May is Melanoma Awareness Month, but I am aware of melanoma every day. Are you?
I think the worst thing about skin cancer is that everyone knows what causes it, but no one seems to care about the dangers of sun exposure. Take it from me, a naive young woman, who loved the glow of a tan, worshipped the tanning bed. I also got a sunburn at least two or three times each summer.
The thought of skin cancer didn’t use to scare me either. Even after my own father passed away in 2010 from complications from a very aggressive form of squamous cell skin cancer, I never thought about it happening to me, until I did get skin cancer in its worst form, Melanoma. I am aware of melanoma because it happened to me. I want you to learn from my mistakes. Melanoma awareness is so very important.
I am aware of melanoma each time I visit the Inova Melanoma and Skin Cancer Center, in Fairfax, Virginia. This is where I go for my routine oncologist visit and skin check with my dermatologist. Each time I walk through the front doors, I flashback to November of 2015 when I first walked through those same doors. No matter how hard I try, fear engulfs me. My chest tightens and that lump slowly begins to form in my throat. When I start to choke on the lump of fear in my throat, I flashback to the day I walked out of those doors after I had learned that we caught the melanoma in time. As I fight back a few tears, I am quickly reminded that Melanoma will haunt me for the rest of my life.
2017 was a good year for me. All my skin checks were clear! Neither one of the dermatologists that I see on a regular basis found anything they wanted to biopsy. Having several clear skin checks reassured my confidence and I made me a little more comfortable when I entered the building where my two dermatologists practice. I have been feeling great, and for once nothing on my skin has been giving me cause for concern. Except for protecting my skin, I was able to put the fear of melanoma behind me or so I thought.
In March I had my routine 6-month visit to the Melanoma Center to see both my oncologist, Dr. Jang, and my dermatologist, Dr. Venna. My appointment with Dr. Jang was the first. He came in did his routine questions about how I was feeling, felt my lymph nodes. He then ordered a chest x-ray and an LDH blood test.
Along with all that Dr. Jang always reminisces about the day I came into his office with all those blood clots in my lungs. Dr. Jang boosted my confidence even more. He told me that barring anything wrong with my chest x-ray or blood test, he would release me for 12-month appointments, instead of 6-month appointments. I really like Dr. Jang, but this was music to my ears! At that moment, I let out a comforting sigh of relief. It was like he was saying I was cured. My mind had been given a green light to not worry anymore.
However, that feeling of comfort was shattered with my exam with Dr. Venna. He was concerned about a mole on the back of my arm. He didn’t like the looks of it and had that look of concern across his face. The mole was not new, in fact, it had been on the back of my arm for some time. For some reason, Dr. Venna found the mole more alarming than the times before. He told me he wanted to do a biopsy. He gave me the option to stay and have the biopsy done immediately or I would have to schedule an appointment with my other dermatologist, Dr. Nims, within a few weeks.
After I picking my heart up off the floor, I told him to proceed with the biopsy. I did not want to leave and prolong the agony of waiting for a biopsy report. They did the biopsy that day.
The day after my chest x-ray, I received a phone call telling me everything was normal. Within a week, I received the good news from the biopsy! The lesion showed atypical cells, but neede no further excision!
I am sharing this with you today, for melanoma awareness, because I want you to be aware of melanoma every day. I feel like some people look at me and think oh she had melanoma, but she’s ok now. Yes, I am ok now. However, I don’t think people realize that when you had stage 1 melanoma, you have a 95% chance of being fine, with only a 5% chance that your melanoma will progress. Only 5%, but that 5% chance is where the fear lies.
As a melanoma survivor, I have a different outlook on life than I did three years ago. Some of the little things have become big things and there are a lot of big things that have become merely specs in the realm of life. As a cancer survivor, you don’t waste your life sitting around waiting for cancer to happen, surviving each day by luck. You are a fighter and fighters fight the fight as hard as you can, even when there seems like there is nothing to fight. Right now my fight is to make others aware of how dangerous melanoma really is, because if I can save just one person, then all of this will be worth it. This is why melanoma awareness is so important to me.
So yes, I am highly aware of Melanoma, but I want you to be too. As a friend of The Mountain Kitchen, please protect yourself against this deadly disease. Take care of yourself and those you love. Wear sunscreen, UV protective clothing, including a hat and sunglasses, do monthly skin checks at home and get regular skin checks with a dermatologist.
Thanks for listening!
xoxo,
For more information about melanoma and other skin, cancers visit: The Skin Cancer Foundation | Melanoma Research Foundation
Melanoma Awareness is important to me. Please use the share buttons below to share my story on social media. Share it with family and friends. You could help save a life!
ohiocook says
Very true words! Always stay two steps ahead of Melanoma!
The Mountain Kitchen says
Thanks Mark!
Debbie - MountainMama says
Thank you for this reminder that I am due to visit my dermatologist, Mountain Sister – glad all your checks came back ok, what a scare you had!!
The Mountain Kitchen says
Glad I could remind you, Mountain Sister! <3
Robin Mathison says
Very glad everything turned out good for you. As I have gotten older, I realize that the sun can cause serious damage to you skin, as I have had some skin cancers removed. A tan looks nice but is not worth the risks. Good luck to you and hope you always receive good news from your doctors.
The Mountain Kitchen says
Thank you so much, Robin. I wish you well also. Stay diligent with your skin checks! Sounds like you are on the right path. 🙂
Dana @ IveGotCake says
Dearest Debbie,
I am so grateful that you are with us. That you’re alive and kicking and sharing with us.
You’re so incredibly important, even more so now.
I’m grateful to know you and call you blog sister.
You’re an amazing woman and I love you.
The Mountain Kitchen says
Awe, Dana, thank you so much. (blinks back tears) I love you too and I am so glad we connected in this Blogiverse! <3 xoxo
Dana @ IveGotCake says
mwah mwah mwaahhhhhhhh <3 <3 <3
(cheesy but how else do I kiss ya?!)
The Mountain Kitchen says
<3 <3 <3
FrugalHausfrau says
I haven’t had issues like you’ve had but did have a bit of a run in…a place on my back many dr.s had seen and ignored. I was concerned and finally asked a doc who referred me to a dermatologist and by the time they were done with me I had a good sized chunk of my back removed. A couple years ago they moved me from quarterly to yearly appointments, and you have just reminded me I’m past due. Thanks for being brave enough to share your story!
The Mountain Kitchen says
I’m so glad I could remind you of your appointment, Mollie. I am so glad that you were so persistent about getting checked out. That’s what makes skin cancer so scary… It’s hard to tell what is harmless and what isn’t. Thanks for reading! <3
Millican Pecan says
Thank you for sharing! Awareness is Everything. My best friend’s mom passed away from melanoma several years ago, and since I am fair skinned and had a lot of sun damage as a child, I get regular check ups. We need our vitamin D, and the sun feels so good at times, but with the right precautions, we can head off this deadly disease.
The Mountain Kitchen says
Awareness is very important to me. If I could save just one person from what I had to go through, then it will be well worth it. Thank you for reading!