skin cancer screening

[OceanCityGirl]

have you ever had one? What's involved. Mr Oc and I have had our fair share of sun abuse and it's worried me. We've gotten better but we're still not perfect. So I scheduled a derm check-up for a screening.

[springparrot]

have you ever had one? What's involved. Mr Oc and I have had our fair share of sun abuse and it's worried me. We've gotten better but we're still not perfect. So I scheduled a derm check-up for a screening.

YES
and don't make me bring out the pics

[OceanCityGirl]

have you ever had one? What's involved. Mr Oc and I have had our fair share of sun abuse and it's worried me. We've gotten better but we're still not perfect. So I scheduled a derm check-up for a screening.

YES
and don't make me bring out the pics

yep that's what I was afraid of. I heard you have to stand naked while they take pics of every skin imperfection up close. Not something this 43yo is looking forward to. MrOC however thinks it will be great fun. Plus the derm will yell at me as I'm much more careful but still not as good as I should be. I have some color on my skin right now.

[springparrot]

have you ever had one? What's involved. Mr Oc and I have had our fair share of sun abuse and it's worried me. We've gotten better but we're still not perfect. So I scheduled a derm check-up for a screening.

YES
and don't make me bring out the pics

yep that's what I was afraid of. I heard you have to stand naked while they take pics of every skin imperfection up close. Not something this 43yo is looking forward to. MrOC however thinks it will be great fun. Plus the derm will yell at me as I'm much more careful but still not as good as I should be. I have some color on my skin right now.

He didn't do that to me, but he was concentrating on the spot on my face.
The surgery and the scar are very ugly.

[kitty]

myself and 2 boys went for a bidy check...no pictures and didn't have to strip down.
He just looked all over our body and if/when he saw something that concerned him, he took a biopsy.
My younger son (13) and I have to go and get one removed, the boipsy said it was "a-typical".
I thought he looked us over pretty quickly, so I aked if he wanted to look again and he said "I know what I am looking for".

[OceanCityGirl]

I'm expecting some biopsies. I also have several moles that my obgyn feels should come off. But I"m a keloid former which means I create excess scar tissue from the smallest cuts. So things that are minor on most folks can be a bit more involved. Sometimes they have to give me cortisone injections to prevent scarring and tight bandaging. And I still will usually scar.

[txaggirl91]

i go in yearly.... i have a lot of moles and i have had a few come back "atypical". had a handful removed too.

no need to worry. it is very professional. i do strip down to my undies but they have a gown you wear. never had pic taken but my doc takes measurements of my moles and goes back each year to see if they have grown....

if i find one that is new or has changed in between yearly exams.... i go in ASAP and they take it off.

[buffettbride]

i've become more moley over the years. prolly about time for an official inspection. my normal doc will do a quick one at my physical then refer me to a dermatologist for a removal if needed. most of mine seem pretty normalish though.

i was wretched to my skin as a kid and teenager. had plenty of harsh burns well before puberty. thank goodness we know more now, i don't think either of my kids have ever had a burn except maybe a little pink in the cheeks a time or two.

the guy who sits next to me at work is going through an ordeal now and has had his face scraped several times the last year. not fun and not pretty.

[OceanCityGirl]

I"m just glad I scheduled. I've put it off for awhile and it should be done. By the time I was 12 I had multiple severe sunburns and sun poisoning. When in hs I kept up the grand tradition by baking with baby oil a few times. I'm blonde and fair. I don't really tan so it was a waste of time. I started out scheduling mr oc because of a suspicious looking spot. Then I went ahead and scheduled myself since I felt a guilt thing.

[buffettbride]

I've done the baby oil bake more times than I can count and got 2nd degree burns from a tanning bed (only time I ever did it). I think I started treating my skin better around age 25, but even since then I've had a few burnings, although not as severe.

Even in Mexico applying sunscreen regularly, I came back very tan and a tad pink.

[SchoolGirlHeart]

I"m just glad I scheduled. I've put it off for awhile and it should be done. By the time I was 12 I had multiple severe sunburns and sun poisoning. When in hs I kept up the grand tradition by baking with baby oil a few times. I'm blonde and fair. I don't really tan so it was a waste of time. I started out scheduling mr oc because of a suspicious looking spot. Then I went ahead and scheduled myself since I felt a guilt thing.

You can't undo the past, but with that kind of history you really do need to get looked at. Of the three types of skin cancer, melanoma is the one that can kill you, but it's also the most rare. The other two, basal cell and squamous cell, are almost always localized and non-metastasizing (they don't spread to organs, etc) but can be very disfiguring if you let it go and don't deal with it.

For you, because you form cheloids, they may need to be very careful about your face...

You can't undo the past, so don't beat yourself up; just use the sunscreen now, and beat it into your kids' heads that they need sunscreen... (yeah, I know.... they think they're invincible.... I have to force my boys to wear it, despite the fact that they's seen both their parents have skin cancers surgically removed and chemically peeled )

YO, MOLLY... SHALL WE CUE THE SCARY PICTURES??

[SchoolGirlHeart]

What the hell.... summer is here..... maybe someone else who is still young can learn from my mistakes......

[PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT]

Kiddies, wear your sunscreen, or when you're old, this could happen to YOU:



And hell yes, it hurts!!!

[/PSA]

[sonofabeach]

Wow Jen
Did you fall asleep in the sun?

I prolly should go in for a check since I never have and use to hit the tanning bed pretty hard from time to time.
I'm always cruisin' with the top down and now with the boat......

My son has never burned. I usually coat him with sunblock and thankfully he will never need to work on a tan so he won't have to worry about downside of tanning.

[SchoolGirlHeart]

Wow Jen
Did you fall asleep in the sun?

That's what Effudex (sp?) does... it's a skin cancer treatment: a cream that goes on twice a day for a month, and attacks all abnormal (cancerous and pre-cancerous) cells.... I had a lot of sun-damaged abnormal cells.....

[Lightning Bolt]

YES INDEED ... have your derm doc go on mole patrol!!

I have that fair Euro-freckle skin that used to tan (and burn) all year round
and now they tell us... this could really come back on ya big time

I've had a few dozen moles rtemoved, and a few chunks of shoulder and back
carved out for biopsy, with all negatives for cancers... so far

I admit, I still get out in the sun a lot... hey I'm a SoCal native
I just am better about sunscreen these days, and I visit each spring with the skin doctor

[Big Phan]

Thanks for the reminder, Jen. Every time I see that picture, I just can't imagine how painful it was.

[springparrot]

Jen posted hers, so here are mine


The yellow patch was SEWN to my face.

I lost count after 50 shots and 100 stitches.

[Big Phan]

OMG!!!

If I may ask, what prompted you to get it checked? Discolored skin/mole, irritated skin, etc.

Ouch, ouch, ouch.

[springparrot]

OMG!!!

If I may ask, what prompted you to get it checked? Discolored skin/mole, irritated skin, etc.

Ouch, ouch, ouch.

A tiny zit on my face that would bleed occasionally....no big deal. But I finally had a nurse tell me I needed to have it checked. Yup---it was cancer and the dr had to cut on my face 5 times before he got it all. Skin cancer is like tree roots...it goes deep and wanders anywhere under the skin it wants.

[Big Phan]

A tiny zit on my face that would bleed occasionally....no big deal. But I finally had a nurse tell me I needed to have it checked. Yup---it was cancer and the dr had to cut on my face 5 times before he got it all. Skin cancer is like tree roots...it goes deep and wanders anywhere under the skin it wants.

Thank you, too, Molly, for the warning.

It's amazing how something so small on the surface can be 'rooted' so deep.