Recently my neighbor told me that he has malignant melanoma (the most deadly form of skin cancer), and it has metastasized to his liver. I started thinking about how his cancer probably could have been avoided altogether had he been seeing a dermatologist once a year. The next day I scheduled an appointment to have a full body skin exam with the local dermatologist. A potentially precancerous mole was found on the sole of my foot. I’m a RN, I pay attention to my skin, but I never noticed it. My wife is a Physician Assistant, she never noticed it.
The exam was painless and took a total of 10 minutes. My Dad went for his exam last week, it had been 3 years since his last exam, he had 9 precancerous lesions frozen off. Seeing a dermatologist once a year is worth considering, you can avoid a lot of grief with a little prevention.
Good thread. My mother’s family grew up on the ocean and my grandmother a couple of years ago had surgery to remove several growths. Definitely a good idea…takes a few minutes to take a look and can save your life.
Yeah, that can be quick killer. My dad had some spots removed, but one or more was malignant and metastasized to all of his blood rich organs- the liver, pancreas, lungs and brain.
Diagnosed in October 1993, dead by the beginning of December. Actually blessedly quick.
This topic interests me because I’m very fair-skinned and have a lot of moles. I’ve had 3 moles removed after examinations and I do go to a dermatologist semi-regularly.
However, living in Wisconsin, I’m also conscientious about a lack of exposure to sunlight. Though I take vitamin D, especially in the winter, I wonder how people balance out the positive and negative effects from the sun.
For me, I usually only apply sunscreen in the summer and if I’m going to be outside for more than an hour at a time. Any thoughts from others about how to find that balance?
I find that balance by avoiding getting burned at all costs, but still getting a lot of sun. I also take a lot of l-tyrosine, which promotes the formation of melanin.
Vitamin D apparently helps prevent cancer, but it’s produced in the skin by sunlight exposure. That makes sense when you think about it; since the skin is subject to cancer, it evolved it’s own defense mechanism.
[quote]mrw173 wrote:
This topic interests me because I’m very fair-skinned and have a lot of moles. I’ve had 3 moles removed after examinations and I do go to a dermatologist semi-regularly.
However, living in Wisconsin, I’m also conscientious about a lack of exposure to sunlight. Though I take vitamin D, especially in the winter, I wonder how people balance out the positive and negative effects from the sun.
For me, I usually only apply sunscreen in the summer and if I’m going to be outside for more than an hour at a time. Any thoughts from others about how to find that balance?[/quote]
I don’t shy away from the sun, I think Vit D deficiency is a greater risk for skin cancer than reasonable sun exposer. I will put on sunscreen if I’m going to be outside for hours on end, to prevent burning.
I supplement with 2000 IU every day, year round. My serum Vit D level stays around 65 ng/ml. Melanomas are often found on parts of the body NEVER exposed to sunlight, something to think about.
[quote]mrw173 wrote:
This topic interests me because I’m very fair-skinned and have a lot of moles. I’ve had 3 moles removed after examinations and I do go to a dermatologist semi-regularly.
However, living in Wisconsin, I’m also conscientious about a lack of exposure to sunlight. Though I take vitamin D, especially in the winter, I wonder how people balance out the positive and negative effects from the sun.
For me, I usually only apply sunscreen in the summer and if I’m going to be outside for more than an hour at a time. Any thoughts from others about how to find that balance?[/quote]
Well the balance is not to go out when it is blazingly hot (in Greece, usually noon-2pm). If you are burning, this is not good. The sun is more beneficial than it is dangerous if you use sunscreen, IMO.
Thanks for the links. Most of what you put on your skin ends up in your bloodstream. Read the ingredients, if it’s not suitable to eat then don’t put it on your skin- this is the rule I follow. Same applies to underarm deodorants, there are natural options for a little more $.
I didn’t read any of those, Push. But sunscreen has always made me cautious since my wife got badly sunburned ONLY in the areas she used it while vacationing in Georgia last year!
Also, when we were in Cabo several years ago, the local surfers explained that their skin cancer rates are nonexistent… and they never use sunscreen.
[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
Also, when we were in Cabo several years ago, the local surfers explained that their skin cancer rates are nonexistent… and they never use sunscreen.
[/quote]
Maybe I just stereotype surfers but how the hell did this conversation come up?
[quote]Iron Dwarf wrote:
Also, when we were in Cabo several years ago, the local surfers explained that their skin cancer rates are nonexistent… and they never use sunscreen.
[/quote]
Maybe I just stereotype surfers but how the hell did this conversation come up?[/quote]
My very good friend publishes an all latin text surf magazine down there. She told me of how the local surfers joke with each other about the way tourists use SO much sun screen but still burn badly and have high incidents of cancer.
