Desmoplastic Trichoepithelioma-What?!

It sounds like a fake diagnosis.
But it's real, and no longer a part of me.


I went in for a routine check at my dermatologist 3 weeks ago. I asked him about an unusual bump on my face, below my left eye. He acted concerned, and so he biopsied it. I really didn't think much of it because this particular blemish had been on my face for years, but I had noticed it seemed to be spreading.

When I went to get my stitches out from the biopsy procedure the following week, my doctor informed me I had a Desmoplastic Trichoepithelioma - a Tumor that originates from basal cells of hair follicles. He said, "This won't kill you - but it will destroy your face." (I started laughing. Totally inappropriate I know. But his wording surprised me - and that's how I dealt with it.)

So last week I had surgery to remove the tumor. Jody and Gracie came with me. I was thankful to have them there. The surgeon removed the tumor, bandaged up my face and sent me to a room where other people with giant gauze taped to their faces were waiting to hear results. After about an hour of the doctor biopsying the tumor, he came back and said he didn't get it all. He was able to remove the full tumor the second time around. When he took the bandage off my face so he could stitch up the area - Jody's face turned white. I thought he was going to faint.

"There's a huge hole in your face, Sweetie."
That's what you want to hear.

The Surgeon did an excellent job stitching me up. "You're a gem," he said. "I perform 10 surgeries to remove cancer-related cysts from patients everyday - but your type of tumor...I only do two of those surgeries each year."

Strange. Rare. And now Gone.

My tumor was benign (great news) but this type of tumor destroys nerve-endings; in my case affecting the vision in my left eye. I'm thankful everything went so smoothly. I'm really blessed - truly blessed. Here's a picture of the stitches before getting them removed. (Maybe a little too close for comfort. It had been a rough week...)


Jody bandaged up my face before church, four days after the surgery. It had to stay completely covered for a week. (I don't know why we didn't snap a picture of me with the GIANT bandage on immediately after the surgery. Sorry.) Gracie kept me laughing during all of this. She comes up with hilarious new sayings every day. The other day, my mom asked her, "Gracie - are you a Princess?" To which she replied, "No...I'm a Robot." She then started moving her hands in stiff motions and dancing like a robot.

FYI - Princess, No. Robot, Yes!