Monday, February 1, 2010

Skin Cancer Update/Info

I went in for my annual skin exam and learned a few things I thought I would pass on. (I have been to many skin doctors, including a melanoma study at the Huntsman Cancer Institute and am surprised that I learn new stuff when I go in but it seems like I always do.)

--Everyone should do a skin check once a month. More often, you don't notice change. If you notice a new mole after about the age of 30, it is good to go in and have it checked. It likely will be nothing but it should be looked at.

--It is very rare for children under the age of 10 to develop skin cancers. After the age of 10, if there is a family history, children should be taken in annually.

--Anyone who has had a melanoma removed has about a 5 percent chance of having another one. Even with my family history (two sisters who have had melanoma and one with basal cell), my chance only increases a little more than that.

--A new black mole should be taken very seriously, particularly if a new black spot develops in an existing mole.

--Most melanomas start out flat.

--My husband has a 1 percent chance of developing melanoma but after the doctor saw my almost albino daughter, he agreed since my husband fathered her, I was right to have him go in.

I also learned that a red spot on my nose is not just a pimple that has taken a long time to heal. It is a broken blood vessel and if I want it to go away, I have to in for laser treatment. Sigh.

As I type this, salmon is cooking in my oven with a recipe I have never tried before. It will either be excellent or we will end up going out to dinner. I would say we are 50/50 right now as it isn't smelling that great.

UPDATE: The salmon was awesome and easy. 350 degrees in the oven on a cookie sheet with tin foil on it. Olive oil, small amount of liquid smoke and salt and pepper (all rubbed on the top) for 25 minutes. Holy crap. Easy and delicious.

Oh and I ran 8 miles today in 88 minutes. I could have kept running (which is a good thing since the 1/2 marathon I am training for is 5 miles longer) but my 5 and 3 year olds were being very quiet and I had no idea what mess they had made behind me. It ended up only being some spilled milk and a lot of paper cut up into tiny pieces. A very doable mess.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Glad the salmon turned out ok.

Gabriela said...

And now you can relax until next year (at least about this). :)

I'm not a big salmon fan, but if it's easy and fast, I'm willing to try it.

Way to go on the run! You're going to kick my butt. I ran my 3 miles today in 100 degree weather-thought I was going to die.

Lisa Christine said...

A few years ago I went in to have a mole checked. I had had it forever, but it was changing shape and had every bad sign that you could imagine. The dermaltoligst thought we should just have it removed completely right away because he was certain that it was cancerous. I remember how grim the plastic surgeon who removed it was when he saw it. I think he thought it was very bad news too. But miraculously...it was nothing! wooohooo! What a scare though!

Glad you are doing well and so glad the salmon turned out.

Also, congrats on the running. I stopped running after my 1/2 last year because I hurt my knee. But now I am thinking about starting up again. Which marathon are you doing?

And finally, where does Gabriela live that it was 100 degrees in February?

jo said...

so glad dall is well, including the salmon.