Yes, you can die of skin cancer!
Today is the final day of Melanoma/Skin Cancer Awareness Month. Over the last thirty days, I found two stories that moved me enough to write this.
First, earlier this month, I was reading the story of one of my colleagues whose father died of Melanoma in 1992. It shook me up some because his story with the disease could have easily been my own.
The short version is that he found an unusual-looking mole on his leg but didn't think anything of it. By the time he had it checked out, it was too late. The mole was cancerous. It eventually spread through his body leading to his death.
They say timing is everything and it certainly is when it comes to Melanoma. In the 1980/90s, we weren't as aware of skin cancer as we are now. It's easy to understand why someone would have seen a mole and done nothing. We didn't know better. Plus, we didn't have the medical treatments available then that we do now. It's hard to believe but forty or so years ago, a Melanoma diagnosis was almost certainly a death sentence.
Not to be too overly dramatic, but if my case of Melanoma occurred then instead of in 2015, I probably would have suffered the same fate. My two very young daughters could have grown up without a father. As I said earlier, timing is everything.
The good news now is not only is Melanoma extremely treatable if you catch it early, but the medical world is also still making advancements in dealing with the disease. Just this month, we learned about a new vaccine that lessens the chance of a reoccurrence of Melanoma. The great news is it looks like this vaccine will also work on other types of cancer.
The other thing that I noticed was someone on another site asked a simple question: Can skin cancer kill you? While I’m sad that we in the raising awareness game still have to deal with this question, at least it’s being asked. I guess when it comes to any kind of cancer, there’s no dumb question. But, let me give it a short answer…yes, Yes, YES!! Skin cancer can definitely kill you!
And that’s why on this final day of Melanoma/skin cancer Awareness Month, I'll leave you with some words of advice:
Be aware of changes to your skin. Do a body check to look for unusual-looking moles. See a dermatologist at least once a year, more often if you have a history of skin disease. Be careful when you're out in the sun. USE SUNSCREEN!
Yes, skin cancer can kill you, but you raise your chances of staying alive by following my advice not only during awareness month or in the summer but by doing this all year long.