I called Cary Dermatology and got an explanation of my test results. The biopsy found that the mole was severely dysplastic. This just means that it was irregular in a way that is considered pre-cancerous. Some moles of this type eventually develop into melanoma, at which point you have skin cancer. For this reason, we need to make sure that all of it is excised. The American Osteopathic College of Dermatology puts it this way: “Most dermatologists usually recommend that all patients with these severely dysplastic moles have them removed with a margin (0.5 cm — about a quarter inch) of clinically normal skin.”

I will have this done on June 9. I assume it will be similar to the Mohs surgery on my face after I had the basal cell carcinoma removed in 2019. But this isn’t a surgical procedure, just a “re-shave.” The incision may be small enough not to require sutures, which I did have as a result of the Mohs procedure. But I’ll come home with a bandage on my left forearm, and I’ll eventually have a small scar. I already have a few of those (who doesn’t, after six decades of life?), and I don’t mind adding another if it helps me avoid skin cancer.

I slept without the LifeVest for the first time since January 2, which meant that I didn’t have to place the defibrillator next to my pillow and arrange the cable to avoid lying on it. During my daily activities, the cable had a tendency to catch on things, especially the drawer handles in my kitchen. I’m glad I no longer have to put up with that. I wasn’t aware of the LifeVest most of the time, so I mostly don’t notice its absence. But I certainly won’t miss it.