May is Melanoma Awareness Month. Here’s a powerful video prepared by the David Cornfield Melanoma Fund, a group founded in memory of a young accountant who lost his battle with the disease in 2005.
It’s recommended by dermatologists when checking your moles to use the ABCDE’s of melanomas:
A is for Asymmetrical.
B is for Borders (irregular or raised)
C is for Color (dark black or multiple colors within one mole.)
D is for Dimension (larger than the eraser end of a pencil.)
E is for Evolving (changing shape, size or color.)
The video is entitled “Dear 16 year old me.” When I was 16, I lived at a boarding school. A group of us would often walk down to a grassy area to tan. We’d use baby oil to tan darker. Denise got a sunburn so bad in her cleavage area it blistered. I wonder how her skin is now.
I got my birthday suit checked by a dermatologist a couple of years ago. I try to watch my moles. It’s probably a good thing that now I don’t like heat and wear sunscreen as much as possible. I prefer a healthy glow over my usual pasty white but since I’m showing more signs of sun damage, I’ve decided to tell myself:
White skin–it’s the new black, baby!
I couldn’t agree with you more about checking for melanoma, and the ABCDEs of checking. I would add T for texture. It was the fact that my birthmark mole (on my back) which always was very big and ugly-looking had TWO textures to it that got the dermotologist to do a biopsy during my very first full body skin cancer screening. I, though the two mirror system, and my hubby had been keeping an eye on it for the usual changes. We never thought about texture. It was melanoma, but “in situ;” the second biopsy which required a bigger “chunk” and stitches that got all the cancerous stuff.
A 2nd mole lower on my back also turned “bad,” and had to be removed. No stitches that time. The other thing is that these were on spots that weren’t directly exposed to the sun. I had lots of aks (actinic keratosis) pre-cancerous “spots” as a result of sun damage — I didn’t use to wear sun screen — on my chest area. I’m supposed to wear sunscreen pretty much 24/7. Now I try and find products with SPF #s.
Both the American and Canadian dermotologist associations run free skin cancer screening programs. Check out the Academy of American Dermotologists and the Canadian Dertomology Association for dates for free screening, info on skin cancer, images of what to look for (not for the squeamish!, lol), etc. This year, the Canadian National Sun Awareness Program for 2011 runs from June 6 to June 12.
Thanks for posting on skin cancer awareness! My white legs are the worse part, I think. At least when they were tanned, the varicose and other broken veins, weren’t so obvious, lol.
Phylor thank you for the good information. I need to go for another birthday suit check so I will see if there is a screening clinic here.
I have never had a birthday suit cancer screen. No doctor has ever mentioned it. I will discuss this with my GP. Thanks for the inf Kathy!
mo