Tonya Crawshaw
A little over 9 ½ years ago, I was diagnosed with malignant melanoma. About 27 ½ years ago, I had a pre-cancerous mole removed, another one again 18 years ago, and several more throughout the years, so I am used to having annual skin screenings by a dermatologist.
In the late fall prior to my diagnosis, I noticed a sore on my neck. I kinda-sorta watched it, as I saw it nearly every day as I got ready in the morning. I had my husband look at it once and he agreed that I probably needed to have it checked. I took note of it and told myself to have the dermatologist look at it when I went in for annual screening coming up a few months later.
I pointed it out to the doctor at my appointment, and he immediately removed it and said it needed to be biopsied. Other than the discomfort from having a chunk cut out of my neck and having a band aid in an unusual place, I didn’t give the “sore” another thought.
Until, I received a call five days later telling me I was now a cancer patient.
On March 24, 2011, I underwent a sentinel node biopsy and surgery at the Mayo Clinic Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. The team of doctors at Mayo prepared me for the worst, I hoped for the best and, I like to say, I received a miracle. My surgery was successful and all the lymph nodes removed showed no signs of the disease. That was indeed news to celebrate!
I am MOST grateful for my successful surgery, but I also now live with the reality that melanoma is very mean and because of the nature of my ongoing cancer, I am at a very high risk for recurrence. My new normal included complete skin screenings every three months for the first five years, CT scans, and continued heightened skin protection vigilance and skin screenings every six months for the rest of my life. Since my diagnosis, I have had a pre-cancerous mole removed from my wrist, one on my face, and several on my back.
The message I would like to leave you all with today is this: healthy skin is beautiful skin. Healthy skin is NOT sun damaged, tanned skin like the world would have us believe. I believed that for many years, especially as a teenager and young adult in the 80’s. The first two questions the doctors at Mayo asked me were 1) has anyone in your family had skin cancer? NO. 2) did you have multiple blistering sunburns as a child? YES. Please hear this: skin that we see as tan and beautiful can make you sick. It did me.
I would like to challenge you to adjust your eyes to see your natural skin as beautiful skin. I also would like to strongly encourage you to make annual skin screenings a part of your stay-healthy routine. Wear protective clothing when you’re outside for extended periods of time and most definitely add a broad-spectrum sunscreen to your DAILY stay-healthy routine. Something that simple can literally save your life.
HOPE SHINES BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN!
