Melanoma Awareness Month: I've Been Lucky

I've been lucky. I've had 6 moles removed and only 2 of them were cancerous. And they were the kind you could just "cut out" and be fine. Skin cancer runs rampant in my family so we were raised to be hyper-vigilent. We'd have yearly check ups with our dermatologist. We had a record of all the moles on our bodies. We check to see if they changed shape, color, or size. My mom would slather us with sunscreen anytime we were going to be outside for long periods of time. I always thought it was super annoying since I'm already a very fair girl. I was never going to get that "bronze babe" look if I wore sunscreen.

I've been really lucky. I've had some nasty sunburns in my time. But I learned young enough the dangers of getting sunburned, especially with my lousy family history. Me trying to get that perfect summer glow could result in something dangerous or even deadly. And, frankly, I just don't care enough to risk it. So yeah, I could be considered ghostly pale by pretty much everyone. But I'd rather be ghostly pale than a ghost.

I've been lucky. I've lived my whole life knowing about skin cancer and knowing what to look for. Others aren't so lucky. So please, if you're reading this, get to know your skin. Lock yourself in the bathroom, strip down and look at your skin. Check your back in the mirror. Check the back of your neck. Write down any and all moles, their size, shape, and color. Get dressed and have a friend or family member check for moles around your hairline or in your hair itself (you can get them there. I had one for years that looked like a Mickey Mouse icon.) Write them all down. Date that piece of paper and keep it safe. Recheck yourself every month. It seriously takes 10 minutes. That's less time than it takes to check your email, Facebook, blogs, etc.

If you find any moles that are asymmetrical (meaning they're not perfectly round), that are an unusual color or multi-colored, that are raised up from the rest of your skin, are larger than normal, or just don't look right, go to a doctor and have him check them out. I know it's a pain in the ass. But would you rather find out too late?

Be careful out there, friends. I've been lucky, yes. But some of you may not be so.

Love you.
Mean it.