On the quick post of July,
there was a photo of me.
It looked like this:
I know that I am usually behind the camera.
But I wanted to get a record of this to remind myself.
When I was little, my family owned a big yellow boat.
It was a Sea Ray with a jet engine.
It was mostly big and yellow.
We towed it with our wood paneled station wagon.
I was six when Dad brought it home.
Yes, I found a brochure on it:
Doesn't it look like FUN!
And was it ever!
We would lug that baby up to Rockport Resevoir.
Mom would pack lunch and dinner.
We'd find the perfect little beach.
And stay.
Stay all day long.
Playing the water, digging in the dirt (because it's Utah), water skiing, knee boarding, tubing.
All day.
Nearly every weekend in our summer.
This is when my trouble began.
Every Saturday night, I would come home, fried to a crisp!
Blistering.
Then, as a teenager, I would "lay out" on the trampoline with Hawaiin Tropics "tanning oil."
SPF 5.
And fry. Yes, I would fry my whitest of white skin.
Always hoping to turn the same color of the bottle.
Really.
Well. I never did get "tan."
As a consequence......My skin took a beating.
This year I went to a new dermatologist.
Who is amazing.
She had asked me if I "had really dry skin"
Or "what do you think those dry patches are"
(Cheeks, nose and chin)
"I'm not sure."
"What do you think?"
"I think they are either pre-cancer or Basal Cell Carcinoma."
It didn't take long to get things in the works for a little skin treatment.
I chose not to do a biopsy.
As the treatments for "severe" skin damage and Basal Cell Carcinoma are the same.
Needless to say, during Gabriel's Winning Streaks at Little League games.
I managed to squeeze in one treatment.
(By the way, feels like immersing your entire face in a bowl of acid.)
Today, was my Second Treatment.
I don't know if it shows as well as "real life."
Basically the treatment forces the body to attack the cancer cells and "explode" them.
It is the WORST kind of sunburn you could possibly imagine.
No amount of IBUprofin could help with the pain.
(ALA, Blue Light, or PDF Treatment)
My advice to you is:
Wear your Sunscreen, People!
Make sure it has Zinc Oxide!
Use the highest SPF you can find.
(They are changing the ratings: so that will soon be 30SPF)
Put it on your face
Everyday.
Wear a hat and sunglasses.
(I like "Coach" sunglasses and Target had the most amazing hat in their garden section this year...made out of paper.)
Put it on your kids.
Everywhere.
Be Dilligent.
No amount of "laying out" was worth the pain of these treatments!
Here is the list of RISK FACTORS from the CDC:
- (I have 10/10)
- A lighter natural skin color.
- Family history of skin cancer.
- A personal history of skin cancer.
- Exposure to the sun through work and play.
- A history of sunburns early in life.
- A history of indoor tanning.
- Skin that burns, freckles, reddens easily, or becomes painful in the sun.
- Blue or green eyes.
- Blond or red hair.
- Certain types and a large number of moles.
I'll let you know what I decide on biopsies and how the treatments worked at the end of August!
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