Skin Cancer Warning -- and Good News!!!!

[invaderzim]

Hi, All....

I'm not trying to get on a soapbox or anything -- but just wanted to give some "friendly advice". I have been battling skin cancer for 7 years and this year was told that I might lose my upper lip to it since they couldn't get rid of the cancer cells with just the basic treatments.

I just finished two weeks of chemo and was told that it looks like maybe enough cancer cells were killed that they may be able to save my lip. However, by the end of the treatment, my face looked like I had either severe poison ivy or acid burns! And all of it I was told were pre-cancerous cells not seen by the naked eye but brought to the surface by the chemo. The good news is it may have been enough of a treatment that surgery may not be needed. I have to wait until September to see what fades and what lingers. What doesn't fade will have to be removed surgically!!

Just some friendly advice -- be very careful in the sun. My doctor said that most skin cancers are the result of sun damage from constant sun burning to get a tan. I have become happy with my pale skin if it will save the rest of my face! I've also had to cancerous pockets removed from my arms. So just use precautions and hats and sun screen and lip balm, etc.

 

[CruisingCA2005]

I'm sorry that you've been having to go through all those treatments. Thank you for the advice!

 

[Disneefun]

Amen, invaderzim!!! Use that sunblock. I used to try to tan (I say try 'cause I'm a pale redhead and all I ever did was burn and peel) and I, too, am paying the price for it now. I've lost count of how many pre-cancerous moles I've had removed and I've had treatment for a cancerous area, as well. I'm pasty white now and proud of it, I just really regret the damage I did in my youth. So protect yourself out there!!!!

The Dr.s have told me that even people who tan and don't burn can still get cancer because a tan is really just damage to your cells causing the color change. Just because you can't see or feel the damage today doesn't mean it won't show up in ten years. So be careful.

 

[mickeyboat]

Don't forget sunscreen on the tops of your feet and the top of your hair. My part always gets burned - be careful if you have your hair braided.

Glad to hear that things are looking up for you invaderzim! Thanks for the reminder.

Denae

 

[UMTerp]

invaderzim - so sorry you have had to go through all of that! I would like to recommend a company called Solar Eclipse. They carry a large line of sunscreen clothing. I buy the swim shirts for my kids -- I have one very fair red-head. They work great and you don't have to worry about sunscreen on the areas the shirts cover! They have a website too: solareclipse.com

UMTerp

 

[nuts4sn00py]

Invaderzim, I wish you all the best in your battle. I will keep you in my thoughts & prayers. I was fortunate in that my Melanoma was caught early. I have a large scar on my leg, but didn't need any further treatment. What people don't realize is that many times people don't even realize they have skin cancer until it is too late. People also don't realize that all it takes is one bad burn as a child! So, please people, put that sunblock on your kids! Make sure they are covered up, especially those children who are fair skinned. I always make sure my DD uses sunblock on her part (nothing worse than a sunburn on your scalp or tops of your feet)! Also, please don't forget the ears, they are so sensitive! Know your body & if you see a suspicious mole, get it checked! Even my dermatologist didn't think my mole was going to be Melanoma, he was more suprised than me! You have done a great service by bringing up this topic! Stay well & think positive thoughts! Kathy

 

[horsewings]

Hi! This is a great thread and reminder for people to wear sunscreen and protect themselves from the sun.

I grew up in a Florida and was a sun goddess - baby oil with iodine - woo hoo!! I was looking good as a teenager - very tan and healthy!

I am now 43 and 4 years ago I was diagnosed with squamous cell skin cancer on the left side of my face - near my nose. The cancer was near my nasal bone so I had to go through 26 treatments of radiation after the removal of the cancer. Then I had to have reconstructive surgery on my face because so much tissue had to be removerd. I now have 4 titanium bolts on my left side of my nose to hold the skin in place - it was like a reverse face lift. I am doing fine now but I still don't have much feeling on my left side and you can't tell I had surgery - my plastic surgeon was wonderful - thank goodness.

I now go the dermatologist every 6 months for my checkups and on my last visit they discovered a precancerous melanoma spot between my toes!! My DR. said he sees more skin cancer on feet than anywhere else on the body.

I have a DD who is 13 and I'm always nagging her about sunblock and she says she is always whiter than her friends and I tell her - well you won't have skin cancer - hopefully!

Please make sure your children have on sunblock - it is sooooo important!

 

[HappyMommy2]

Thank you for posting this reminder. I am very good about keeping my kids sun-safe but not so good about taking care of my own skin sometimes.

Also, another thing to think about--someone I know has a 19-year-old son who was recently diagnosed with melanoma that has spread into several of his organs . It was caught very late because his doctor had kept telling him his odd moles were nothing to worry about since he was just a teenager. So even if you are young, get yourself checked out routinely by someone who takes skin cancer very seriously.

 

[nuts4sn00py]

Hi HappyMom2. What a sin about your girlfriends son! I hate when Drs. don't listen to their patients. I was having trouble with my knees & had mentioned my mole to my Doctor. He told me one had nothing to do with the other & never even looked at my mole! I asked him to recommend a Dermatologist, which he did. I went to the Dermatologist & even he didn't think it was melanoma! He than sent me to a specialist to have more skin removed & have lymph nodes checked. What really burns me is that my 1st doctor than states: "It's a good thing we sent you to that dermatologist, melanoma can be deadly!" Unfortunately with skin cancer you might not know you have it unless it is too late! Between the toes & the bottom of feet are common places for melanoma to appear. On women it is on the lower part of the legs! Mine was right below my knee! So please, please, take our warnings seriously, I would hate to lose one of my DIS friends to a cancer than can be cured, & above that, one that can be prevented! :: off soapbox now:: Kathy

 

[LisaGoeke]

Thank you for the reminder. My grandfather and mother both had skin cancer, which probably means I will too. Of course, I was a dumb teenager and didn't listen to my mother and tanned ALL the time. Let's just hope and pray I don't get it. And yes, cover up those kids. I always make sure my kids are really covered, especially my two little red heads!

 

[talicskai]

God Bless you guys for bringing this to "light" !

 

[mobetsy]

Another easy prevention tip: Rit Sungard can be washed into your clothes, and you get protection equivalent to about SPF 15 (or 30 if you use 2 boxes) from it. It lasts for something like 15 washings, makes absolutely no difference in the feel or look of the clothes, and you can launder the clothes however you want (bleach, softener, whatever). For $3.50 a box, that's a good bargain!

I'm a pastor, and when I was first ordained I buried a 19 y.o. young man who died of skin cancer. That changed my California tanning habits, and has kept me vigilant with my kids. The Australians have a great phrase: slip, slap, slop. Slip under a tree, slap on a hat, slop on sunscreen.

 

[momsgoofy]

To all of you who have had skin cancer, I sympathize!

I lost my mom to malignant melanoma in 1999. She was in no way a sun worshipper. Let me tell you her story. If one person who reads it, stops and does what they can to prevent skin cancer then I have honored my mother greatly.

In 1990, mom was diagnosed with cancer of the larynx for which she had surgery to remove the larynx and several lymph nodes followed by 6 weeks of intense radiation treatment to her neck. She was cancer free until April 1996 when diagnosed with malignant melanoma. Her doctors never confirmed nor denied that the radiation treatment had anything to do with her skin cancer later, but my family supects it did.
Between April 1996 and May 1997, mom had 4 surgeries; 3 for skin cancer and 1 to repair the lower facial nerves which were damaged after the second surgery. Each of these surgeries involve skin grafts taken from her upper thighs. After the 4 surgeries, the right side of mom's face was drawn as if she'd had a stroke and her head always appeared as if it were about to topple over at any minute. The doctors had shaved along the carotid artery and removed about 1/3 of her neck tissue. The doctors treated her with chemo and interferon therapy with minimal luck.
In late June 1997, Mom contracted staph phneumonia and landed in the hospital for about 6 weeks. On one visit to her room I watched as she coded while having a seizure prompting an imeadiate call to the chaplin by the staff.
In early 1998 she became what she called a "lab rat" because she was a participant in a research study for Interluken 2 therapy. This entailed 4 weeks of shots, 2 weeks off repeated for a year. Mom said it was like the worst case of the flu for the 4 weeks and just when she'd start feeling better...BAM! It would hit again.
In May 1999, she began hemmoraging in the brain, was airlifted to St. Louis (where all of her medical team was located...2 hours away) and told the cancer had spread to her brain. She had surgery to remove the tumor which was successful, but cancer had spread to her skin, lymph system, and bones. The doctors wanted to do more radiation, but Mom refused knowing the quality of life while under treatment would not be better than what she had. She knew what was inevitable and returned home.
In July, Mom went from being able to walk on her own through the house to needing 2 adults to assist her. My 3 sisters and I began caring for our mom 24/7 in teams of 2. Later that month my dad was diagnosed with heart that pumped hardly better than a transplant patient and congestive heart failure and was hospitalized. This prompted us to place Mom under hospice care.
A couple of weeks later, Mom decided to move to the nursing home for more privacy. It was her way of staying in control of her life. She brightened up for a week or so. The last Wednesday in August she became non-responsive and four days later, she went peacefully.
Please know that losing my mom was difficult, but knowing she is no longer in any pain nor suffering - it was a blessing. My mom told us all that she was "ready to go home."

Her death certificate issued lists her cause of death as malignant melanoma. So if you think skin cancer doesn't kill you are wrong. It does!

Due to my risk factor I avoid the sun as much as possible and use hats and sunscreen. My DS (12) is at double risk because he biological father had an entire ear removed due to skin cancer. DS is stubborn and does not apply sunscreen when not in my presence. He's had a couple of nasty sunburns because of it and each time he says "Mom, I'm sorry". I just tell him to apologize to himself because that is who he's hurting. One of my sisters still sunbaths and even went so far as to use a tanning bed for her daughter's wedding. She had to look good for a late fall wedding. Some people will not learn.

One poster suggested a company called Solar Eclipse! They are great...my mom's doctors recommended it. Another poster quoted the Aussies...sit, slap, slop. That is a great way to put it! And it is effective in fighting skin cancer.

I will get off my soap box and stop sharing my life story. I will conclude by saying thank you for the opportunity to share it because in the words of my mom when she became a "lab rat"...
"If by doing what I am doing, one person can be helped in the fight against skin cancer, then I have done my part and served my purpose here."

Be Safe! Be Smart! Sit, Slap, Sit!
Laura ºoº

 

[NAT&MAGSMOM]

I couldn't agree more.

My DH has had 3 melanomas removed, but is fine.

In March I had what they call MOHS surgery for a cancer spot on the bridge of my nose. I had noticed this place on my nose..but since I have terrible skin...a lot of adult acne...caused by STRESS I'm sure lol I really didn't think anything about it until one night it started bleeding after I'd washed my face with a wash cloth. So, they did a needle biopsy and found the second stage skin cancer...I can't remember what it's called and the name is a mile long. The end of March I had the MOHS surgery. That is where they go in and keep taking the tissue until they remove all the cancer cells. The surgery inself was no problem. But....everytime they did the procedure, plus cauterizing the blood vessels...they put SHOTS in my face. They did the procedure 3 times, that's 3 sets of shots at approx 10-15 shots each time...then 3 more cauterizations...at the same number of shots....then they put 26 stitches from between my eyes down the bridge of my nose over the side and down my nose. OH YES...I WAS LOVELY. The dog wouldn't even have anything to do with me....lol We figured out they put over 100 shots in my face that day. My face swelled up, my eye swelled shut...and again I was lovely. But they got all the cancer cells and that's what matters. I'm still having problems with it. They took my stitches out too early and the incision separated and I have some
some issues with that. I'm going to a plastic surgeon next month to see what he says. It's not that I mind how I look so much...but it still hurts and sometimes I feel like a thousand little pins are pricking the inside of my nose...it itches and I have a hard place on the scar that something needs to be done to. So, we'lll see what the surgeon says about it. The reason I'm going to a plastic surgeon is because we feel the first doctor, who is not a ps, botched the procedure when they took the stitches out too early, and didn't give me the proper follow up care.

We are pretty sure all this came from being in the sun. As a kid
we played outside all day in the blistering sun....as a teen we
"laid out" in the sun, not using a sun screen...but an enhancer and I've laid under a sun lamp and blistered my face. I thought if I had sun on my face...the acne would go away and it would dry up the oiliness....I didn't know any better at that time...but now I do. And even though I live in a beach resort....I never go in the sun and if I do..I am almost completely covered. My dd thinks that is so strange. SO, on the ship....both DH and sit at one of the tables with the deck blocking the sun from us. We slather DD with sunscreen and she's only had a couple of instances of sun burn...mostly at school things where I wasn't there to keep putting it on her.

I learned my lesson the hard way...even though the surgery got all the cancer...I'm still having to deal with the other stuff. Which I can deal with...but it's not fun!!

So, like everyone else has said....lather up or stay out....that's my new saying.

So if you're on the December 4th cruise and you see someone sitting up on Deck 9 all covered up, hat, sunglasses, robe, even shoes...watching DD swim and reading...that will be me!!!!

Phyllis

 

[invaderzim]

I am really heartened by all of your good wishes and heartfelt sympathy! But I am even more grateful that this thread inspired so many of you to write your personal experiences! I really had no idea that it would open up such a medium for knowledge -- but every little bit that other people learn may help them to prevent themselves and their children from going through what we have gone through.

My cancer started on my upper lip and for several weeks I thought it was a cold sore. But it kept scabbing over and wouldn't heal, no matter what I put on it. That was in 1996. The doctor took a biopsy and then burned it with liquid nitrogen to burn off as many skin layers as possible. The biopsy came back positive for pre-cancer cells. It was good for about 4 years and then it reappeared. That time she cut as much away as possible to see if she could get it all. It healed perfectly (she's amazing) and I was fine for another two years. In 2002 she had to burn several layers off again. Finally, this past March, she told me that it was never going to go away on its own and we needed to be more aggressive. The area had gotten larger and the scabbing was worse. So she cut a few layers away again, another biopsy and then I had to wait two months and start the two weeks of chemo treatment.

It was shocking how much pre-cancer cells came to the surface. I had no idea there could be that much invisible damage. Those are the cells that, if left untreated, turn into aggressive skin cancer.

Like I said earlier, I am now on a wait and see basis. Whatever damage has been burned off and disappears is good. However, whatever is still red and scabby in two months must be surgically removed.

And yes, the doctor told me this is from being sunburned as a child when our parents didn't put sunscreen (in the 1950's it wasn't thought of). She said that it only takes one bad sunburn and it may not show up in that child's skin for 20 or 30 years, but the damage is there and will eventually surface.

She said that ears, between the toes and backs of legs are the worse because those are the areas always forgotten about when applying sunscreen. AND she said we should be wearing sunscreen every time we are outside -- driving in the car, sitting in our yard, etc. Sunny or cloudy, the damage can still be done!

Take care and thanks for all your good thoughts....and to all of you out there who have gone through various stages of this, chin up and my prayers are with you, too.

 

[ImNarek]

Thanks for the suggestions of the Rit Sunguard - I will go out and find it!!!!

I've already had two serious precancers removed - one from my right shoulderblade, and the other from my left arm. The one on my left arm was the most serious, and it looked to me like a cute freckle! I was originally almost sorry to see it go - before the biopsy report!!! Now I have a huge ugly scar in its place (I keloid badly) but that's far better than the alternative! And I'm only 33!

So its not only the huge, ugly moles you have to worry about - one of mine was small and flat with very irregular borders (the freckle), and the other was a little bigger, round and a little raised, and it had a large pale ring around it.

Some other suggestions for prevention: sunscreen actually soaks into your skin over time, and if you start applying sunscreen about a week before your trip, once a day, that helps to build a base layer of protection. Also, apply your sunscreen BEFORE you dress, everywhere!!!! A common place to burn is right where skins meets clothing, because people don't want to get their clothing messy, so they don't apply sunscreen as thickly in those areas!

 

[nuts4sn00py]

Momsgoofy, I am so sorry about your mom! But you did a beautiful job of telling her story & stressing the importance of sunblock & covering up! I lost my mom last July to cancer, 2 months after I had my diagnosis of Melanoma. I was fortunate in that I caught it early, but there is always a chance it could comeback. I go every 3 months for my checkup. My stepdaughter just got a bad burn & my first words to her were "you don't want to be like me," I explained to her you don't want to have skin cancer like me. She was stunned as we had never discussed it before. I than showed her the scar on my leg. Hopefully, that was a wake-up call for her. Invaderzim I'm glad you also shared your story. I don't usually share my personal pain, but because I feel this is an important issue I felt it important to let others know what I have been through. BTW, I was diagnosed at 38. To all others who are now going thru this, or have been thru it, I wish you all the best. I personally feel skin cancer is the "silent killer." Kathy

 

[UMTerp]

Where can I find the Rit Sungard? I've
looked for it at some of my local stores with no success.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

UMTerp

 

[JJsmama]

Reading this led me to do some research into what I should be looking for. I found a site which has pictures of melanoma moles which I found helpful. I plan for Dh and I to check eachother tonight.

This is the link: http://www.skinsite.com/info_melanoma.htm

 

[ldb1030]

ImNarek- I also have an ugly scar on my left are, same as you!
I'm much happier to have the scar than the cancer!
I'm still so surprised at the people who don't take is seriously!
I'm a BIG fan of sunless tan lotion! Have tired about every kind and AVON is still my favorite!