Spring is here, finally warmer weather and longer days, which means summer is just around the corner. Summer is my favorite season. I am a sun junkie and have been as long as I can remember. And as much as sunshine can be good for you, providing vitamin D which is good for brain health, it does have some negative side effects. Skin Cancer. I have recently had some experience with this. Several years ago I started going to the dermatologist for a skin cancer screening. The first few visits were uneventful, they marked a spot on my shoulder and said let’s watch it. The next year that spot was biopsied and nothing. The following year another spot was biopsied, this time, basal-cell carcinoma. I was assured this was not the kind that spreads internally, and excision is 99% curative. Excision is also not a word I wanted to hear. But I returned so they could cut out the offensive spot and ensure that it didn’t get worse. Another year passed and now this time a spot on my forehead. It seemed a little more serious, she didn’t even give me a chance to come back for a biopsy, she’s like you’re here now let’s just get it done. I was starting to think every time I went, she was going to get out the scalpel. She called a few days later and said the results came back and it was squamous cell carcinoma. I flipped out! She started talking about surgery at a different Dr. office, one that specializes in a Mohs procedure, she was giving me all kinds of information that my brain was just not processing…….I was pretty freaked out. Fast forward to today, they got all of the little cells by just removing one layer and I have a small scar to remind me to wear my sunscreen. And I do wear it, daily! So consider this your public service announcement – wear sunscreen, even if you are wearing a hat. Just do it. I still love the sun and get plenty of it because it does have benefits, but I do it safely. Kind of like wearing a helmet when riding a motorcycle!
