Basal Cell Carcinoma

The third time was not the charm.

I have had two basal cell carcinomas removed in the last few years, both of them resulting in minor, temporary divots in unobtrusive places. This third one was different: right in the middle of my left cheek, and requiring actual surgery to remove, and stitches after the fact. I will be FrankenMommy for a week or so, and then I will have a little extra "character" running down my face.

I am thankful. That cancer is gone.

The basic mechanism here is worth looking at ... skin gets produced from the inside out; new skin cells push the older cells up toward the surface, where they eventually rub off. DNA runs the production, as with so many other body processes. But sometimes DNA gets damaged -- for instance by the ultraviolet rays in sunlight -- and it gives confused directions to the skin factory, which sometimes then goes into overproduction. That kind of overgrowth is often the key characteristic of a cancer.

Here's what I notice: Sunlight is a good thing; it gives us Vitamin D, and affects our moods and energy levels. But too much can do damage. Growth is a good thing, too. We need new skin cells to replace the ones that wear away. But overgrowth of cells in the wrong place can make a body sick or even kill a person.

It's like being white. There's nothing intrinsically wrong with being white. White-skinned people are as much a part of God's good creation as anyone else. The problem comes when there's too much of a good thing: as when a healthy self-respect gets twisted into thinking white people are just intrinsically better (and therefore people who are not white are intrinsically not as good). Internalizing these notions of false superiority and inferiority are just two of the ways we are damaged by living in a racially polarized culture.

Another set of problems arise from what could be considered personal or social overgrowth: for instance, when a healthy work ethic becomes perfectionism ... when a cultural value becomes the grounds for judging others, or even being prejudicial toward whole people groups ... when the desire to achieve financial security turns to greed ... when the need to manage resources, risks or anxiety turns to control and power-hoarding.

Too much of a good thing can produce an evil that can sicken or kill. We can understand this in our bodies. What can our bodies teach us about the rest of our lives?

For one thing, our bodies can teach us not only about too much of a good thing, but also about the need to be observant. I've learned to spot a skin cancer. That doesn't mean I'll spot them all, or that I can get rid of them on my own; but I know the signs, and I watch for them.

We can learn about healthy ways of being white, too, as well as ways that produce evil, so that we can grow into behaviors and results that match our intentions.

And then we can be observant, with eyes of love, seeking healthy growth, and rooting out what causes sickness and death, in body and soul. Racism can be considered a cancer of the skin -- white skin that has grown into something it was never meant to be.

Love is the cure: love for others that produces a more just community, love for self that produces ethical change where needed, love of the God who gives us the hope and grace we need to live into our highest, best selves.