Minda Mason
Formula for Melanoma: Baby oil and iodine on fair skin + tanning beds
I knew I was high risk – I am the blonde haired, blue-eyed, fair skin poster child of who likely gets melanoma. On top of that, I grew up in the 80’s when the SPF choices at the pharmacy were baby oil, 2, 4 and 8. There was no 70 SPF. But if there had been, I am sure as a teenager I still would have been sporting the baby oil. In fact, I tried that old trick of baby oil and iodine! Tan was in, and as hard as I tried, I never tanned. Prior to going on a sunny vacation, my family actually went to the tanning salon to work on “our base”. All of this we now know is exactly what NOT to do.
So I knew it was likely I would have issues, but could not have guessed I would be diagnosed with my first melanoma in my mid-thirties. I wasn’t yet regularly seeing a dermatologist, because I thought that was for old people. Luckily, I have a very thorough gynecologist, who at my annual well-woman visit noticed a suspicious mole on my back. She advised that I get it check out and provided me with a referral to a dermatologist. The dermatologist told me that she would need to excise the mole for the biopsy which would leave me with 8 stitches. I asked if I could come back another time because I had a beachy spring break trip to go on the following week. That was in March, and then procrastination set in and I didn’t make it back for the biopsy until December. The follow-up call that told me it was melanoma caught me unprepared for the immediate flood of emotion. The good news was that it was shallow enough that it was “curable” if I got in right away for Mohs surgery. While I was told it was curable, it was still a cancer that if left untreated for too long can spread quickly and have a poor outcome. This shook me because I had just ignored it for nine months. I know I am one of the lucky ones to only have a chunk taken out of my back. I never considered myself a cancer survivor, and so when I went to give blood, I found myself unprepared and surprised to be categorized as a cancer survivor and therefore denied.
Fourteen years later, I was diagnosed with another in-situ melanoma, this time on my leg. Again, I find that in the scheme of things, I am lucky. Yet, reminded that I am the poster child of who is most likely to get melanomas. It can’t be denied. So I continue to wear the appropriate SPF sunscreen, found some cool swim shirts, and come to terms with becoming swiss cheese from all the biopsies!
I am grateful that another doctor besides a dermatologist brought my attention to my first melanoma. I am grateful that I now know the prevention measures to take. And I am thankful to be working at the KU Cancer Center alongside such talented and passionate advocates for cancer prevention and treatment.
