学进去

As a housewife, I had Kransky, our dog, for almost two years. One day when I was calling my mum, Kransky was sniffing a mole (痣) on my right leg with his wet nose over and over. I kept laughing and told mum about it. After hearing my explanation, her tone changed. “There’s been research on pets being able to discover illness,” she replied. “Please, book in a skin check.”

But then I just care little about it and didn’t do anything. When she followed up a couple of times though, I made an appointment with my doctor. On seeing the mole on my leg, the doctor insisted it be removed immediately. I was surprised by his seriousness and had the mole removed on the spot. A few days later, the doctor’s office told me that I had a cancerous melanoma (黑色素瘤) and gave me details of a surgeon who would remove it. I made the arrangements and quickly hung up. Tears flowed as anger filled my body. “You’ve left it too late,” I spoke angrily to myself.

My surgery was set for eight weeks’ time, and Kransky was by my side through it all. After the surgery, a doctor advised me to have regular skin checks every three months for years. Thankfully, this meant no chemotherapy (化疗) or radiation. And I often think if Kransky hadn’t found it out, my situation would have been so much worse.

Now, I’m sharing my story to remind others to get skin checks regularly. Not everyone has an angel like Kransky to point out when something’s wrong.