About My Skin Cancer
January 16, 2007 by Christina Jones
Filed under Beauty, Invasive Beauty, Skin Care, Tanning, Wellness
I received a lot of email from my little Glam Beauty Beat article last week about wearing sunscreen in the winter. I feel like I babble on about sunscreen and my skin cancer all the time, but I guess I have been more quiet about it than I thought, because I got several emails from people asking about it. I was diagnosed in January, 2 years ago, so this time of year always makes me think about it, and renew my interest in sunscreen. So here is a little history, if you’re interested:
It was an odd experience. The cancer appeared not as a brown mole, or anything that was ugly or even noticeable. It was on the upper part of my nose, and was flesh colored – the only thing I really noticed that was odd about it was that it was strangely smooth. And then it started growing – within two weeks it went from an area about the size of a dull pencil tip to the size of an eraser. It really wasn’t raised at all though, but I knew something was going on.
I went to my general practitioner, who thought it was nothing. She told me to go home and watch it for another couple of weeks. I refused to – I insisted she cut it off and send it in. I remember Marshall telling the doc, “if you don’t, she will, and she will come back with it in a baggie.” So anyway, she went on and did it. And called me back 4 or 5 days later and said it was indeed cancer.
Thankfully it wasn’t the super scary kind, but a basal cell carcinoma. Anything attached with “cancer” is scary though. This little flat pencil tip/eraser shiny spot on my nose gave me a 1.5 inch scar going right down my nose. Thankfully my plastic surgeon was amazing, and 2 years later, I really have to be dehydrated or looking especially haggard to even notice it. But, as Dr. Rude told me and I have since heard time and time again, my chances are huge (like 90%?) that I will have another one within 5 years. 2 years and counting, so far so good.
As a result of all this fun, I am pretty well scared of the sun. I used to love it, now I really don’t – it kind of pains me to admit that. I still love the beach, but I would just as soon go there in the morning and the late afternoon rather than bask and frolic all day. We have a beautiful cabin cruiser, that has sat unused for most of the last two seasons. I just don’t really want to go out on it. I wear hats, I wear pants (I used to wear tank tops and shorts 11 months out of the year). And, I wear sunscreen. Every day. I usually use products that incorporate sunscreen (one big reason I love bareMinerals so much – the sunscreen is amazing), but I have plenty of sunscreen – only products as well. My love for playing in the yard, planting things and making things pretty has gone for the most part, and I am sure my fear of the sun has a bit to do with that. I just want to stay inside during the day now. I think I would rather have a hot tub than a swimming pool – which is a huge admission for me, I have been clamoring for a pool since we moved to TX.
Now that I re-read all of this, I also think it sounds a little depressing. LOL Is the answer to face my fears, slather on the sunscreen and face my demons – or am I doing the right thing in hiding from the demon sun?
Stay tuned for more on the sun and sunscreens. Obviously I haven’t been preaching enough. 
i will use sunscreens even more now!
From a fellow victim, I encourage you to find your way back outside! I had my first surgery 9 years ago and had the dermatologist say I was the youngest patient they had (I was 36 at the time and from current visits I’m hearing many tales of 16 year olds with huge basel cell patches). After having a dime-sized chunk taken from the tip of my nose , I was ever vigilant. Why don’t they just have sunscreen in every lotion? It’s hard enough to find foundation with it built in but getting easier every year. They didn’t get it all and had the tip of my my nose almost totally removed 3 years ago (Cancer grew under the skin graft, apparently the first surgery didn’t really follow the MOHS procedures.) I looked like Rudolph for about a year. My kids are growing up with a layer of sunscreen on them, but I can’t image not swimming, fishing, skiing, playing soccer …. we have just adapted to wear the right hat and sunscreen and repeat applications!
Thanks for that testimony Kay. I sort of realized I had become sun shy, but until I started writing this, I didn’t realize HOW sun shy I had become. I feel so lucky to have gotten out of this so easy, I know lots of people aren’t so lucky. I hope you are doing much better now – I was 36 when I was diagnosed as well.
I enjoyed reading your testimony. You are right, we forget that the sun can still be harmful to us in the winter. I know now to apply sunscreen more often now…
Even though you say you are very afraid of the sun, I admire your courage through getting it checked out and then writing about it to educate others. It’s not depressing at all! But more educational and inspiring.
I wear sunscreen and or a moisturizer with sunscreen 365 days a yr. for the past 20 yrs now. Also you must use a SPF of 15 or higher anything less is useless. I have not had a tan in yrs. Sunscreen and staying out of the sun between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. is the only thing that prevents wrinkles plain and simple. Also wear a hat while out in the sun if you must be in it for any length of time.
Thank you for sharing your story, Christina. I’ve seen you mention your skin cancer before, but I hadn’t seen you write about the specifics before.
I have to admit, it pains me to read stories like this because I too have had my brush with skin cancer. As a fair-skinned, redhead who grew up in California, I’m really freckled but I noticed a dark mole on my back when I was a freshman in college.
Terrified, I almost cut it off myself before my mother (a nurse practitioner) told me how that would be ridiculous because then it couldn’t be biopsied. (She left out all the other reasons that it would be ridiculous.)
I got it removed later that month and sure enough, there were pre-cancerous cells present. Since then I’ve had 3 other freckles removed off my back, all testing negative, although I still live in fear every time I think about skin cancer.
I’m terrified of the kinds of skin cancer (like yours) that aren’t as easy to spot. With so many freckles, how can one know if something has changed, especially when doctors don’t always take what you see so seriously?
I try to cover up all the time now. I’ve only gotten one sunburn in the last 5 years or more. But I worry that it was one sunburn too many.
Please protect your children (for anyone reading this) since studies show that those of us badly burned before age 6 have a MUCH greater chance of developing skin cancer later.
Thank you for posting this. It makes me want to go get checked out again.
Thanks for sharing your story Stylebites. It is scary, but I think you will probably notice a change even if no one else would notice. What scares me about your story is that yours appeared on your back. How would I ever seen something changing on my back? Yikes.
Thanks for sharing! I haven’t had any scares, but I did have a LARGE mole removed off my arm (I’d had it since childhood) because it was starting to look “funny.” What annoys me is that my insurance wouldn’t cover it, claiming it was an “elective cosmetic” surgery… yeah right, because the scar looks FAR worse than the mole ever did, and it scares me that people will avoid having their “funny” moles taken off because of the costs if insurance won’t pay. Stupid insurance companies!