Over the following 20 years, I mentioned it to new GPs and specialists, as I had moved from Johannesburg to the Cape. The conclusion would all be that it was a harmless cyst.

In 2017, the spot had grown quite a bit and had presented with periodic painful and inflamed episodes. In October 2017, I required endoscopy and requested that the cyst be drained while I was anaesthetised. This was done, and when I left the hospital, it was apparent to me that it was a larger procedure than I had anticipated.

The surgeon telephoned me 3 days later to explain that what he had removed was in fact a tumour, and that a pathologist’s report confirmed that it had been an incomplete removal. There were complications post surgery, and he suggested I wait for 3 months and then have the remaining tumour removed, as it was not a life-threatening growth.

In March 2018, the last of the basal cell carcinoma was successfully removed.
During my prolonged period of recovery, especially after the initial surgery, I spent quiet days painting and listening to classical music. This made for a wonderful healing process at a very difficult and stressful time.