GUYS PAY ATTENTION -- Skin Cancer!

[338 Mollett]

I do know one thing I am gonna wear that Doc out doing checkups !

 

[Mark W]

I spent my earlier years working outdoors in Louisiana and Florida with no sun protection. At 55 I make an annual trip to the Dermatologist where there’s almost always something removed or biopsied. Luckily nothing serious so far.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

I have had 5 places worked on my head for skin cancer in the last year so pay attention ! The last one 2 days ago on my scalp included 3 cuts ;20 shots ;and 9 staples !Head looks like a melon , more than normal lol.Told the Doc I had a full head of hair when I came in here.He pinched so much skin for the staples he raised my ears an inch ! I am afraid to blink !!Young women at the bar think it's kinky, wife not so much !

Sorry you're dealing with this but best to catch it and stay ahead of it.
I had a tiny place removed from my arm a couple of years back, that you could barely see. She cut about a 3"x3" area out of it and said Merry Christmas, as it was just a day or so before the holiday. Hurt like hell for a couple of days but I survived it. About time to go see her again for a check up. Red hair, fair complexion and farm life, in my case.

 

[chop house]

i saw on the thread wide brimmed hat mentioned. just be aware desert sand or on the water you still need sunscreen on face due to intense reflection.

and i shudder when i now think of the rooftop sun worshipers with the aluminum reflectors to get a more even facial 'tan'.... yikes!

 

[Tommie]

Any exposed skin is a no-no for me during extended outdoor activities. Fingerless sun gloves protect the hands. Also be sure to wear UV rated polarized glasses. Yeah, all that sun protection looks geeky but it’s a small price versus the alternative.

 

[moorepower]

Remember sun protection lotions have an expiration date. Also the older ones have very inaccurate SPF factor. Allegedly the US government mandated a correction. Years as go some said 100
100 is in your basement in the winter!

And they have recently come out saying that some of them CAUSE CANCER!!

 

[Forum Boss]

One word about Dermatologists -- Some are GREAT, really great.

But many rush the examination or are not thorough. Don't accept that!!

Let me be blunt. If the Doctor does not literally look at every square inch of your body, you could potentially die.

In my sailing club, a man in his early 40s died of metastatic melanoma. When they caught it, it was too late, even with chemotherapy and radiation. He died 4 months after the diagnosis. His wife was devastated.

The Melanoma started with a spot between his toes!
The doctors did not look there and did not see it.

Here's a true account of my own experience 10 years ago, just after I switched med insurance plans.

I was assigned to a physician's assistant (PA) in a different med group.
So I went to the first exam.

After about 15 minutes she said "OK, we are done."

To which I responded. NO, we are NOT done...

"You didn't examine my ears."
"You didn't examine my scalp."
"Please look under my arms."
"Please look behind my knees".
"You haven't looked at my feet or lower back."
"Look at the dark, asymmetrical spot above my right ankle, that should be biopsied." (When I said that her face turned white because she knew it might be a melanoma -- thankfully it was not)

I had to insist over and over that she do her job. Multiple times.

The point is that a careless or lazy dermatologist is NOT what you want.

Before I left the office I filed a written form with scathing comments, then notified my insurance carrier.

When I got home I called around and got another dermatologist.
His initial exam of me lasted a FULL hour.

I would say a really thorough exam should take at least 30 minutes!

 

[Handi204]

Had one skin cancer surgery, many frozen or burned, efudex cream six or seven times. Worked in the oil patch for 42 years, paying the price.

 

[M-61]

Some skin cancers only show as a small seemingly insignificant spot. Doesn’t even rate being called a pimple.
Unfortunately these may be the deadliest. Racing to the lymph nodes.
My average appointment lasts 45 minutes.
Now I’d add they always find something new.
Now I will add that given my history with at least 4 types of skin cancer the dermatologists I see are particularly careful in the exam.
If you’re not nude, bent over spreading your cheeks, spreading your toes, and holding your mouth open, ( not at the same time) you’re not getting a proper exam.
Post # 26 caught my attention. I’ve not heard of this before. That means this Friday it will be my first question. It’s not that I don’t believe it, it’s because I want to know.
I’m there every 5th week. Not an expert, just a poster boy.
And when earlier I said ‘white’ I meant me. Blacks are equally susceptible .

 

[timeout]

And they have recently come out saying that some of them CAUSE CANCER!!

I checked into that because we had the brand mentioned. What I discovered was it was only their sunscreen that was dispersed in aerosol containers. The cancer causing ingredient was something in the propellant but it escapes my memory what it was. What we had here was a lotion and not included in the recall.

 

[Twicepop]

I'm well versed about skin cancers, I've had about a dozen or more of them removed. I see a dermatologist at least twice a year as a part of my routine medical check-ups. Not something to ignore. A few years ago I worked with a guy that during a routine eye exam the optometrist discovered a melanoma on the back of his eye. He scheduled him for surgery (eye removal) the following day. He told him that without the surgery he would be blind in that eye within a week a probably dead withing two weeks.

 

[Will Henry]

Had squamous cell on my ear and some basal on my cheek. Like everyone else, I spent a lot of time in the sun, uncovered, when I was younger. I was a little concerned at first, but it's just one of those things now. I go in every three months or so and get lasered or cut. WH

 

[bluealtered]

I will add one more, I was one of the guys who would take the high paying jobs from the feds that nobody else would take. Yes the money was good but there's a reason it's good, years later you will find out that the safety equipment they gave you wasn't safe.
As I said above, I have had squamous removed from all over my body and I used all the safety gear there was at that time. The forum boss is 100% correct here, if your dermatologist won't take the time to look at every inch of you, you better find a new one. You are betting your life here, nothing less than that.

 

[BAT M 284]

I had a Melanoma on my right shoulder in the 90s .It went to the Lymph nodes.A tumor the size of a
pool ball. I was treated with immune therapy for 10 months .Experimental vaccine. The time I was going through treatment my wife and I were expecting our first child.Found out I had cancer again same day I found out my wife was pregnant .Not a day goes by I think about it. So thank God he healed me.
26 years cancer free Praise the Lord!