I grew up in the 1980s. My family spent a lot of time outdoors. There was camping, boating, swimming, beach days and barbeques. It was Florida so outdoor activities happened year round. I don’t remember ever seeing sunscreen in our house. My mother never put it on me and I sure didn’t think to do it myself as a child or teenager.
So Many Sunburns
When I was in my early 20’s I started seeing a lot about skin cancer in magazines. I was very alarmed when I read that, according to The Skin Cancer Foundation, just one blistering sunburn in childhood doubles a person’s likelihood of developing melanoma later in life.
I had many blistering sunburns in my childhood. I’d sometimes get a new burn when my skin was still peeling from the last one. I spent a lot of time letting cold water run from the shower onto my red skin at the end of a weekend. My summers were spent squishing my blisters and collecting the dead skin in little piles.
Dermatologist Visit
I have always been covered in freckles. I have also had lots of moles since childhood. I saw the pictures in magazines of what to look for in suspicious moles, but checking all of mine out was overwhelming. I made a dermatologist appointment. He removed a couple of raised moles that got irritated by my clothing. I asked him about a flat mole I had noticed in my belly button recently. He said it looked fine. The biopsies of the moles he removed came back normal.
He asked to see me every six months due to my history of sunburns and high number of freckles and moles. The mole inside my belly button had grown at the next appointment. He still said it was normal.
At my third appointment, a year and a half after first bringing it to his attention, it had grown even more and gotten darker in color. He still said it was fine. I insisted he remove it. The more I read about skin cancer, the more worried I became. The oblong shaped mole was growing and changing colors. These were warning signs in every article I read about skin cancer.
The Diagnosis: Dysplastic Nevi
A few weeks later I received a letter in the mail. The biopsy determined that the mole was abnormal. It said it was a dysplastic nevi and that all of the compromised cells had not been removed. It advised me to contact the office immediately to set up an appointment for surgery.
Again, this news came in a letter. There was no explanation of what a dysplastic nevi was or what surgery entailed. I was shocked, overwhelmed and frightened.
I immediately hit the Interne to look for answers. I learned from The Skin Cancer Foundation that while dysplastric nevi are not cancerous, they have an increased chance for developing into melanoma, the deadliest for of skin cancer. The presence of dysplasic nevi greatly increases a person’s risk of being diagnosed with melanoma in the future.
Surgery
I immediately scheduled surgery, but not with that dermatologist. I didn’t trust that practice because of the effort it took for my concerns to be heard and the way my results were relayed. The surgery was performed in office with local anesthetic. It took about an hour. Cells were removed around the circumference of the original biopsy site. It didn’t hurt, but I did feel pressure tapping from the scalpel. The area was then stitched up and bandaged in a special pressure wrap.
I was told to limit my mobility for several days. My sister drove me home and I camped out on the couch. By that night, the whole area was burning. I was in extreme pain. I wasn’t supposed to remove the bandaging, but I needed to see what was going on. It turned out that I had an allergic reaction to the adhesive in the bandage. Every bit of skin it touched was red and blistered – ironically, just like a sunburn. It was also swollen, which led to some of the stitches popping. This, combined with the removal of the pressure bandage, caused bleeding to occur. The site was slow to heal and required several follow up visits for care.
My Prognosis
I have had biopsies reveal two other dysplastic nevi since then. Neither have needed surgery, though. My dermatologist tells me that my likelihood of developing melanoma is high. Early detection and diligent sun protection now are crucial. I have full body skin checks every six months. My bathroom cabinet is filled with sunscreen in various forms – balms, lotions and sprays. I still live in sunny Florida and don’t want to miss out on playing in the pool with my daughter, but now I’m sure we are both covered in sunscreen and that it is reapplied often.
Reference:
- www.skincancer.org/prevention/sunburn/facts-about-sunburn-and-skin-cancer
- www.skincancer.org/skin-cancer-information/dysplastic-nevi
