Back to the Beginning

Okay, I am continuing to fill in my past history with MCC. I felt that having an appointment to see a dermatologist in late April was not going to be soon enough. I sent the VA email pictures of the growths on my face and the way they were growing and asked for an earlier appointment or an outside of the system appointment if the VA could not see me sooner. They agreed to set up an appointment for the following week at the VA in New Orleans. I went to this appointment and was very pleased with the doctors who treated me.
They examined the growths on my face and determined them to be warts. Using a nitrogen cylinder, the doctor froze the warts and they were to fall off several days later. Since I was on the examining table I asked the doctor to look at the pimple on my arm and see if she could do something for it. I told her I thought it was a pimple and she agreed that it might be. Just to be safe she decided to take a slice biopsy to have it checked just in case it was more than a pimple.

She began by injecting a local pain killer at the site. She then sliced off the top of the bump and placed it in a container. She began to clean the wound and I noticed her frown. She said Mr. Pangle this is cancer. I asked her if she was certain and her reply was that after her years of practice she recognized it immediately. This pronouncement was a surprise and worried me at  the same time. I was aware of the the three common skin cancers and I was prepared to find out which it was. She told me that an answer would be coming in about a week and we would proceed from there.

Well, a week went by and no call from the VA. I decided to call and see what was happening. The doctor on call said he would check to see the status of my biopsy. He told me that my sample had been sent to the National Cancer Institute in Washington D.C. to confirm the diagnosis but he couldn't say anything until that information was sent back to them.

After another seven days I finally received a return call from the VA. For the complete week I was baffled by the need to send my sample to D.C. and was quite worried about what was happening. The doctor who called me was kind and apologetic about the delay and reassured me that it was necessary. He then told me that the sample showed Merkel Cell Carcinoma. He then says that this cancer is rare, aggressive, and lethal. He was kind and we talked about the new appointment I had set up for the following week. Since MCC is so rare the VA doesn't treat patients with this cancer. My appointment was with a surgeon at Oschner Hospital in Kenner, La. He was to begin my odyssey of treatment for this disease in early February of 2015.