Well, it looks like I dodged a bullet this evening, at least for the time being. And who knows? -- The time being may be a fair description of the time I have left in life.
After seeing two general surgeons over recent days, both of whom stated with certainty that part of my ear must be removed in order to remove the cancer, I finally saw an oncologist this evening at Bros Hospital. The oncologist, a delightful, young-middle-aged fellow who speaks English well, examined the ear and discussed the matter with me at some length, explaining that basal cell carcinomas are the slowest growing, least dangerous cancers of all cancers. He could certainly cut off part of my ear, he said, and provide plastic reconstruction (all for a fairly hefty fee), but allowed that it was questionable whether this was really necessary (especially with my age at 65 and in the presence of multiple sclerosis, which could dangerously complicate general anesthesia). There was the matter, also, of how I felt about it. Was it something that worried me unduly, or something that was causing significant discomfort (the answers to both being no).
So, the long and short is that, for the time being, my ear has been spared.
The small area of scaly skin on my cheek, he added, is pre-cancerous, very common with 'older' people, and although there is no treatment available for this in Indonesia, a cream called 5-FU is available in western countries, for which he provided a prescription and even wrote the prescription in the name of my ex-wife's boyfriend who is undergoing cancer treatment in Australia. A very accommodating fellow indeed, smart as a whip, as it seemed to me, and not looking for easy money for the hospital.
So I am happy. My ear is happy. Everybody is happy. For the time being.
After seeing two general surgeons over recent days, both of whom stated with certainty that part of my ear must be removed in order to remove the cancer, I finally saw an oncologist this evening at Bros Hospital. The oncologist, a delightful, young-middle-aged fellow who speaks English well, examined the ear and discussed the matter with me at some length, explaining that basal cell carcinomas are the slowest growing, least dangerous cancers of all cancers. He could certainly cut off part of my ear, he said, and provide plastic reconstruction (all for a fairly hefty fee), but allowed that it was questionable whether this was really necessary (especially with my age at 65 and in the presence of multiple sclerosis, which could dangerously complicate general anesthesia). There was the matter, also, of how I felt about it. Was it something that worried me unduly, or something that was causing significant discomfort (the answers to both being no).
So, the long and short is that, for the time being, my ear has been spared.
The small area of scaly skin on my cheek, he added, is pre-cancerous, very common with 'older' people, and although there is no treatment available for this in Indonesia, a cream called 5-FU is available in western countries, for which he provided a prescription and even wrote the prescription in the name of my ex-wife's boyfriend who is undergoing cancer treatment in Australia. A very accommodating fellow indeed, smart as a whip, as it seemed to me, and not looking for easy money for the hospital.
So I am happy. My ear is happy. Everybody is happy. For the time being.
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