I’ve finally come to the end of 2022’s medical merry-go-round. A few days ago I received the report about my colonoscopy. I had one polyp biopsied. It was pre-cancerous which is no big deal but it does mean that I get to have another colonoscopy in three years. That’s about what I expected.
Today I went back to the dermatologist. He froze five more lesions from my face. That’s 16 fewer than last time. At this pace he’ll be putting them back on in a few months. Basically, the lesions are regarded as precancerous so they have to go. He prescribed some hydrocortisone cream that he expects will help clear up my skin. I’m supposed to use it until my skin improves. Since I really don’t know what that looks like, I intend to use it for a while then stop. (Prolonged use is not recommended.) Then I’ll go back to see him in 2024.
I think that my entire body is precancerous. Maybe I should rename this blog A Few Lesions Shy of a Tumor.
Humor beats tumor.
Now it’s time to inflict the medical merry-go-round on my bikes. First up is The Mule. Touring is hard on a bike, Although it rides wonderfully, The Mule needs quite a lot of work. I’ve pretty much destroyed the bar tape, fenders, chain, and cassette. The front rim, rear mini-v-brake, and brake pads need looking at. The wheels need to be trued. Hopefully nothing is cancerous.
Once The Mule is back in the stable, I’ll take the CrossCheck in for its annual maintenance. Same deal: chain, cassette, and bar tape. The front brake cable seems to be catching when I apply the brakes. Everything else works fine. My only complaint is the weird notch in the front rim. It tends to catch brake pads. I’ll probably live with it until I wear it out.
Big Nellie gets less use and has 2 1/2 chains so the chains and cassette tend to last longer. I’ll take a closer look at this bike in March when I bring it out of the basement.
A Few Spokes Shy of a Wheel 
Your whole body being pre-cancerous reminds me of my friend who signed his name with the initials “TNS”, as he considered himself (and all of us) “Temporarily Not Soil”. (He was a soil scientist and is now PS.) I always bought bar tape on sale until the last time I bought it on sale and decided to stick with it – I now use tape from Arundel. It is soft, grippy, and stretchy, with no adhesive. You can remove and re-install it. The same tape got me across the continent twice.
You’re good to go. Did they put you up in the lift and rotate your tires? I was offered blue light therapy for my skin lesions but I turned it down. My neighbor had it and was miserable afterwards with a severe sun burn for several days. He said never again.
I go to the oncologist in 3 weeks for my 3 month blood work and a checkup. And to the dermatologist for similar treatment to you. Then the retinal specialist as a follow up to my post cataract light flashing which I still get but not as often. The last time he dilated my eyes (which I have had done dozens of times) I got a systemic, motion sickness, reaction and had to lie in bed until the drops wore off. They said it was the same drops as before and the pharmacist at the oncologist said it was highly unlikely my leukemia medication ( the only new one I had taken since the previous dilation) was impacted by the drops which ‘usually don’t have any systemic effect’. Until they do. Andrea will drive me this time.
The dermatologist said that he’s recommend the blue light therapy only if the hydrocortisone cream didn’t work. TBH I don’t much care.