Why Have One Cancer When You Can Have Two?

Update on Husband: I'm making this an official update because there are developments. Husband's drug reaction did get worse, as far as the itching was concerned. I'm happy to report he did not succumb to insanity, but it was a little touch and go for a while.

Yesterday we went to the dermatologist to get the cyst on the bridge of his nose checked out. Thirty minutes into our visit, we were still discussing his sudden allergic reaction to penicillins and what the doctor could do to ease some of the horrible itchiness. The resident doctor, a lovely, vivacious woman, prescribed a strong hydrocortisone cream (which didn't work, in the end. In fact, the itching got worse, much to Husband's dismay) and some strong antihistamine pills to knock him out so he could sleep at night (the pills did work, and Husband finally slept very soundly for the first time in four nights).

We finally got around to the problem of the cyst. Husband had put a bandage over it for a week to keep it from being irritated by his glasses, and it had shrunk down remarkably. The resident took one look and said, "Basal cell carcinoma." Husband said, "No. I would really rather it was not." The resident, however, was not swayed. The attending doctor came in for a minute, looked at the cyst, and said, "Basal cell carcinoma." The resident took a sliver for a biopsy, and we now await the news. Basal cell carcinoma is not by any means lethal, but it will be annoying to have to get it removed. I told Husband that now he can brag about surviving two different cancers. Because he was itching so badly, he didn't appreciate the humor of that.