Confessions of a Former Tanorexic

I have always been a sun worshiper.  When I was a teenager back in PA, I wanted so badly to rub myself down with baby oil and iodine and bask in the sun all day long up on the roof!  Fortunately, my mother wouldn't let me do it.  I really hated her for it, but now I know that she was right and I thank her for it.  When I left home at 18, I was too busy working and going to school to lay out in the sun.  However, that all changed once tanning beds hit the scene.  After tanning beds arrived, all one had to do to become a golden beach babe was lay down and sleep in a tanning bed for a 1/2 hour session several times a week!  I just loved it and I had a golden tan year round for over a decade. 

This went on until 2003, but came to a screeching halt once my mother was diagnosed with Melanoma.  A mole on her back turned cancerous and she had to have surgery to remove the mole plus several inches of skin and muscle around it.  She was checked for recurrence every six months up until she died of heart failure in 2008. 

I've been attending my yearly doctor visits during the last few months and visited my Dermatologist last Wednesday to get a full body skin check.  My Dermatologist is Dr. Betty Park on Forest Lane in Dallas.  She is so nice and very thorough!  She checked my scalp and whole body, even between my toes.  She ended up taking biopsies of a red patch on my chest and a mole on my right calf.  She also said that I had some Actinic Keratosis (AK) spots on my forehead and temples.  AKs are small, rough spots occurring on skin that has been chronically exposed to the sun. Since AKs can develop into skin cancer, Dr. Park gave me a prescription for Zyclara creme, which is an immune response modifier.  I will have to apply it once per day to the affected areas for two weeks, then take a two week rest, then apply it again for another two weeks.  Hopefully the spots will go away.

The biopsy results came back the next day and the calf result was benign, but the chest result was Basal Cell Carcinoma.  Dr. Park told me that this type of skin cancer has a 100% cure rate, thank God!  So I'll have to apply the Zyclara creme to the affected area on my chest 5 days a week for 6 weeks.  Dr. Park wants to shrink the spot as much as possible.  If there is anything left after using the creme, it will have to be surgically removed.  Here's what Basal Cell Carcinoma looks like:

Basal Cell Carcinoma

I've read that everyone is at risk for developing skin cancer. However, certain characteristics make people more at risk for developing it:

• people with freckles
  
• those with fair skin tones
  
• those who burn easily
  
• people with light colored eyes, such as green and blue eyes
  
• people with naturally red or blonde hair
  
• people who spend a lot of time outdoors
  
• people who have a personal or family history of skin cancer or melanoma

I have 6 out of the 7 characteristics, so I have a high risk factor. 

For anybody who might be reading this post, please be very careful with sun exposure and don't use tanning beds, especially if you have some or all of the characteristics above!  Please also check yourself or have a loved one check you regularly for any of the following symptoms:

Symptoms of Skin Cancer

• A small lump (spot or mole) that is shiny, waxy, pale in color, and smooth in texture.
  
• A red lump (spot or mole) that is firm
  
• A sore or spot that bleeds or become crusty. Also look for sores that don't heal.
  
• Rough and scaly patches on the skin.
  
• Flat scaly areas of the skin that are red or brown.
  
• Any new growth that is suspicious

On to a separate subject, I had what I think was an amazing experience today in the supermarket after work.  I stopped by to buy some of Adeline's favorite cheese crackers. When I got up to the register, the cashier told me that they only take cash and debit cards.  Since I had neither, I started to leave without the crackers when the lady in line behind me reached forward and scanned her debit card to pay for them!  I couldn't believe it!  There are some really nice people out there!  We all should practice random acts of kindness on a regular basis!

6/30/2012 Update 


I completed my treatment regimen and went to a follow-up visit to Dr. Park's office this past week.  She was very pleased with my progress!  The AKs on my face are gone and the Basal Cell Carcinoma on my chest has diminished greatly.  Dr. Park wants me to use the Zyclara on my chest again for 5 days a week for 6 weeks so that the spot will clear completely.  I also have a what I thought were red spots on my cheeks, which Dr. Park said is mild acne which is caused by the bio-identical testosterone that I take daily.  She prescribed some antibiotics and some cream that I will need to take for a month to clear it up.  She also prescribed some Vaniqa creme for me to help reduce the peach fuzz I have on my face, which is also a result of the testosterone.