You can become an Oven Saleman now, by reading from our experts here on GW, I bet you know more than most the appliance sale ppl that folks run into? You can talk intelligently now about convection, infra red, etc etc. I wished I had known about this site before I redid my kitchen (2006) alto I only made one big goof (a fancy cooktop) and was "saved from another mistake" cause my cabinet maker, My kitchen remodeler as well as the company that sold me the pop up vent all said it would fit, only wife said it wouldnt--and I argued with her saying 3 people told me it would. She was right, so I had to take a bath on that pop up, and intall and outside vent--which we really like. Had I read GW first, I would never have bought the thing. Gary

Hi anne marie, sorry to hear about your baby : ) I went through the same thing with my guy about a year ago. He had a small lump which I (and the tooth doc) suspected was a fatty lipoma. But it was troubling, in the vaccination region on his shoulder (my mother lost three cats to fibrocarsinoma at injection sites), and other opinions were it *could* be cancer. Wait and watch was an option with my regular vet. At the time, I thought the best thing to do was just take it off right away (surgery was unsuccessful with my mother's cats as it wasn't removed with clear margins). The cancer surgeon saw him and thought 95% chance it was cancer. So, off it came. He was 12 at the time. He was very healthy and asymptomatic of any problems other than allergy issues he's had all his life. He has never been the same since that operation though and I feel so bad about putting him through that. I didn't want to wait, though, as early detection is key. It was, in fact, a fatty lipoma. There were further complications, though. A small part of the incision failed to heal (costing another $2K with the dermatologist even though over those few months it healed through only one course of different antibiotics and use of another salve). He lost two pounds and seems unable to gain it back. He also seems to have been traumatized by the whole thing (horrible massive surgical incision and two weeks in a cage). As soon as he was let out, he jumped up and curled up on my shoulder and has been stuck there ever since. He wants to be held all the time now (sweet problem, but it saddens me what he might have felt or be feeling). Otherwise, he seems pretty happy and healthy though. I do feel it has actually taken time off his life though. He seems old now rather than the ever-youthful guy he was before. If you get to the point of removing it, I would go to a specialist who is a very experienced and skilled cancer surgeon rather than a GP. You might contact a University hospital or local oncologist to see who they use (which is what I did). As in people, the skill of the surgeon is critical to success. I wanted someone who knew cancer intimately and as the devil that it is. Another thing. My other kitty was terribly sick at the same time with heart and kidneys failing. One thing that has really come to light with these two is how delicate cats are to stress. I would never have thought so with these two, but all the visits, prodding, and invasive treatments really showed up in their physical health and seemed to accelerate it all. They are very tough decisions to make, especially for a layperson. Best of luck with your kitty. I would definitely get another opinion, even if that's three. Maybe a specialist next time. Dermatologist? Eye doctor? Oncologist? They may have seen this before or have suggestions on ointments, compresses, or whatever else, to try before getting invasive. Best of luck with you two : ) Hope it clears up real soon and makes it easy for you. (Try googling online too for images that may look like your kid's eye.)

Chi, our dermatologist (with 5 PAs in his office too) checks scalp, inside mouth, between toes, anywhere we have skin. Modesty goes out the window when there ;0) Our niece-in-laws melanoma was frightening. She'd had a dark mole on the back of her other hand since I'd known her. A raised mole, and more than once I'd wondered why she hadn't had it removed only because it seemed to me she would be bumping it often, especially caring for a baby. When she called about the skin cancer, I assumed that was it. No, it was a new-since-she'd-had-the- baby little red place on the back of her other hand that really looked to me like no concern. The surgeon took the skin (and I don't know how many layers underneath) from the entire back of her hand, closed it with a skin graft that he took from the inside of her other wrist and forearm. They removed some lymph nodes from her underarm area on that side, all clean.

So happy for you, Lynn, that your DH discovered this, and that now you are fine! And I appreciate your reminder that we need to be tuned in to changes in our skin and that a good dermatologist is important for our health care. My dermatologist is a good friend; I see him regularly; several years ago he found and removed a squamous cell carcinoma on my collar bone that was just a tiny pink bump. Here we are in California and he rails against the sun and "the beach"; he is all for sun bloc and sun glasses and more time indoors. He's right!