"Should I be concerned about Melanoma?"
If you have a disease and you need help or advice, what would you do? Would you call your doctor? Check out WebMd? Ask a friend?
Maybe you should head to Facebook!
Sure I'm being more than a little facetious, but Facebook does have pages for almost disease you can imagine. You can get advice and support from people who have dealt with whatever issue you're confronting.
A few weeks ago, I'm checking out a Melanoma awareness page. This question caught my eye:
If I only had in situ stage melanoma removed do I really need to be concerned? I know that's the lowest stage of all. I’m still on 4 month skin checks. ~ April
The four month skin checks tells me that April is new to the Melanoma world. I'm surprised that she's not neurotic over every mark on her body. She seems to be pretty chill about cancer. Hell, I'd like to feel that way and I'm four years into the Melanoma life. Many people never get there.
Here's what I'd tell April, and it's not that much different than what I would tell anyone, whether or not they had Melanoma: . Do a monthly body check to look for new suspicious moles . Wear sunscreen . Wear sun protective clothing, meaning long sleeves and sunglasses . Stay out of the sun during it's most powerful, peak hours . Keep out of tanning beds . See your dermatologist twice a year for full body checks
So April, yeah, you do need to be concerned. No one knows if and when Melanoma will reoccur. Be aware and do the right things to avoid the reoccurance. However, go on living your life the best you can. Be thankful your Melanoma was at an "in situ" stage and that it was handled relatively easily. So many others weren't as lucky.
Related Post: I got sunburned for Melanoma Awareness Month
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