STAY OUT OF THE SUN!

Last year my husband's dermatologist found a patch of non-invasive melanoma on his left temple probably caused by sun-damage throughout his years of sun-worshiping after he moved to the south from NYC. I'm sure he was loving the warmth of the southern sun after living in the cold north most of his life. (I was born in the south and stayed out of the sun as a child and as an adult and I still had to have a basal-cell cancer removed from my nose which probably was caused by some sun damage. So far, I have been lucky that that is all of the skin cancer I have had.) Because there is no real 'road map' for the surgeon to follow to know where all the melanoma cells are, Martin has had four surgeries to carve out the 'menace' and each time the lab found more cells at the edge of the tissue sample. The last surgery left a divot about 3" X 3" in a circular pattern from the corner of his eye to just inside his hairline above his ear. Of course the 'graft tissue' was taken from the same place as the previous graft tissue was taken last year, (on his upper thigh), so instead of one wound we had two wounds to take care of each day for two weeks. This last surgery uncovered more melanoma closer to his eye and cheek and it was now 'invasive'. Martin has had a PET scan, and an MRI to make sure no cells have migrated into the rest of his body. Thankfully both scans were clear. So now we are going to have to go out of town to Mobile, AL (185 miles from our home) to see a specialist for a MOHS procedure to corral the rest of the melanoma lesion. As I understand, from doing lots of research on the internet, melanoma can only be cured by surgery. So the specialist will have to keep 'carving' on Martin's face until he gets it all. Then the reconstruction will begin when these wounds have healed. Fortunately, Martin has a very good cosmetic surgeon here at home for that. Just getting to this point has been an emotionally draining adventure. Dealing with the stress of the diagnosis, the surgeries, the tests, and now having to do all the logistics for a trip to Mobile is physically tiring. This sad saga began for us in July, 2013 so we have been coping with this for about 8 months. In preparation for the trip to Mobile I will have to get a schedule from the doctor for the MOHS procedure, make hotel reservations, (our wonderful neighbors are going to look after our dog), pack a bag with enough clothes and meds in case we might be there longer than expected, program the Garmin, make sure the car is in good working order, and keep our fingers crossed that this trip will be the last time Martin will have to deal with a melanoma diagnosis. All this would be stressful enough for anyone but it is especially hard for an 83 year old man who takes pride in his good health. He hasn't been sleeping well and occasionally gets depressed which is not normal for Martin. Sometimes I don't sleep well either. Growing old isn't for sissies and people will always have age-related illnesses. But there is a lesson to be learned and possible preventive measures to be taken from all of this for Martin's children, my son, our grandchildren. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Even sunscreen isn't a fail-safe way to stop sun-damage. Our skin is the largest organ we have and it is the most vulnerable. The best way to avoid dealing with skin cancer is to STAY OUT OF THE SUN!