THANK YOU!!

Thank you, all of you, so much for all you kind words and good wishes - the e-mails, PMs and cards. It really meant a lot. You guys are all so great - you're like a second family. And if you ever wonder whether those little gestures really mean anything ... the answer is "yes, they surely do." Now I have some information I want to pass on to you. Mels' biopsy showed that there was no particular starting point for his cancer. It just very suddenly appeared everywhere. The diagnosis was melanoma. He had sort of a strange mole on his upper back thigh, but it didn't look a bit different than it ever did - no change in shape, color or size. When I asked the doctors, the answer was that sometimes there is no obvious change in a mole, and it might not have even been that mole. It could have been another, much smaller one. Apparently the malignancy can go into the blood stream, where it spreads just like a fire, without ever showing anything unusual on the outside. His sister has about three moles that she's been trying to get rid of for years and the doctors she's seen (both military and civilian) have told her she'd have to pay for it herself because removal would be considered cosmetic. Sorry - I know where these moles are - and unless she's planning to start a second career as a stripper, there's no way this could be considered cosmetic. I told her to get back to the Dr. and tell him her brother just died from melanoma and she wants these things gone ASAP. So my message to all of you is this ... if you have moles anywhere, keep an eye on them. And if your gut tells you they should be removed, don't let a doctor convince you that it's for cosmetic purposes. If they can be malignant without ever changing a bit, don't fool around with them. And thanks again for all your support. A big ((((HUG)))) to all of you.