Tuesday, November 10, 2015

"Use Sunscreen"



I fell in love with snow skiing as a boy growing up in Ottawa, Ontario. Sunscreen was not on my radar. I didn’t use it. Nobody did. Today I am paying the price for my ignorance.

For many years, I have battled with basal cell carcinomas. On numerous occasions I have undergone the Mohs procedure. The goal of the procedure is to remove the skin cancer totally while minimizing the amount of normal noncancerous skin removed in the process.

A couple of weeks ago, Dr. Marc Carruth did a Mohs procedure on my right ear. No Fun! He removed the cancerous tissue. It took two tries! Then he had to transfer some clean tissue from behind my ear to cover the wound. Uncomfortable? Yes! Thankfully, there are highly trained physicians like Dr. Carruth available to us. Their education covers dermatology and pathology plus substantial experience in reconstructive surgery.

The message?  
1.  Use that sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher. 
2.  Limit your exposure to the sun.
3. Love your dermatologist! 

Blessings, 
 

No comments:

Post a Comment