Hello Everyone,
I hope you don't mind me posting here. I have not been diagnosed with Melanoma, instead I am waiting to receive initial results.
Hello Everyone,
I hope you don't mind me posting here. I have not been diagnosed with Melanoma, instead I am waiting to receive initial results.
I have dark blond hair, blue eyes, and many freckles. I was unfortunately one of those teens and early 20 somethings who thought looking better meant having a tan. I never went to a tanning bed but spent many days out in the sun with little to no sunscreen. I am now 32 and definitely have put those days behind me, what was I thinking? I knew you could get skin cancer from sun exposure so I have always been good at checking my face, arms, and torso. I knew I had freckles and moles on my back, but, my back was rarely sunburned (I always hated a burnt back so it was not often exposed).
I had a physical last month and asked about my back, my doctor sent me to a dermatologist. I went and unfortunately, I had three irregular moles that were removed by punch biopsy last Thursday. I asked her if they came back positive what it would be, and she stated Melanoma. As I sit her with stitches and waiting for results, I wanted to do research on what exactly Melanoma is.
I am so glad I found this website and I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your stories. Thank you so much for posting something so personal. I feel like my eyes have finally been opened to what I took, in a sense, casually. I am praying nothing comes back positive for Melanoma, however, I know I will need yearly checkups which I will always be on top of. I also want to get the word out to everyone that Melanoma is something you may not realize you have until it is too late. It goes way beyond sun exposure, as I'm an example, the parts with very little sun exposure are the places with the irregular moles I need to monitor. I wish our culture was one of health, true health, not the thinking that a tan appearance equals health. I wish Melanoma awareness and education was as easy to find as a tanning salon is.
I am very nervous about my results, but no matter what they are, my attitude and outlook have definitely changed. We're blessed with one body and one life, it's up to us to take care of it the best we can and to not take it for granted.
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