Finding my way back on this thread is going to take some practice, I think!
Thank you for your response. Prayers to you that you continue to be one of the victors - having lost several people to cancer in recent years including two people in their 20s, my younger sister and now our daughter, I know just how difficult the battle can be - even successes are fraught with emotion, never mind the downright imposition on everyone's lives fighting the fight. We actually have one success story - my one daughter's cervical cancer is now in remission but the changes to one's daily life during the fight can be mind boggling.
Our daughter was a super-faithful sunscreen user and hat wearer, and avoided the sun whenever possible for her entire life (well, her parents' task first, and then hers). Her skin was porcelain white albeit with lots of freckles - the typical "Irish lass" complexion. There was no such thing as a tn line anywhere - in fact, we used to tease her about how much she avoided the sun!
Personally, I'd like to get the word out that melanoma is NOT
just a danger for sun-worshippers - there is more behind melanoma. People with risk factors have to be super-vigilant in inspections even if they avoid sun exposure. Becky ignored what was apparently her main warning sign: a large mole on her back that she had had since childhood started to bleed. It did not keep bleeding (to her knowledge) and she just presumed she must have caught it with her fingernail and never had it checked. Her melanoma was not discovered until she found the lump in her groin, a result of the spreading tumors within her body. I'm not saying she would be here today if she had had it checked, but I am saying her chances would have been better. But, she was only 33 when she was diagnosed and she always followed the recommended guidelines re: sun exposure so the thought never crossed her mind that she might die so young.
As to sun exposure, the vitamin D our body produces from the sun only (not as supplements) actually helps prevent a number of cancers (some studies show as many as >40) and other studies show a mild tan (please, please please do not anyone jump on me and say I am promoting turning our skin to leather - I said mild!) may actually help prevent melanoma in many people. I'm no clinician, but while I'm not sure yet how much of this (effects on melanoma) has to do with our risk factors and how much of it has to do with sun exposure, one thing I
am sure of is this cancer needs more research than it now gets.