I have been super busy with life and time flies so I am a little late on my update. I figured Melanoma Monday would be a great day to shoot for to finally write and post this!

Let’s start with the easy stuff. My scans and bloodwork were in March and everything still looks good. 😀 I met with my dermatologist in April and everything looks good there too. He said I was boring now, which is a really good thing. He also said I can start to see him every 9 months now. So, all of my melanoma stuff is still good, but it has been a long several months dealing with my tear duct issue. A lot happened but I will give the short version of it.

In my last post I mentioned the “lesion in the left nasolacrimal canal” that had been bothering me and showing on my MRI. I was told I needed a dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR). This is a surgery that creates a new path for tears to drain between your eye and your nose. I made an appointment with the Smilow Ophthalmologist for a second opinion to see if I definitely needed the surgery or if there was a way to unblock my lacrimal sac. Unfortunately, she said I needed the surgery. She wanted to speak with the radiologist and my oncologist first to be sure there were no concerns. She was worried if she operated it would “open the flood gates” if it was something cancerous. She was also going on maternity leave so set up an appointment for me for May 6. She told me to continue to massage my tear duct multiple times a day to try and drain it.

Shortly after meeting with her I could no longer drain it. It continued to get more and more painful and swollen. I reached out to her office and one of the students that worked with her said he would take a look at it on that Sunday. I met with him and he put in an antibiotic prescription as it was infected. Each day it got worse and worse. I sent pictures to my oncologist and the ophthalmologist’s offices. My oncologist said she had no concerns with it being melanoma and supported whatever needed to be done. By Wednesday it was so swollen and I was in so much pain. It hurt to eat because of the pressure it was putting on my cheek bone. Thursday morning I reached out again and sent another picture. The ophthalmologist’s office said they would show the doctor and get back to me. They called me almost immediately and said I need to go in right away to have it drained.

When I got called back to meet with the doctor she came in an apologized and said it was going to be painful. She said she would try and numb it but it probably wouldn’t help because it was hot and infected. She said it would make a good video but they weren’t allowed to film it. I asked if once this was done if I would still need the surgery. She explained that once people have it drained they get the surgery because they never want to have it drained again after experiencing it once. I went to another waiting room. Got called in to sign some papers and asked to lie down. Despite all her warnings I was not prepared. She made an incision on the side of my nose. She kept pushing to get out all of the puss. Every time she pushed it was so painful. I was so tensed up my back cramped up. She stopped for a few seconds. She said there was another pocket. She pushed again. I heard it pop and felt the puss come out. After what felt like an eternity, she said she was done. I had an instant headache and was in so much pain. I have been through a lot of things and this was one of the worst things I have been through.

I was miserable and just wanted to be home but had to drive an hour to get there. I was almost home when the pain finally subsided. I got home and laid down and fell asleep. I received a call saying I had to drive back to Smilow for a CT scan. I wasn’t sure why so someone called me back. My oncologist had referred me to an Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon and they wanted me to have the scan. So, we dropped the kids in Middletown and headed back to New Haven.

The next day the pressure from the swelling was gone and the pain was mostly gone. I made an appointment with the surgeon. She tried to push saline through the duct but it was still blocked. She made an appointment for the DCR. I went and had it done on April 19, 2024. Post-op wasn’t too bad. I wasn’t allowed to blow my nose, I couldn’t bend or lift and had to sleep with my head elevated for two weeks and put some ointment on it for 5 days. The sleeping was the worst part of it. It looks amazing, like I didn’t even have anything done. I saw her for a post-op a week later and will return to have the stint taken out in late July. It is still tender and feels weird, but all is good.

I feel like there is always something, so fingers crossed for no more weird ailments! My next scans are also in July so I will try and update in a couple of months.