In search of shirts...

Today I bought some shirts.   Why might this be interesting to you, the reader?   These shirts were necessary, I believe, due to cancer.


How does this story start?   Like many of the others, in the months before diagnosis.   At some point last fall (almost last summer), I decided to have two moles removed, one on my abdomen, and the other on my shoulder blade.   Who wants a big meatball on their upper back?  Well, after 32 years, I decided not me.   


So, I went to derm and had them removed.  They were bandaged with tegaderm dressings.  Each day, Sarah had to remove and redress these "wounds."   Well, after several days, the dressing site was worse than the wound.  Her removing the dressing was unbelievably painful, to the point it literally brought me to my knees.   Finally, one day my skin started bleeding right through the dressing site (note, NOT from the wound), in many tiny, tiny holes of blood.  It soaked through my undershirt!


So, I called dermatology to ask what was going on, and they wanted to see me immediately.  This was diagnosed as an adhesive allergy.  I was told to thereafter use "Paper tape" or the 3m micropore stuff.  I got plenty of use out of it, because soon after, I was having many, many blood draws trying to find what ultimately is my Hodgkin's diagnosis.


At the time, however, I found it to be really odd.   How did I develop a "tape allergy" suddenly?  This after years and years of using tape right on skin.   


Then, right as I was being diagnosed, I developed a weird sensation on my left shoulder.  It felt like I hit it on an edge or something, but the pain wasn't deep - it was on the skin.  To me the skin "felt" a little dry or fuzzy, but Sarah noticed nothing.  The pain was pretty noticeable to me, though.  I'd be aware of it nearly all day.


Now I think it may be one of the cutaneous manifestations of Hodgkin's Disease.  As you can see from the article abstract, there are several types of skin problems that occur with HD, but none of them describe my problems precisely.  (There are other articles out there I may someday seek out that describe other problems.  I was too lazy tonight after 25 minutes of trying).   In any case, my skin just feels hypersensitive to everything.   It has always been extremely dry, but I wouldn't call that pruritis or itching.   Seams from shirts are like sandpaper, but far worse now.  I've worn t-shirts inside out, on and off, for years.  


Which brings me to today.   The shirts I was looking for are the UnderArmour plain t-shirts.  The beauty of these is the location of the sleeve seam, and the fact that the seam is "sewn down."  I've had a few of these for awhile, mostly grey, and I've been wearing them under my dress clothes at work.  Actually, I've been wearing them nearly non-stop, under even regular cotton t-shirts, long sleeve t-shirts, or my standby hoodies.  It is SO much more comfortable for my lame skin right now than the classic Hanes cotton Ts. The UA tactical fitted shirts aren't quite as nice for me.   Aside from the fact that you have to have the body of a ripped swimmer to look decent in them, the seams are traditional and not sewn down.  That said, inside out, these are much nicer than cotton as well.  So, today I bought a bunch more of these loose tech t-shirts (mostly white) and am now stocked up.    Another plus, the more you wash them, the softer they get, which is the opposite of many t-shirts.

Yep, just another of many little incidentals that goes along with my new cancerous life.   My goal on this blog is not to plug favorite companies, but I'll be honest, this is another incidental I am very thankful for.  Enjoy!