Wellness

[Mama Mia]

We had cancellled the dematologist visit last time, so when DH commented about a lump on his wrist and I looked at it, I immediately got us both in. His was SCCso the doctor took the top off of it for pathology to make sure and see how bad it was.

He had it all removed yesterday, and again sent for pathology. This is the result of working in the sun most of your life and rarely any sunscreen. It can progress into the lymph nodes if not caught ear;y enough.

I urge the husbands here to do the same, especially is there is something surpicious. It may save your life.

mm

[DiAnne]

I am a redhead and grew up on the beaches in Southern California long before sunscreen was heard of.  So far I have had 15 surgeries for squamous cell carcinoma. 

[June222]

I noticed a large skin tag under my husbands beard....I asked him about it....he said yes he knew. If I had not made the appointment to see the dermatologist, he never would have gone....he had it removed and thank goodness it was benign.  He has an appointment next month for a complete body check by the same dermatologist. Yes....WE need to be the voice of reason or most men would never go to take care of things.

[RedTop]

I have had 3 benign lesions removed in the last year.  All 3 were skin growths that had been there awhile, but suddenly became irritated.  Because of my very fair skin, my medical doctor insists anything suspicious be removed quickly.  My dermatologist told me any new skin growth after age 50 needs to be viewed as suspicious.  He said that by age 50 we generally have all the moles we are going to have on our bodies, so anything new is not good.   I asked my husband's doctor at the VA to look at a mole on his back that I was concerned about.   She saw nothing of concern, but circled 5 moles total that were photographed and emailed to the VA dermatologist in Richmond for review.   All of the moles were benign, but we are watching the smallest one, due to the fact the dermatologist questioned how long it has been there, and I don't know.   It is the smallest mole on his back, and the one that doesn't raise an eyebrow in suspicion when you see this tiny brown dot, but is the only one the dermatologist was interested in.  

[HappyDaze]

We are in our early 40's and have been getting full body yearly skin checks once a year for about 5 years now. They check us literally head to toe and even in the nether regions (yikes) because often times the cancerous ones are hidden between toes and private areas. It is easy to have done and I recommend everyone does it. It certainly doesn't hurt and it can only help!

[OnlyShopsOnline]

I've been going twice a year for dermatological body checks ever since I was diagnosed with an atypical mole 6 years ago.  

A few years ago, I convinced my fair-skinned husband that he needed to go also.  Just about one year ago, when he went for his check, they discovered a small basal cell carcinoma and it was removed.  It really didn't even look like any pictures I had seen and our dermatologist didn't even think it was anything.  It just looked like a small scab from a scratch.

However, because of his diagnosis, he told his sister and she decided to go to her dermatologist because of a "pimple" on her neck that wasn't going away.  Turned out to be squamous cell carcinoma, which is a little more serious.  But she got it removed in time.

Sometimes when we do something for our own health, we end up helping others.