An important message that is all too often dismissed until it affects you personally. Please watch and share with everyone you know and love!
Monday, May 9, 2011
A 14 year olds story about Skin Cancer
Another article from 17 magazine.
I Never Bothered to Wear Sunscreen
It doesn't matter how fair or tan your skin naturally is, not practicing sun safety or using the tanning bed just one time will increase your chances of getting skin cancer. Laura learned this lesson after getting melanoma at the young age of 13!
“Growing up, I never thought about wearing sunscreen—my skin always tanned easily, so I figured it was no big deal. Last year, when I was 13, we were going on vacation to Hawaii, so I bought a tanning package to get ready for the trip. (Editor’s note: In Illinois, it is illegal to use a tanning bed under the age of 14, but no one asked for Laura’s I.D.) A few months later, I noticed that a mark had formed on my chest—I never had a mole there before. It turned out to be melanoma, and the doctors found a birthmark that had become cancerous, too. I had to have two surgeries, and each one required about 20 stitches. Thankfully they were able to get all of the cancerous cells out, but now I have to check my skin and my lymph nodes every month, because the cancer could come back. I know that I have to be careful in the sun—and take much better precautions for the rest of my life.”
—Laura, 14,
—Laura, 14,
Thursday, May 5, 2011
“I Got Skin Cancer at 17”
Story featured in Seventeen magazine.
Even if you use a tanning bed only once in your teens, your risk for melanoma — the deadliest skin cancer — increases by 75 percent. But it’s easy to stop this harmful beauty habit when you know the facts. Katie Donnar learned the hard way how harmful tanning beds can be.
"I tried tanning for the first time in sixth grade. I was a cheerleader, and I felt like the pale girl on the team. Everyone on the squad was tanning, and I wasn’t the best one either, so it seemed like I really stood out. We had the same outfits and makeup, so we thought our skin tones should match too. Plus, tanning before a competition gave me confidence, because it helped me blend in with my team.
By the time I got to high school, I was tanning every other day. My family even bought me a tanning bed! We hoped it would save money — the monthly payments were $75, and I’d been spending $100 a month to tan at the salon. That summer, I noticed a strange mole on my leg.
I had read a story in Seventeen about checking moles, and some of the descriptions of the abnormal ones matched mine. I asked my mom to make a dermatologist appointment, but we couldn’t get in for nine months, because there was only one dermatologist in our county.
I wasn’t that worried, but my family doctor noticed the mole during a routine checkup — and got an appointment for me the next day! That freaked me out. A week later, I had the mole removed and I thought everything would be fine.
But then a few days later, my dad told me that we needed to talk. He said, "The doctor just got your test results. You have malignant melanoma," the deadliest form of skin cancer. Skin cancer? I thought only old people got that. "Dad, I’m 17. I don’t get skin cancer," I said. I sat there in silence. Finally, I asked, "Can I die from this?" He tried to reassure me that they caught it early and I would be okay, but I could see he was scared too.
Two weeks later, we went to a melanoma specialist who removed an inch of flesh, half a centimeter deep, around where my mole had been. There’s still an indentation from the chunk of skin that was taken out. And the cancer could still come back, which haunts me every day. I have to get skin checks with a dermatologist every four months, and check my lymph nodes for swelling because the cancer could resurface there and spread.
Now I never tan (only spray tan) — though some of my friends still do. They don’t get it. So many girls think that cancer is a far-in-the-future risk, but you’re actually hurting your body now. I’m just glad I have the chance to tell someone who’s using tanning beds to make a better decision."
—Katie Donnar, 19
Even if you use a tanning bed only once in your teens, your risk for melanoma — the deadliest skin cancer — increases by 75 percent. But it’s easy to stop this harmful beauty habit when you know the facts. Katie Donnar learned the hard way how harmful tanning beds can be.
"I tried tanning for the first time in sixth grade. I was a cheerleader, and I felt like the pale girl on the team. Everyone on the squad was tanning, and I wasn’t the best one either, so it seemed like I really stood out. We had the same outfits and makeup, so we thought our skin tones should match too. Plus, tanning before a competition gave me confidence, because it helped me blend in with my team.
By the time I got to high school, I was tanning every other day. My family even bought me a tanning bed! We hoped it would save money — the monthly payments were $75, and I’d been spending $100 a month to tan at the salon. That summer, I noticed a strange mole on my leg.
I had read a story in Seventeen about checking moles, and some of the descriptions of the abnormal ones matched mine. I asked my mom to make a dermatologist appointment, but we couldn’t get in for nine months, because there was only one dermatologist in our county.
I wasn’t that worried, but my family doctor noticed the mole during a routine checkup — and got an appointment for me the next day! That freaked me out. A week later, I had the mole removed and I thought everything would be fine.
But then a few days later, my dad told me that we needed to talk. He said, "The doctor just got your test results. You have malignant melanoma," the deadliest form of skin cancer. Skin cancer? I thought only old people got that. "Dad, I’m 17. I don’t get skin cancer," I said. I sat there in silence. Finally, I asked, "Can I die from this?" He tried to reassure me that they caught it early and I would be okay, but I could see he was scared too.
Two weeks later, we went to a melanoma specialist who removed an inch of flesh, half a centimeter deep, around where my mole had been. There’s still an indentation from the chunk of skin that was taken out. And the cancer could still come back, which haunts me every day. I have to get skin checks with a dermatologist every four months, and check my lymph nodes for swelling because the cancer could resurface there and spread.
Now I never tan (only spray tan) — though some of my friends still do. They don’t get it. So many girls think that cancer is a far-in-the-future risk, but you’re actually hurting your body now. I’m just glad I have the chance to tell someone who’s using tanning beds to make a better decision."
—Katie Donnar, 19
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Top 8 Shocking Facts About Skin Cancer
1. About 90% of non-melanoma skin cancer is caused by ultra-violet exposure.
The UV rays of the sun are responsible for most non-melanoma skin cancers. Unprotected exposure to these rays can come from being outdoors, lying in tanning beds, and even having exposure through your car or home windows.2. One person dies from melanoma almost every hour.
A common misconception is that you cannot die from skin cancer. Unfortunately, about 8,000 people will die of melanoma in the U.S. this year. It is estimated that 2,800 people will die of non-melanoma skin cancer this year as well. The sad thing is that most of these deaths could have been prevented by following easy skin cancer prevention methods.3. Skin cancer accounts for nearly 50% of all cancers combined.
Skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed type of cancer among men and women. Exposure to UV rays through natural and artifical means is the culprit. Since skin cancer is such a common type of cancer, it is advised that everyone examine their skin at home and undergo a yearly clinical skin exam by their doctor.4. More than one million cases of skin cancer will be diagnosed this year.
The American Cancer Society estimates that 1.5 million cases of skin cancer will be diagnosed this year, a number that is expectetd to continually rise. The culprit? Exposure to harmful UV rays from the sun and artificial means like tanning beds.5. Skin cancer is most deadly for African Americans, Asians, and Latinos.
The risk of developing melanoma is rather low for African Americans, Asians, and Latinos, however this type of skin cancer is typically more deadly for these groups. You should know that all people are at risk of developing skin cancer, regardless of ethnicity.6. One in Three Caucasians will be diagnosed with skin cancer.
One in five Americans will be diagnosed in their lifetime with skin cancer. The risk is higher for white individuals: one in three.7. Just one bad burn in childhood increases the risk of developing melanoma later.
Protecting children against UV exposure is essential for healthy skin into adulthood. A single blistering sunburn during childhood increases the risk of melanoma as an adult.8. Men are diagnosed with skin cancer more often than women.
Did you know that men are twice as likely to develop skin cancer than women? In fact, skin cancer is more common than prostate cancer, lung cancer, and colon cancer in men over 50. This makes skin cancer the most common type of cancer in men over 50.Tuesday, May 3, 2011
FREE Skin Cancer Screening in MAY
The purpose of our blog this month is to focus on Sun & UV safety, and bring attention to a rapidly growing problem especially among young adults and teens. Exposure to the Sun and Tanning Beds DOES increase your chance of developing Skin Cancer, wrinkles, sunspots, and pre-mature aging. We ask you to please be careful and check yourself or visit your doctor for a screening. Early detection is key when it comes to any form of cancer.
Throughout the month of May, many cities around the country are having FREE screenings to catch Skin Cancer early. Don't wait until it's too late.........See Spot.........Check Spot!
Also, if you have a personal story about Skin Cancer and would like to share so others may be educated/warned about this disease, please feel free to leave a comment on our blog, or you can email us your story at blogspot@wctan.com, and we will post it here for you.
Monday, May 2, 2011
True Story: I Have Melanoma
23 is a young age for a lot of things. It is a young age to be a mother, to be on your own, to lose a friend, or to have cancer. Yet, all of these things and more happen to young people every day.
It was a cold day in November when I got the phone call from the dermatologist telling me my results were back and I needed to come into the office the same day. As I put down the phone, I looked at my boyfriend and nervously laughed and said, “Well that can’t be good.” Since I am a full time student, I had to go to class before I could even think about heading to a doctor. I sat through the hour and fifteen minute class thinking that maybe I was being silly and everything was going to be fine. Surely a girl who is 23 years old, outgoing, determined, and full of life could not have cancer. It had to be something else.
The drive to the office took too long and I called my mom on the way to deter some thoughts. She immediately went into full panic mode and I couldn’t understand why. By the time I arrived at the doctor, she had called five times to find out what was wrong but they wouldn’t tell her because I am an adult. I sat alone in the room and waited for the nurse practitioner. She was the only that would see me that day because the doctor was too busy. She sat down and said, “Katie, you have level four Melanoma and the next step is for you to go see a surgeon in St. Louis to have the tumor removed.”
It’s hard to explain what I was feeling at the moment I was processing everything she was saying. I don’t really know if I was feeling anything but disbelief. I’m not sure that I was even processing it. I just shook my head like I was some kind of bobble head so she knew I was still listening. The strangest thing, after looking back on it all, is the feeling that I just wanted to please her or that I couldn’t cry because I needed to be strong. I asked her different questions about what the biopsy meant and she couldn’t tell me. At this point the hardest thing was that she didn’t know the details or the main question everyone wanted to know:
Was I going to die?
As I waited for my mom in the room, I went numb. I thought back to all the years I laid in tanning beds and knew it was bad but didn’t trust my instincts. Most fake-bakers out there will know what feeling I’m talking about; that gnawing feeling that this is bad for you. This is bad for you like any other bad habit, but you’re young and healthy and nothing could ever hurt you. You’ve seen the little sign on the side of the tanning bed but you still step in with the certainty that those signs are just for legalities and don’t pertain to you.
I started to cry and was slightly embarrassed. I was embarrassed because I didn’t even know what I was crying for. I didn’t even know if this was serious or not. I was just like any other person, and didn’t really know what Melanoma was or how deadly it can be. But I had the “Big C” and so I cried. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be feeling. I knew they had probably diagnosed a lot of people who had lived full lives with Melanoma, but I was different. How is a 23 year old who just found she has cancer supposed to act?
Two weeks later, I had MOHS surgery to have the tumor removed and I had some lymph nodes removed as well. When I woke up from the surgery, I was in a lot of pain and I needed a month’s worth of physical therapy to get my arm back to working right. The next time I saw the surgeon, he was unsure whether they had found more cancer further up my arm. It was all very confusing and I thought I would have to go on chemotherapy. This is when it all became too real. I started to wonder if I was going to be a statistic for Melanoma deaths rather than for Melanoma survivors.
After weeks of research, I found a Melanoma clinic in the area that examined my slides and they didn’t believe I still had Melanoma. I wonder everyday who it is I should be listening to and how I can save myself. After having all different kinds of scans, it is still unclear if I still have cancer and all I can really do is to check my skin and lymph nodes every three months with a specialist. Since I am on a full-ride scholarship and can’t risk losing it by missing classes, I have left chemo out of the equation until someone can give me a definite answer. Some people may think this is a risky choice but this has been a big financial burden for me, so the last thing I need to do is lose my scholarship and make it worse.
Melanoma is a very sneaky cancer because, like my mole, it does not always look like the typical Melanoma. The only reason I was concerned about it was because it itched. Melanoma diagnosis increase by 3.1 percent each year and it is being found more and more in young Caucasian females. Melanoma is the most common form of skin cancer in young adults 25-29 years old, and the second most common form of cancer in adolescents and young adults 15-29 years old. The scariest facts on Melanoma are that 75 percent of skin cancer deaths are related to Melanoma and someone dies from Melanoma every 61 minutes. This is obviously something that needs to be taken seriously because young adults are being diagnosed at an increasingly alarming rate. Still, no one my age understands or believe that it could happen to them. Young adults never believe they are invincible. I am here to tell you, you are not. It can happen to you and it is completely preventable.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
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