Lone shares her journey with skin cancer

When I meet Lone for this interview, she tells me she is relieved. Today she is having her stitches taken out after an operation around her eye. “Today is like a new chapter, I know that the cancer is gone in that area, and I can breathe a sigh of relief.” says Lone Høberg.

Lone had previously received treatment for sun damage. She explains that her skin is very delicate and that a few years ago she noticed some small changes in her skin. The changes were freeze-treated, and for the past several years she has been frozen once a year, typically in eight different places on her face.

“I felt in safe hands and I didn’t think about the possibility of cancer. I felt calm and confident about being frozen. Other times, I had to apply a special cream to my skin. However, the cream was uncomfortable as I had to stay inside after it was applied, and afterwards I got large sores where the cream had been applied.”

But one day, Lone suspected that it wasn’t just sun damage to her skin. She had wounds on her face that wouldn’t really heal. This led her to investigate what could be causing these facial wounds.

“When my wounds wouldn’t heal, I searched the internet and that’s when I started to suspect skin cancer. I therefore contacted the Skin Cancer Clinic, which was able to give me a very quick appointment.”

Lone was examined at the clinic, and a biopsy was taken immediately to determine if it was skin cancer. She received the answer four days later, and unfortunately, it turned out that her suspicions were correct.

“It was a bit of a wake-up call when the doctor told me it was skin cancer. I was actually scared and researched all treatment options myself, and I had no doubt that Mohs surgery would be right for me. I wanted to get rid of the skin cancer once and for all, preferably as soon as possible. Fortunately, an appointment was made the following week at the Skin Cancer Clinic.”

When Mohs surgery is performed, there is an open laboratory that checks the cells for cancer during the surgery itself. This way, the doctor only closes the surgery once they are absolutely sure that everything has been removed, while minimizing the removal of healthy tissue.

“It turned out that there was quite a large area of skin cancer around the eye and the surgery took a total of seven hours. Of course, you can relax in the waiting room during surgery while waiting for the results of the tests. I’m extremely happy with the security I have and that it’s now completely gone. So even though it was a long operation, it was a really good experience to leave.”

Lone wanted to meet for this interview because she thinks it’s important to share her story and knowledge. Because as she says, “I’ve learned that if you have even the slightest doubt, you shouldn’t wait, you should do something about it quickly. I hope those who read my story will learn from it, so they know it’s important to act quickly. And here I can only recommend the Skin Cancer Clinic with their quick turnaround times and friendly staff.”