After a lifetime of summers in the sun, Amber's skin sent up a red flag that forced her out of ignorance and into the shade.
Amber's Story
"You need to get it checked out."
I was on vacation at a beach a couple years ago, and I was lying out in my bathing suit when my husband said, "You've got this mole on your back and it's shaped weird. You need to go get it checked out."
It wasn't raised, but it was sort of in the shape of a country, and they say you should pay attention to the borders. I couldn't see it, and it wasn't bothering me, so I just let it go for a couple of years. But then last summer, my husband brought it up again. He said, "The mole has gotten bigger, and now there's one like it next to it. You have to go do something about this."
I decided he was right, better safe than sorry, I am going to get it checked out.
"Who knew you have to check even where the sun doesn't shine?"
Whenever you get your moles checked, you wear a gown and they look at all of your skin to see if you have any concerning marks or moles. They check everywhere, even places you wouldn't expect to be problematic. Some of the things that I've learned to look for are symmetry, smooth borders, changes in the mole and color. If it looks weird or out of place or if it's growing or getting darker, it's something to pay attention to. My husband even took pictures of my mole so we could track any changes over time.
The doctor wasn't too concerned about my mole being malignant or dangerous, but they decided to remove it and biopsy it as a precaution. It was a pretty simple procedure and my regular doctor's office was able to remove it.
"Getting my mole removed was practically painless."
My doctor used a freezing spray that made it more comfortable to get an injection to numb the area so I couldn't feel what was going on. That hurt for just a second before it took effect, but it really wasn't that bad. I actually had two moles removed& one on the right side of my body that was a little raised and the flat one on my back. The way they removed the raised one was by basically shaving it off. The one on my back didn't stick out as much, so that one required them to cut around the mole and dig it out, which sounds pretty nasty, but it didn't hurt at all. I didn't feel a thing throughout the procedure.
"This is the only skin we have and we're going to have it for the rest of our lives. It's really important that we take care of it."
I have pale skin, and I've had several sunburns in my life. You don't expect that could be causing you any harm beyond the instant sunburn. Your skin is tight and it hurts, but you don't really think that you've done lasting damage. Luckily, so far, my ignorance hasn't compromised my health.
Now I wear sunscreen when I am going to be out in the sun, I try to sit in the shade, and I always wear a hat. It's vanity because I don't want to be all wrinkly, but it's also health. You want to make sure that you are taking care of your skin. Skin cancer is the number one killer of women -- that's a pretty eye-opening statistic, especially because death can be prevented by simply paying attention to the signs your body is giving you.
Getting my moles checked is a really simple thing that I can do to make sure my skin is healthy. While getting my questionable moles removed was a tiny bit painful, the peace of mind that I got knowing that everything was okay and the education that I got in knowing what to look for so I can keep my health was all worth it.