Off to the Dermatologist

So JoJo has this thing on his arm that's been there for a couple of months. We asked his dr about it at our last visit and he told us the name of what the mark is and that it's normal in little kids. He also said that they tend to disappear on their own with no treatment over about 6-12 months. After that we really didnt think much of the mark.....until last night.

This little thing that had just been a tiny raised spot on his arm turned into a "lesion" and bubbled up with a big ball of liquid. I got worried so i called his doctors office and made him an appointment. I also decided to take pictures of the thing just in case it popped or something so his doctor would know what we had seen. Thank goodness I took those pictures because this morning when we woke up it had gotten smaller but i still wanted dr feltner to know what it had looked like. (I'll post pictures)

Well I'm glad I made that appointment because when dr feltner saw it and the pictures i took, he said it would be a good idea to have him be seen by a dermatologist and to have it removed to prevent spreading. He also said that it should be tested to find out if it could turn cancerous at all. Most likely it's just some sort of benign cyst but hearing the word cancer scares the daylights out of me. Most of you know i work at the cancer center and I see it on a daily basis. Before I started my job, I was obivious to the reality of cancer and how common it really is. It is not a discriminatory disease and I have seen many people in my short time there who i have known in the past or who know people that i know. It affects many people and their love ones. My heart sank when I heard the word "cancer" even though I know the odds that what is on Josiah's are is cancer are very very slim.

We were told that the dermatology dept was booked out until August and I couldn't believe it... August, are you kidding me? I dont know why this surprised me though because I work for this company and have to schedule people from my job in the various departments and recently called the Derm dept and was told there was a long wait. As luck would have it, the nurse (who didn't know i'm an employee) told the lady on the other end that the appt for was for a 5 month old and VIOLA... there was an opening next Tuesday.

I looked into the doctor that they gave us the appointment with because I can do that with the internal intranet that we have =) and I am very impressed with what I read. She specializes in pediatric dermatology and got her Medical degree from Yale University also did her residency at Duke University.. talk about a good resume. I just hope that she is as nice as her schooling is good. I'm probably just being an overly worried mama but who the heck wouldn't be? They are going to be cutting my sons arm and testing for cancer? I dont know a mom that wouldn't be worried. Anyway, I'll keep ya'll posted on what happens. Here are those pictures I promised earlier....

This is what it looked like before.... (look at his arm, not that thing the arrow is pointing at, you'll find out what that arrow is all about in the next post i'm doin in a minute lol)



And this is what it looks like now...