Dear Sun-Worshipping Friends,

IMPORTANT NEWS UPDATE! UVA and UVB rays really do cause skin cancers.

What? You knew this already? Usually, when I ask patients if they wear sunscreen to protect their skin they say "rarely, maybe for those long days in the sun but that is about it". If I am truly honest with you, I fall into that category of patients as well. Why do I choose to ignore the truth about sun exposure? I think I was able to pass it off because I hadn't seen the effects of sun damage up close and personal... until today.

Today I was able to help a dermatologist with the Moh's procedure to remove cancer. First it was the temple of an elderly gentleman who noticed this raised lesion a few months prior. We removed a half dollar sized circle from him temple.... scraped and scraped layer by layer until the lab tech reported we had clean edges and the cancer was removed. After the procedure the large vessels pulsing blood were cauterized, then the crater was covered with gauze and left to heal on its own. Next was a gentleman with a basal cell carcinoma on his nose.... let's just say by the time clean edges were found all that was left was a thin strip of cartilage. Later I asked the Dr. how the plastic surgeon would reshape his nose and she told me they take a skin graft from somewhere on his body. Hm...

Then came two women with squamous cell on their ears, and finally a man with melanoma on his forehead. I watched as the doc cut parts of these people's faces off and made a silent promise to myself...

I will never leave the house without a base of SPF 30 covering my entire body ever again.
Maybe you will choose to do the same?

Sincerely,
A