Sunday, October 30, 2011

Pink October



There is one last day in this very Pink October, so I feel like it is my duty to remind people that "for women carrying a specific breast cancer susceptibility gene, the presence of abnormalities in the gene doubles the risk of melanoma."

It sure would stink to beat breast cancer and then get diagnosed with melanoma, especially advanced melanoma. I feel certain that their cancer experiences would be completely different....Not exactly different in a good way either....

How could they prevent themselves from joining us in Hotel Melanoma?

According to The Skin Cancer Foundation, breast cancer patients and survivors should:

Beware of photosensitivity. 
    "Photosensitivity is an increased sensitivity or abnormal response of the skin to sunlight or artificial ultraviolet (UV) light; people with photosensitivity are at increased risk of developing skin cancers. Photosensitivity can be caused by certain medical conditions and treatments, and breast cancer patients should find out if their treatments could make them photosensitive."

*Beware, a lot of medications cause people to become photosensitive!

Be Screened & Perform Self Exams:
     You know how you feel your boobies for lumps? Check your skin for changes! If caught early, melanoma is easily treatable. According to Melanoma Research Foundation, the median lifespan for patients with advanced melanoma is less than one year.


Speaking of statistics.... Let me remind you that "Melanoma primarily affects individuals in the prime years of life and is the most common form of cancer for young adults 25-29 years old and the second most common cancer in adolescents and young adults 15-29 years old." (See other statistics here.)

So, while I encourage you to continue to be Pink if that is a cause that is important to you, be smart. Melanoma is highly treatable if detected early. Do not pay attention to your boobies and ignore that "just not right" mole. Be proactive.

Or you could end up with these...







You do NOT want to end up here.
(Even in NYC, 
people look at you funny
when you have drains coming out of you.
Trust me.)

Sidenote: I just searched "Melanoma" on Pinterest to see if there were any new inspiring photos to include in this blog post. What did I find? A picture of my own scar! Someone "Pinned" my back scar picture, linking it to my blog. Cool! (But it did totally catch me off guard...)

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