I have my stitches out from my surgery. I went in with a list of questions. The doctor now thinks I am crazy. I told him he had no idea how my mind works. He answered all my questions then told me that he would be willing to be a million dollars that I would die of something other than melanoma. I informed him that it would probably be heart attack that took me out – from worrying about the melanoma.

In short, the mole was less than half a mm thick and all the surrounding tissue that he removed was free of cancer cells. The cure rate is in the upper 90th percent. I still have to be very diligent about checking for other suspicious moles because I more likely to develop another one. Scary stuff.

I hope my little experience has encouraged everyone I know to wear sunscreen. I don’t have a history of melanoma in my family, so honestly, I hadn’t really considered that I would develop it. But, thanks to all my early tanning and extreme sun exposure including many visits to the tanning bed as a teenager, melanoma is now a part of my life. If you haven’t been to the dermatologist, schedule your appointment and just get checked. It really could save your life.

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