[PSA] Do not always assume that it is a cyst/acne. It could be far more serious.

Beauty Tips For Body Care
This past spring, I had a lump form on the back of my neck. It felt kind of squishy, like a cyst. It hurt like hell at first, was warm to the touch, and bright red. Y'know: angry and cyst-like. I tried to pop it myself (I'm a nurse, so I have access to everything sterile needed to lance it appropriately) but it wouldn't budge. Eventually, I realized I needed professional help. I called a dermatologist but they were booking into September. It was May when I was calling. I ended up getting a general surgeon to remove the bad boy this past August. He was a spoil sport and wouldn't allow any video in the surgery center (sorry /r/popping). I need to reiterate here: this lump was red, it wasn't very deep, it could be squeezed (not rock hard), and it became very itchy and uncomfortable. Turns out I have cancer. The initial diagnosis was primary cutaneous marginal zone B cell lymphoma, and it's pretty rare. However, I have since found out that I have evidence of disease in other lymph nodes in my neck and the new diagnosis is nodal marginal zone B cell lymphoma (even more rare). I will be starting radiation this week, but this cancer is considered incurable. (FYI: I do have a history of Hodgkin's lymphoma, which I had chemo for in 2006 but apparently this isn't related to that.) Even though this is pretty rare and very bad luck, I just wanted to share it with you all. Please PLEASE be careful with your body. We all know we're not supposed to pop pimples/cysts, but let's be real.. you know you do. Don't let lumps and bumps go unseen by a medical professional. I'm a nurse and I've had cancer before and I STILL missed this. In no way am I trying to frighten anyone into thinking that any new lump, bump, lesion, or discoloration on their skin is cancer but I do want to make it clear that you should not wait months on end to get something checked out. When I first had Hodgkin's lymphoma, all I had was a swollen lymph node. I didn't even start to get really fatigued until months later and I didn't see a doctor until I had numerous palpable swollen lymph nodes in my neck. This time I was a bit faster, but it was still pretty easy to miss. It looked exactly like cystic acne which I have had PLENTY of in my 31 years of life. See a dermatologist annually, wear sunscreen EVERYDAY, and report ANY change to your doctor right away! I wish you all beautiful skin and great health!
Girls Blog 2015
Submitted by misslizzah