In case you didn’t know, May is National Skin Cancer Awareness Month (of course, I suppose we should be aware of it every month but you get the point.)
I went in to see a dermatologist Tuesday for what has become a nearly annual event for me – having moles removed.
They took two off of me this time. I’ll find out the results sometime next week. Hopefully it’s nothing, and even though I am not in any way a fan of having needles and knives around me, an hour of that and a few stitches aren’t that bad if it means getting rid of stuff that might not be good. I had a few ‘bad’ ones taken off a few years ago. Thankfully they weren’t melanoma, but I was told they could have become that if they hadn’t been removed.
So how do you know which moles are ‘good’ and which ones are ‘bad’? Well, here’s a great resource for what to look for and how to look: http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/moles
Also, here are some general tips when it comes to skin cancer prevention:
http://www.skincancer.org/prevention/sun-protection/prevention-guidelines
I’ll be the first to admit, I don’t go in for appointments as much as I should. Heck, someone as pale as I am should probably be in there once a week 🙂 But I would just urge you today to check yourself for moles and if you notice a mole changing color, shape, or texture, it might be time to go see a doctor. It’s better to have it taken off and have it turn out to be nothing than to wait too long and deal with who knows what.
Thanks for reading this today. Have a great day everyone.
UPDATE: Mole results came back negative! I’m ‘healthy’ woo hoo!
positively second 
Brian – I put this post’s link onto my secondary blog (for my Writing 101 class), http://ineedphotography101.wordpress.com. (WP does not allow me to reblog something more than once.)
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You’re the best Debb!
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Hey, well you’re not so bad yourself. 🙂
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Reblogged this on STANTON SUNSHINE and commented:
Glad your results came back negative, Brian! Negative is pretty positive if it’s for a positive person. 🙂
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Thank you, Brian! We needed to hear that reminder. One of our local newscasters had a series of talks about skin cancer – he had it on his leg, thought it was nothing, and it went really badly from that point! I’m fair complected too, so us “gentle people” (what I call we fair ones) just have to be more careful, that’s all. 🙂 Nice to hear from you!
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Hey thanks for the note, Debb! Yeah ever since getting the two ‘kind of bad’ moles taken off a few years ago I’ve been keeping an eye on things. Thanks for reblogging the post – the more people that learn about this stuff, the better! I hope you are doing well, God bless!
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God bless you too! 🙂 I’m doing really well, so well that it feels sort of foreign to me…if you read my post today you will read the advice I was given. 🙂 Have a nice day!
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Uncanny message timing, my friend. Just this morning I had Mohs surgery to remove a BCC from my face. The hazards of teen years slathered in baby oil and sun rays. Good of you to share this with others! Our dermis is extremely fragile.
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Ah, I trust everything went alright with the procedure, my friend. I made the mistake of doing the tanning bed thing probably 4 or 5 times early on in my broadcasting days, in addition to not using sunblock anywhere near as much as I should have. Lots of moles removed in recent years…although I was told the other day that these scars make me look kinda ‘tough’ so I suppose there’s that as a ‘positive’ haha. Always an upside… 🙂
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I have so many moles I would need more hands to count them on. I keep good tabs on them though. Our family runs with the moles. Thanks for making people aware
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I hear ya – I have a whole bunch myself! Darned moles. Thanks Terry, have a good one my friend.
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