Adult Community-please read-it can save your life
 

Wanted to share with community what has been going on with me over the last couple of months. Hopefully someone here will take this information and can thank me 10 years down the road for sharing my story.

For those of you that don?t know me personally, I'm very fair; light eyes, light hair, pasty white skin (except with the help of the spray on tanner ;).
A couple of months a go, on the advice of my older sister, I went to the dermatologist to have the full "once over" skin check to have a baseline to monitor me as I get older, for moles or freckles that change.

During my first visit to the doctor, I immediately realized I was in trouble. They started marking up my body like a white board. The dermatologist said the normal procedure was to scrape and send for a biopsy, but there were a couple of freckles she wanted to come right out. I was a little taken back, but of course had the procedure and bit my nails during the two weeks it took to get the biopsy back. Two weeks to the day, I got the bad news that it was in fact, melanoma and they needed to go back in and "take out the neighborhood". Scary feeling, it was actually surreal.

Many stitches later and weeks of worry and dread, ( I did my best during this time not to Google melanoma, and freak myself out anymore-I knew I had one of the top Doc's in the country-and I knew everyone else in my life was burning up that search word), I got the all clear but one. Back in-more stitches, more tests, incredible stress and worry.

Yesterday was a flip out, because they called me back to see the Doctor right away, that afternoon. Let me tell you that was the longest two hours of my life, between that call and the visit. When we got there (my poor boyfriend was 10x as worried as I was) it was to find out that the Doc wanted to tell me in person, that they got it all. That I was going to be fine and that they didn't want to see my face for another six months.

I tell you guys this because the freckles they removed, were NOTHING that I had the slightest worry about. They looked like normal little tiny winy freckles-and they were deadly. I know a lot of you are in very sunny climates (I went to college in Buffalo-of all sun forsaken cities). Go get checked! Wear your sunblock! Tanning isn't worth dying for-especially when you can buy it at the Lancôme Counter!

I hope this gets one person to the Dermo-that happens-my work is done here.

Thanks for the advice - I have my appointment in June - noticing things that weren't there before and I'd rather be safe than sorry.

Glad you're OK!! :thumbsup

You're telling webmasters to avoid the sun? :eek7

:1orglaugh

indeed punkworld :P

You can laugh all you want. I lost a friend to melanoma at 32. Not saying stay out of the sun..just saying be cool about it,

Thanks Moria, my dad has been fighting melanoma on his head and back for 10 years. You really have to keep an eye on it. He was from the sun worshiping generation and moved to Florida to be in the sun. Now he can't go out in the sun without wearing a hat or bandanda covering his head and a long sleeve shirt.

Best Wishes, glad you are all right!

My girlfriend has had two surgeries in the last 2 years to remove Melanoma. She is 30. She has to get her entire body checked every 6 months for the rest of her life.

Good post :thumbsup This goes double for children... the latest research is showing that sunburns when you are young is the primary cause of melanomas later as an a adult.... so keep your kids even more covered up than you keep yourself!!!

my mother lost her boyfriend of 10 years to Melenoma all you need is it to get in your lymph nodes like it did with him and your toast

So happy to hear you're ok, hon :)

you know they say that there's a chance the skin blockers are the ones causing the skin cancers

Thanks Cyndalie-You can live with it forever as long as you are diligent about the follow up appointments. Glad to hear your dad caught it early. My Father has it as well, and it has a strong familial component. So go for the once over girl!

Moira,
Thank you for sharing your story. This is coming from a fair skinned, fair hair and blue eyed Floridian who loves everything outdoors, water and sun related.
My Mom works with a Doctor who specializes in Mohs Micrographic Surgery . She handles the frozen sections, cutting and viewing them under the microscope.
I have for a lifetime be warned about the ill effects and damage the sun can and will do. My Mom used scare tactics and would bring home pictures of young patients (before they had the reconstructive repairs done) missing half their nose, most of their cheek- or any other gruesome example of what could also happen to me and my brothers.
We were young, we were invincible.. that was not going to happen to us!
.... since then i have been in for countless biopsies, and have had numerous questionable spots removed.
Matter of fact, i have a doctors appointment for a 'once over' in 2 weeks.
My Dad is constantly being dragged in for check-ups as well. About 6 months ago the Doctor decided to biopsy a tiny spot on my dads neck, this miniscule dot turned out to be a melanoma. They had to go back for 8 'stages' of surgery to get it all. When it was all said and done my Dad left with 270 stitches and what looked like a cuban necktie.
I won't even go into the huge process the entire office has to go thru when they know they have to operate on a melanoma.. its amazing though.
The jist of my long story is this- take sun exposure seriously, when you see an odd spot/freckle have it looked at. You have no idea how easy it is to treat at the early stages.

LauraLee

Thanks Lisa-you've been a great cheerleader....looks like you chicks are stuck with me!

Toonces,

I'm so glad to hear that you got the all clear. I've been taking better care of myself lately...down almost 40 pounds. I'm going to get me some sunblock this weekend and take your advice. Thanks for sharing your story here.

Big Kiai!

Mike B

Wow, glad that you are okay now :thumbsup

Glad you got the clean bill of health on those girlie, I was praying you would!

glad your ok now

Sorry about your Mom's boyfriend Tanker. When it hits the lymphnodes, its wone of the most aggresive cancers around.

I'm glad to hear you're okay Moira. :)

as am I! Your story inspired me to go book an appointment with a dermatologist! :)

Jackson is very dark skinned...I think he'll be OK... :winkwink:

:1orglaugh :1orglaugh :1orglaugh :1orglaugh

Thanks for the advice toonces, actually I can agree with you that it's not very good to have sunbath for a very long time...

Yeah no kidding.. vampires used to get more natural light then me.. then I decided that wasnt any way to live anymore. :D

AMEN!

Inspired me to get a few freckles checked out and I'm not exactly what would be considered pasty :)

Very glad to hear the good news that you'll be around for a long time.

Leslie

important thread.

most damage is caused early in life and does not manifest itself until adulthood.

you must avoid getting burned, NEVER go to the tanning salon, and have an understanding of your personal genetics.

if you are fair and travel to an equatorial part of the world on vacation without sunblock you can take 10 years off your life with that vacation.

also, you will look younger, longer, if you stay out of the sun.

you girls remember that.