MAY IS MELANOMA/SKIN CANCER DETECTION AND PREVENTION MONTH - THESE ARE ALL THE REASONS WHY I KNOW!

Dawn Boyle

I had originally set this post in drafts last week. My friend Tara had a video on her facebook wall, it was a number of people talking to their 16 year old self after the risks of skin cancer. It moved me.

My oldest daughter was born with a small chocolate chip sized birthmark on the inside of her upper arm. I never thought about it. She shows everyone, she even seems proud of it. On Monday, that little chocolate chip sent my world in a tailspin. I took her to her pediatrician to have something looked at. I mentioned that I had made an appointment for Sarah to see a dermatologist in early June. Let me flashback for a second, about a month ago I was in the ER with the same kid and a foot injury. We were at the hospital all night, even made friends with two little old ladies and their niece. One of the little old ladies was a retired nurse. She noticed Sarah's Chocolate chip and told me to have that checked out immediately. I blew it off. It all flooded back when the pediatrician wanted me to immediately go to Lake Success, New York to have a specialist take a look at that chocolate chip and have it biopsied. My heart sank. Why didn't I listen to that little old lady over a month ago? The video from Tara played over and over in my head. What a horrible mother I am. Why am I such a slacker? What the hell is wrong with me that I never had a dermatologist look at this before, she is going on 10 years old!!

With a knot in my throat I took my little girl in to the next doctor. He went over her with a fine tooth comb. He did measurements and took pictures of every mole on this kids body. He documented as Sarah and I told him of different times she was over exposed to the sun, once when she was on the beach in early spring, once down by the boat she got heat stroke, and then recently on our family trip. I patiently waited for the opportunity to ask him about the necessity for a biopsy. He asked her about sunblock, Sarah admitted that she wasn't a fan of her mother covering her with 50+ every hour on the hour during the summer. It all came down to this one moment. No, he didn't say it needed a biopsy. THANK GOD! The blood rushed back through the rest of my body. The guilt was over - I wasn't that bad of a mother.

I want to thank Tara for posting that video and putting the wheels in motion for everything that happened on Monday. I have to remember to cancel that appointment for early June for Sarah. Grace and I will still be there for our full scan - I don't want to ever feel the way I did Moday!

Read below all the information about Melanoma and Skin Cancer. Don't forget to watch that video from Tara too!

Melanoma is the most serious cancer of the skin, affecting cells that produce and transport the pigment melanin – the substance that gives skin its color. In 2009, an estimated 68,720 new cases will be diagnosed with melanoma and an estimated 8,650 deaths from melanoma.
Melanoma is a common cancer in light-skinned individuals; African Americans are less likely to develop the disease. If caught in its early stages, and with treatment, more than 75 percent of patients with melanoma survive at least five years after diagnosis.

Anything that increases a person's chance of developing a disease is called a risk factor. Though the cause of melanoma is unknown, the following risk factors may increase the likelihood of developing skin cancer:

• Skin color – Individuals with light-colored eyes and skin are at a higher risk than those with brown eyes and naturally darker skin.
• History of sunburns – A history of severe blistering sunburns, particularly during childhood and teenage years, is a recurring theme among those diagnosed.
• Overexposure to ultraviolet radiation – Excessive tanning bed exposure and sunbathing puts the skin at higher risk.
• Moles – An increased presence of moles or the presence of dysplastic or other atypical moles may be a warning sign of higher risk.
• Suppressed immune systems – Certain states of immunosuppression, (e.g., that of renal transplant patients and those with Hodgkin's Disease) make one more vulnerable to the risk of developing melanoma.
• Previous melanoma – Personal or family history of melanoma gives you a genetic predisposition for developing the disease.

Melanoma facts

• Cancer of the skin is the most common of all cancers. Melanoma accounts for about four percent of skin cancer cases, but causes about 79 percent of skin cancer deaths.
• Melanoma is a more serious type of cancer than the more common skin cancers, basal cell cancer or squamous cell cancer.
• Melanoma can spread (metastasize) quickly to other parts of the body through the lymph or circulatory systems.
• Warning signs of melanoma: change in the size, shape, or color of a mole; oozing or bleeding from a mole; a mole that feels itchy, hard, lumpy, swollen, or tender to the touch; the pigmented area of a mole doesn't look normal.

FOR MORE INFORMATION THE SKIN CANCER FOUNDATION IS A GREAT RESOURSE
http://www.skincancer.org/Skin-Cancer-Facts/