On Caged Bird Sings, a noteworthy blog post featured on the DCBlogs live feed, Kassy wrote a moving account of her discovery of a "few new freckles," melanoma diagnosis, her supportive friends, and her warning to all women to stay out of the sun. It's recommended reading!
Photo from Caged Bird Sings
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3 comments:
It's so great to get the story out there about the dangers of the sun and melanoma. I went to the doctor to have a mole checked - that one was fine, but she found two others that were "normal" looking to the untrained eye, but were pre-melanoma. One was so aggressive that she said it would have been full-blown melanoma in weeks. I know what she means when your heart sinks when you hear that news.
It made me have my two sons checked - and I was very diligent about sunscreen with them when they were younger. One of them also had two pre-melanoma moles removed at age 18.
Please, everyone - make getting a full-body mole check a part of your yearly physical! It really can save your life. My son and I get checked every 6 months.
OMG, Fab, that's scary. I haven't had anything approaching melanoma (yet), but my uncle died from it, so I have been watchful and careful. I have my dermatologist look me over frequently.
I have had plenty of actinic keratoses removed with liquid nitrogen. These are pre-cancerous lesions, and they are nothing to mess around with. I am really good at spotting them now, so I go right in to get them frozen off.
Good advice - thanks! Stay out of the sun, as Kassy said, AND get a full-body check each year, or more frequently if your physician recommends that based on your own or your family's history. We ARE talking life or death here.
This is why we should always use a SPF sunscreen and/or wear protective clothing. Google the ABCDE rule for skin cancer to learn more about how to recognize growths that could potentially be cancerous. The thing with cancer is, it's better to find it sooner than later. Thanks for sharing.
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