Friday, May 16, 2008

THE BEAUTIFUL... BUT DANGEROUS SUN
~
The sun can be an enemy to your skin!
Use common sense and lots of sun screen, a hat to shade
your face, and cover up your body.
I loved to lay in the sun and play in the sun.
I loved the look of a nice tan with my summer
clothes.
That was summer!
~
I am Norwegian and fair-haired.
But my skin tanned well...
so why not get all toasty in the sun.

THIS IS WHY!!
A small discolored spot on my shoulder.
It didn't look like anything unusual
but my dermatologist freaked.
~
He biopsied it and several weeks later
I was back having a 2 hour excision.
This is a photo of the 3 inch incision on my shoulder.
~
I'm not vain about scars on my body.
This one especially!
It's a good reminder to keep my skin out of the sun.
~
For my daughter's wedding I'll get a spray tan at a salon.
Just to have a bit of color.
I've not shared this photo with anyone before...
but you are friends and like family.
Please learn from my mistakes!

Love to you all...
Joni

11 comments:

artisbliss said...

Bless you, what an experience. I hope you heal quickly and suffer no more incidents of this kind.

Nan said...

I'm so glad your doctor caught it and you will be more aware from now on in any changes of your skin. Your post was a good reminder of why we all need to protect our skin!

Angie said...

Thanks for the reminder, my friend. I won't be showing my scar from my recent biopsy! : )

KC Quilter said...

Oooh, glad your doc was vigilant and took immediate measures. Best wishes.

jacquie said...

Oooh Joni, yikes! Pretty brave of you sharing this. Hope this is it! Done and gone.

Wendy said...

Ouch! Thank you ma'am for the gentle reminder. Since we are in S. Texas we use the highest rated sun protection we can get. I make sure my son is slathered in it but need to be a bit more dilligent myself.

trash said...

Well done for sharing. I had one removed from the front of my shoulder in pretty much the same place.

The Australian motto is 'Slip.Slop.Slap.' As in 'Slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen and slap on a hat.'

Helen said...

You are so right Joni...we grew up worshipping the sun. It's so different these days....we call it "slip, slop, slap" in Australia. My kids never go out without slipping on a shirt, slopping on sun screen and slapping on a hat. Take care. You are doing good in sharing your story and we all need to change our view on having that healthy glow.

Junie Moon said...

I've had the same experience, Joni. I've had 2 basal cell carcinomas removed, one small squamous cell carcinoma area as well as a large tumor of the squamous cell carcinoma that was really scary and grew super fast. I'm careful to keep up my quarterly checkups and am glad that you're taking care to protect yourself, too.

Thimbleanna said...

Oooh, Joni, that looks so sore! Good for you that you caught it -- I hope it heals in a hurry!

Mom IsAmagpie said...

Thank you for sharing this with us. I always take care of the kids but rarely remember myself. I needed to see this as a reminder to take care of myself too. Stay fabulous!