming off my arm, just not right to let you stay there. So on 2/25 /09 at 3 p.m. I visited Dr. Monheit and he sliced that baby off. I remember him saying " I've never seen any thing that looks like this" . I should have known a practicing 33 year dermatologist should have seen something like this. Maybe a little forewarning of the upcoming phone call.

Mother, Willie, had a really bad asthmatic bronchitis condition and had to be admitted to ECM on 2/26/09. I had been traveling up to NA to visit with her and do a few things for her and just happen to be visiting with her on the morning of 3/11/09.

It was about 9 a.m. The call went something like this. " ms. Berry, this is Donna with Dr. Monheit's office. Your test came back positive for cancer and we have scheduled surgery for you on 3/19/09 at 3" I was just speechless...did she say the test came back no cancer? So I said So why do I need surgery. She then repeated " The test is positive for Merkel Cell Carcinoma a rare aggressive cancer and Dr. Monheit will be using a Mohs procedure, I really thought she said mole procedure and wondered what that meant. I then said you are calling to tell me I have a rare cancer ? aggressive? let me call you back. I was already googling while she was on the phone and realized this is REALLY rare and really deadly and I better get this right!

I tried to be cool around Mother, after all, she was weak and this was not good news! I pardoned myself and eventually got Rilla and Michael on the phone at the same time to give them the news. They both did their research and we decided no mistakes or chances can be made.

I then called Keith Berry, my cousin, who knows UAB well and told him what was going on and he did the research too and realized the seriousness of this cancer. He spent the entire day and I ended up with appointment with Dr. Cohen a good internist, for the next a.m. 3/12/ Rilla drove over from Atlanta to go with me. I had "floated " back to birmingham and still in shock I am sure. ... and wondering how such a small little growth can cause this much havoc! Michael drove over to give big hugs and was concerned too. Family, just don't know what people do without them. So this was the first day. I'm having to take this slow so I will post what happenned on 3/12 later. Love, Wanda