I recently found out that my ex-brother-in-law was diagnosed with melanoma. He had surgery, lymph node removal and now faces more surgery and a year on interfuron treatment. Not good news. It just brings to mind how your life can change in an instant. This man has 2 kids in college, a good marriage and financial success. He is a good person and overcame some personal demons early in his life. The diagnosis sounded dire because, when we bought our first house in Grass Valley in the 90s, the owner, Don Whitman, had just received a similar diagnosis. He was gone before we'd been in the house on Polaris Drive a year.
Although I have mentioned being treated for breast cancer in 1994, I don't mention my other cancer diagnosis as much. That same year I was diagnosed with a melanoma. I had 2 surgeries and they had "clear margins" so the only other treatment was strict follow up on all suspicious moles.
When I went to the dermatologist with a mole I wanted her to look at, it didn't really look too bad. It was slightly dark, not large, and only worth mentioning because I didn't remember it being there before. The doctor agreed "it looked fine" but had it biopsied to be certain. It came back cancer, which was a shock. But then I thought back to all those days baking on the beach. We slathered our bodies with baby oil to ensure a tan and what little sunscreen that existed in the early 60s was about a 2. The idea was to be brown, and the browner the better.
All that sunbathing had 30 plus years to incubate...no wonder I had a melanoma. And my mother had one too (in the 50s when most people died). She also had breast cancer and researchers now believe there is a connection between the 2 cancers.
If found early (like many cancers) melanoma is easy to cure. So do yourself a favor and check your whole body for anything that looks suspicious and have it checked out! No insurance? Look for free screenings at the hospital and local health fairs. I have a sinking feeling Bryan's mole had been there for some time before he finally had it checked out.
I lost two family members to cancer. Will be a great day when we have a cure for this tragic and evil thing.
Posted by: Steve Enos | October 09, 2009 at 03:30 PM