Skin Cancer, again

9

98Shabah

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Mar 11, 2010
Messages
408
So here I sit, age 33, diagnosed with Basal Cell skin cancer for the second time. 1 1/2 years ago I had the unpleasant experience of having a chunk of forehead skin the size of a quarter removed, then got stitched back up by a plastic surgeon. This time I have one the size of a dime on my back just below my shoulder.

I'm a prime target for skin cancer.. fair skin, blonde/reddish hair, blue eyes, freckles.. I spent a lot of time in the sun as a child boating and swimming.. I was a lifeguard when I was a teenager, and into my 20's I boated, owned a couple waverunners, etc.

The sad part is that I love the outdoors, boating and enjoying beaches and water are my favorite things to do during the summer months, I look forward to it all winter. I am careful now, I wear sunscreen and a hat, I have a nice bimini top on the boat, I have a sun canopy for the beach.

So, what is a person to do? Keep doing what I love and utilize the same precautions I already am, or not risk it at all and sell the boat and try to find something else to do? I am fearful that one of these times it's going to be melanoma and I certainly don't want to take the chance of not being here to see my daughters get married or see them have kids of their own.
 
lncoop

lncoop

Vice Admiral
Joined
Apr 18, 2010
Messages
5,147
Re: Skin Cancer, again

Sounds like you're doing everything you can to be safe. Ultimately it seems like the question is best put to your doctor. I'm sorry to hear of your struggle. My old man has had several of those removed, but he's twice your age.
 
Bob_VT

Bob_VT

Moderator & Unofficial iBoats Historian
Staff member
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May 19, 2001
Messages
26,072
Re: Skin Cancer, again

Well sorry to hear about that.

First think and get positive :) This will pass and you will be able to just have it as a memory.

Protection such as SPF 1,000,000 IMO helps a bit but I am a believer that if you are going to get it ....it will happen. We just have to deal with it.

Put your faith in the right things ;) and this will pass. I have to just urge you to be positive.
 
LadyFish

LadyFish

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Joined
Mar 18, 2003
Messages
6,894
Re: Skin Cancer, again

The one good thing is that you are taking care of yourself. If you get mapped and go in every few months you will rest easier. In the meantime, be sure to wear SPF shirts also. Academy sells them buy either Columbia or Magellan.

Melanoma although fast growing is still one of the easiest cancers to get rid of IF, its caught in time.
 
scipper77

scipper77

Commander
Joined
Sep 30, 2008
Messages
2,106
Re: Skin Cancer, again

Wow,
I am the same age as you ant this thread is a good reminder for me to wear sunscreen. I always wear good sunglasses for my eyes but rarely take the time to put on sunblock. I hope that you don't give up on the things you love because of this. I couldn't imagine not boating and fishing all summer.
 
12vMan

12vMan

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Jun 4, 2008
Messages
1,536
Re: Skin Cancer, again

LadyFish said:
In the meantime, be sure to wear SPF shirts also
Click to expand...

Those shirts are great! They're comfortable, and a must-have if you're spending a lot of time in the sun.
 
9

98Shabah

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Mar 11, 2010
Messages
408
Re: Skin Cancer, again

Thanks for all the words of encouragement. I will check out the SPF shirts. It's pretty tough to even think about giving up boating, I'll do all that I can to avoid going that route.

I think I'll go out to the garage tonight and tinker with the boat, that always makes me happy. :)
 
J

JRJ

Commander
Joined
Sep 11, 2001
Messages
2,992
Re: Skin Cancer, again

The first Doctor that cut skin cancer off me, said it was from sun I got over 20 years ago. That was long before we had sun screen, let alone SPF shirts. Since I've been wearing sun screen and hats, my basal and squamous cell cancers have been reduced significantly.
 
lncoop

lncoop

Vice Admiral
Joined
Apr 18, 2010
Messages
5,147
Re: Skin Cancer, again

98Shabah said:
Thanks for all the words of encouragement. I will check out the SPF shirts. It's pretty tough to even think about giving up boating, I'll do all that I can to avoid going that route.

I think I'll go out to the garage tonight and tinker with the boat, that always makes me happy. :)
Click to expand...

Go ahead and give 'er a hug while you're at it. +1 on the shirts. Very comfy and last a loooooooong time.
 
1

1fst690

Cadet
Joined
Oct 24, 2010
Messages
13
Re: Skin Cancer, again

I am not a religious person per say, and I dont want this to come off as that. Iam 33 also and almost 9 years ago to the day I was in a car wreck 1000 miles from and thought I was not going to make it. The main thing that it did was change my outlook on life and made me realize that you have no for sure idea on when it is going to be your time or what it will be that will take you away. I live everyday like it might be my last (nothing to crazy or wild, just live life to the fullest) I say do not give up your passions and joys in life, hug and kiss your wife and children whenever you can because the fact of the matter is you could be killed on your way home from work tonight. You cant predict the future and you cant change the past
 
J

Jeep Man

Commander
Joined
Oct 17, 2008
Messages
2,803
Re: Skin Cancer, again

I am in the same boat as you....no pun intended. I've had 2 procedures in the last 10 years and have to go back again soon. My doctor told me the damage was done when I was a kid. I'm like you... red hair, fair skin, etc. I worry as well, especially because I lost my dad to melanoma. He was only 53. Just keep doing what your doing, keep getting check ups, and enjoy your life. Basil cell will keep returning, even if you spend the rest of your life in the basement. Deal with it when it shows up and then move on.
 
9

98Shabah

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Mar 11, 2010
Messages
408
Re: Skin Cancer, again

Jeep Man: I hadn't heard that yet, but it does make sense.. When I was a kid the sunscreens were pretty much useless.. I got burnt quite often.

Incoop: I didn't end up tinkering with the boat (it was "game night" with the kids), but I did go out to the garage and lift the cover to get a wiff of that "boat smell"! It was fantastic.
 
R

rbh

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Mar 21, 2009
Messages
7,939
Re: Skin Cancer, again

MMMM, "BOAT SMELLL" !!!!
Is that part of that aroma therapy???
 
D

DayCruiser

Ensign
Joined
Sep 24, 2004
Messages
953
Re: Skin Cancer, again

Hats, shirts and sun screen. Regularly check yourself over and go to the doctor every six months for a check up. If we stopped doing everything that can kill us then we might as well kill ourselves and get it over with LOL
 
j_martin

j_martin

Admiral
Joined
Sep 22, 2006
Messages
7,474
Re: Skin Cancer, again

I think that they are finding out that what mom said 60 years ago makes sense. Tan is good, but get it slow. She would strip us to shorts and send us out for precisely timed intervals in the spring. By june, we wouldn't burn no matter what and we enjoyed full days at the swimming hole in the hot weather.

With freckles, your melanin isn't evenly distributed, so you need to go extremely slow, or use the sunblock stuff. Burns suffered in the past are the source of the cancer. I doubt that moderate exposure to sun, avoiding any sort of burn, would make a difference.

If you do like Ladyfish says, and deal with it routinely, (like wack-a mole) it shouldn't be any more than an inconvenience for you.

I've had two skin problems cured by sun. One, when I was below 20 and in the navy, I got a case of virtiligo that they thought was fungal, but couldn't seem to treat. A month at Gitmo in the summer, swimming every day, cured it permanently.

Just last year, I decided to get a full body tan for the first time in many years. I had a serious patch of psoriasis on my left ankle that had troubled me for 25 years, including two nasty bouts of fasciitis. The psoriasis went away and hasn't come back. I'm tickled pink about that.

hope it helps
John
 
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