John 8:32 "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." NIV

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

To be cut or not to be cut?

Well, I had a "bump" pop up behind my knee on Saturday. It wasn't there that morning during shower grooming, but appeared by that evening and I noticed it when I was putting on my runningskirts.com purple knee-high socks. It felt hard. Not like a bug bite. I showed hubby, he laughed. I showed TG who said it looked like a cyst. I showed... well ANYONE and EVERYBODY who would look at it and gathered lots of opinions. The one that mattered the most was a Doctor's. Went to my second appointment today and confirmed, it is a cyst.

According to my Plastic Surgeon (yeah, I have one on speed dial, don't you?), it could have been "growing" for some time and then suddenly, "popped" out from behind a tendon or something to become visible.

She said it needs to be surgically removed (was hoping it could just be drained) and that I would need to take some time off of running. I asked how long and that is where it got complicated.

You see, she said that it could be a 30 minute "procedure" and I could be back running in a week. Or it could be "attached" and take much longer to heal, like 2-3 weeks.

Ummmm, I am supposed to start marathon training on July 25th.... yeah, about this surgery... I do not have time to risk 3 weeks off of training. Sure I have a huge base and I am in good shape, but this is a marathon we are talking about. And it is set, in November, with BOB!

I haven't decided completely yet... hubs thinks I should do it now; but then again, he doesn't want me to run another marathon either. I take that back, he doesn't mind me running the marathon, training for it is the real problem.

It only "hurts" after I touch it. So far it hasn't hurt during my runs or anything else. Doctor said I could wait, that there would be no harm in waiting until after the marathon!
What would you do?

9 comments:

Lisa J said...

if the worst case scenario is 2-3 weeks off running as you mentioned- it would benefit you now. what if in the time between now and the marathon it grows bigger and does become uncomfortable?? I'm the LAST person who puts caution ahead of 'chancing it'- however I have learned the hard way that it pays to be cautious some times!

BigHappyFamily said...

Lance it now. You won't lose too much fitness in a couple weeks. You gain peace of mind! You'll be able to better focus on your training with the bump gone.

Lyndsey said...

I agree totally with Lisa...whip it in the butt now....who knows what might happen in two weeks...or a month...or two months...

kimert said...

Tough call! I would be totally bummed BUT would definitely nip it now. 2-3 weeks healing time beats the "what if" you risk with not taking care of it now.

coach dion said...

Lady Love do it now... so if you are off 3 weeks that makes it mid August with all of September and October to train for your marathon. That is more than enough time and you are young so you won't lose fitness as fast as an old man like me!!!

The less time you have to train for a marathon the more focused you will be and the better your training will be, so take the break. You will come back strong and I bet you will be so focused on the marathon training that you will have a cracker of a race..

Good luck

Unknown said...

For me it would depend mostly on how big of a deal it is to leave it vs deal with it. If the doc isn't too concerned, I might wait. But if it is coming out no matter what, it's probably going to be smaller (and easier) earlier than later.

Shellyrm ~ just a country runner said...

I have a small fatty cyst in my neck. My dr was able to "move it" and felt it was free floating. I have yet to have it taken out and it has grown but I watch it. With yours being behind your knee and suddenly appearing I'd want it out incase it became a bigger problem later. It will most likely be a few quick days and the end to worring about it so you can focus on your training.

~K~ said...

i say get it off now ~ you'll catch back up in your training before ya know it!

Carrie said...

I agree -- best to do it now and avoid future worry. You'll be glad you did and will be able to enjoy your training more.