Please make sure you wear your sunscreen so you dont end up like me!

[blondebunny]

23 with skin cancer.... seriously not fun people... I got lucky that it was only a Superficial basal cell type of skin cancer...

I got it cut out and biopsied on the 20th of November and just found out today...

I mean I wore sunscreen but since Im so fair.. I''d still burn... and I used to use the tanning bed alot and even owned one (still do its at my parents) but stopped tanning in May because I noticed the spot getting bigger and red and bleeding and scabbing and getting bigger...

The dermo thought it was very odd that I had this spot at my age.. as its common in 55 and older...

So point of my story is... wear sunscreen and go to the dermo to get checked frequently!!

I also had 2 moles completely cut out before because they had pre-cancerous cells!!

I had always wanted to be tan because I was soo fair skinned with blonde hair... and was either called an albino or casper... not cool...now I am going to try to do the dito von teese thing and be sexy with dark hair and pale skin

 

[Lauren8211]

Ohhh my goodness BB!! So sorry to hear, but I''m glad everything is going to be OK and that you caught it in time! So scary!!

Great reminder for everyone. I''ve come to terms with my pale self, also. It''s just not worth the risk.

Believe me, you''ll be gorgeous no matter what color your skin is.

 

[somethingshiny]

I''m so glad that it was caught early! DH has a cousin who''s somewhere around your age and also had the basal cell cancer. She''s rarely even in the sun.

And, speaking from the pale lady club, it''s cool to be cream!

 

[TravelingGal]

Glad to hear you are OK BB.

As for fair...I saw a pic of you somewhere on PS and you looked beautifully fair with blonde hair. You don''t need to change to dark hair to be sexy...you are lovely just the way you are...fair, blonde and cancer free!!

(Although I do remember seeing a brunette pic of you and that does look good too!)

 

[julesbeth]

Oh my goodness! Best of luck to you. You will be in my thoughts.

 

[Skippy123]

I am so sorry, it is a good reminder; my dad just had something similar happen a few weeks ago. Sending you a hug. Praying you don't have anymore come back.

 

[allycat0303]

BlondeBunny,

That is terrible! But a good lesson I think early on in your life. And that god it was at one of it''s early stages.

I am deathly afraid of the sun, but then I am asian and WANT deperately to be as pale as possible (i would take Casper as a compliment as a matter of fact).

I saw a fair woman who had multiple lesions on her face, and they were forced to make 3 incisions to remove it. Honestly, the plastic surgeon did his best, but the scars were (sorry) hideous. And huge. Right on her face. She used to suntan all the time and lived in califronia most of her life. She said she had never applied sunscreen in her life.

In any case, good to hear that it is gone.

Take care yourself!

 

[blondebunny]

thanks everyone!! i had been putting it off for a while (i know shame on me)...but i think im going to go to another dermo to have him check everything again because the first dermo didnt even say anything about my quarter size spot and I had to point it out!! Im covered with moles!

I have never really tanned my face because i didnt want to get wrinkles later on in life.. id just buy darker foundation...

my dad has skin cancer right now on his face and ears.. not sure what kind as we dont speak...so that was really my wake up call to go!

oh and yes i am a brunette currently... hehe

 

[Dogmom]

Best wishes, BB, for a speedy recovery.

 

[bee*]

That''s awful BB. Thanks for the reminder!

 

[Deelight]

BB thanks for the reminder, I live in the skin cancer capital of the world so it is something that I have take very seriously, I am really fair and I don''t do sun at all. Seriously the healthiest tan is a FAKE TAN the one that comes from a bottle.

Tanning beds are worse for you then going out into the sun because they concentrate UV energy in higher doses there is a recent case of a girl here in Australia that died from melanoma in her 20''s from prolonged expose to solarium''s it was very sad.

I just wanted to add:

[*]Sunscreen isn''t enough you need to wear a hat and cover up when your in the sun especially between 10am-3pm.
[*]Get moles checked regularly, and watch for changes

I am glad that your okay and aware but seriously, pale skin is beautiful and I think it looks healthy plus you age better.


I think every Aussie has this sun safety song ingrained in their head, whether they want to or not, it''s catchy.

http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=RFjsRtPvoaM

 

[neatfreak]

Dust for a speedy recovery and no reoccurance BB! My grandmother died of skin cancer...so it''s something that we are very aware of in our family. I only wish that people would realize how dangerous tanning is.

 

[Pandora II]

My SIL was diagnosed with malignant melanoma 2 years ago.

Even now she only has a 50% chance of surviving the next 5 years. She and her husband are desperate to start a family but have to wait another year because of the possibility of the hormone levels sparking it off again.

I'm incredibly pale, but having got burnt as a kid in the tropics I have always been high risk so I never go in the sun and wear factor 30 everyday and factor 50 in the summer.

If you want to tan - fake it. It's so not worth the risk.

Glad to hear yours wasn't the nasty kind BB.

 

[LauraBabe08]

BB - I hope that everything works out ok and its good that you went to the dermo. early!

I am pale as well with dirty blonde hair. My dad and sister are both redheads and very fair skinned. I embrace my fair skin and always wear a hat in the sun and sunscreen.
I am not a fan of super tan skin - it can look leathery and wrinkled!

Once in a while I will use lotion w/ self-tanner in it for my legs in the summer, but thats about it!

 

[joflier]

I''m sorry Blondebunny. Thanks for sharing your story though. I think its a stark wakeup call for some of us younger gals who love the sun a little too much (joflier raises hand). I''m trying to be more diligent with sunscreen cuz we do have a family history. Best wishes hon!!!
Oh, and I would say a 2nd opinion is probably worth it. Something like this, I think its important to feel that you have a very competent and capable physician.

 

[FireGoddess]

I used to HATE that my parents made us sit under the umbrella when we went to the beach - we NEVER saw any type of extended period in the sun. Now, I''m definitely thanking them for that...

Glad that you noticed it and caught it quickly!

 

[sammyj]

BB...hope everything turns out all right!!!

I tan pretty well but lately I have been burning pretty easily and I generally wear a 30 SPF. Whenever I''ve gone on spring break trips with my friends, my mom would never say ''be careful'' or ''behave yourself,'' she ALWAYS said ''don''t forget to wear your sunscreen!!'' I went to a tanning salon off and on throughout university but now I wouldn''t go near them with a 10 foot pole!!!

I just wanted to 2nd Deelight when she said that tanning beds are much worse than being outdoors in the sun. Sell your tanning bed!!!!!

 

[mia1181]

I'm so sorry BB

I am also starting to get really paranoid because I used to tan a lot in my teens

. When you go to the Derm. to get checked do they really just look over every inch of your skin? I think I'd like to get checked out. I don't have any unusual moles (don't look like the pics in skin cancer articles). But I do have a few weird looking birthmarkish spots on my butt even though my mother always told me I never had birthmarks as a child (although knowing my mother that might not be so accurate). Anyway I think I'll make an appointment. Thanks for inspiring me to get off my butt!

 

[starryeyed]

Wow BB - so glad you went to the doctor and caught it in time! Whew!

I don't want to scare you, but please be hyper-aware of what's going on with your body at all times. Please get screened for cancer frequently. I have a very fair-skinned friend (older than you) who started to get cancerous growths on her skin - lip, shoulder, leg, etc, - and blamed it on the sun. She lived in the tropics for many years, tanned a lot as a teenager, used baby oil. Recently however, the doctor found a tumor in her bladder. It was the lowest grade of malignancy fortunately and they were able to remove it.

Who knows why the tumor appeared in her bladder. One day she noticed her urine was a little pink - that's it. I don't mean to scare you. Just , please be very aware BB! Life is so fragile.

 

[Dreamgirl]

Oh, BB I had no idea!!!

That's just terrible. I hope everything will be fine for you now.

I myself have incredibly fair skin (along with speckles sometimes on my hands and legs like a baby

) anyway, I had been a seasonal tanner from Mid March-July since 18 up until I was 24. I actually stopped going mainly because it was becoming more of a pain in the neck for having to go out and do that. So now for the past 2 years I have been trying different sunless tanners but they usually irritate my skin because I also have sensitive skin.

My Mother never wanted me to tan but I insisted I do it (being so white and all) Anyway, you are right! I've got some freckles that I never used to have. I've asked my Dr. about them in the past but they are just normal freckles (for now anyway.) One thing I have noticed as of this past summer.......a few age/sun spots!

At 27!!

I've got just a couple on my hands and arms. There aren't many and they are very light and small but it kind of freaked me out. Well, no, I'm still freaked out about that. But when I put the sunless tanner on, it makes them more noticeable. It's horrible! So then I started applying water on a Q-tip and lightly touching my skin where the spots were so that the tanner wouldn't darken them (after applying tanner.) It's incredibly annoying. Luckily on my hands, I've got those speckles so it blends in Ha! I've also bought some Almay (I can't remember what it's called) but its for sun spots. It's supposed to lighten them. It didn't work. Anyway, tanning is pretty bad. And while everyone told me so, it was one of those things I just had to do.

I'm so very glad you are ok though! I hope your Dad will be alright too....