Melanie Melanoma - April 6, 2006

Jason and I went into to Seattle to the Cancer Care Alliance Center and met with the top physician at the melanoma clinic, and we got excellent news. The melanoma has not penetrated the basement layer of skin and NO lymph nodes or blood vessels have been affected with the cancer. The doctor said he rarely sees this, and told me to go have a Nordstrom moment as a good-girl prize for coming in so early. (Hey, doctor’s orders, Jason!) He has contacted his most respected and trusted colleague that is closer to home to schedule and perform the surgery, and that will be that for now…no radiation and no lymph node removals.

The unfortunate part of all of this is that my skin has been likened to a garden. You can weed it until it’s perfect, but that does not stop new weeds from popping up later so there will be a lifetime of effort to keep on top of this. When I’m asked by health care professionals, “Did you ever burn as a kid?” I say, “I spent every possible waking moment in the Southern California sun from birth until adulthood and beyond”. I get the sympathetic look. When they say, “Did you ever blister?” and I say “Many, many, times. I chose my first grown up job because it was close enough to go home at lunch and lay out (you know, priorities.), went to the beach several times per week, and didn’t wear sunscreen above an SPF of 8 until I was 28.” I get the horrified, scared look mingled with pity. Yeah, I know.

The thing is, the sun is not the enemy. Sun burns are the enemy. There is all this conflicting information about the sun and the damage it can cause – no, wait! 20 minutes per day is better for you than taking a vitamin D pill! No, wait! Sunscreen doesn’t prevent cancer after all!

Recently, studies at UCLA found that vitamin D can have a hand in cancer prevention. The study reveals that women who get lots of vitamin D are 50 per cent less likely to develop breast cancer. 50 percent, that’s a whole boob! Other experts of the field read between the lines and hope it could also prevent other cancers. The study found the reduction in the risk of breast cancer among women with high levels of vitamin D. The body makes the vitamin from sunlight, but experts suggest women add supplements to their diet. Besides the sun the dietary sources of Vitamin D are salmon, tuna and other oily fish….mmmmmmm, oily fish.

So I dip my kids in sunscreen. I always have, even before I realized how easy it is to get skin cancer with my skin type (which I have generously passed down to three of my four children), because sunburns hurt. Last summer, I spent the days at the lake wearing a hat and a long flowy white skirt because I was afraid of the sun, and this summer I’m not doing that. I’m going to wear my doctor’s recommended SPF 30 or higher and limit my exposure but not eliminate it! And I intend to get my kids so accustomed to slathering sunscreen on before they even put on a bathing suit that it feels like not wearing a seatbelt if they forget.

However, I refuse to live the rest of my life hiding under a shade tree. I water ski, I play volleyball, I boat and I swim. You just can’t do these things indoors in the summer in the Northwest, and I’m just so grateful that my doctor didn’t suggest that, because I would have done it and been miserable.

Life is for living, and I intend to do that under my doctor’s care and advice and not waste a moment of it being scared and paranoid.

Sun Kisses to all,

Melanie Melanoma