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Sally Thorner's Blog On Melanoma

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Jul 29, 2008 3:44 pm US/Eastern

Sally Thorner's Blog On Melanoma

Reporting
Sally Thorner
BALTIMORE (WJZ) ― I have none of the risk factors... except one.

Melanoma is not in my family's history, I'm not fair- skinned, or into tanning beds.

But I have always loved the sun.

Then a dark speck I actually mistook for a tick prompted my first visit to a dermatologist.

I was diagnosed with melanoma six years ago.

Since then, I've had several non-invasive melanomas followed by several surgeries.

My love affair with the sun's over, but the damage is done.

I'm followed by a dermatologist every three months, and I will be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life.

So here's the deal:  limit your sun exposure and always wear gobs of sun block that protects you from both UVB and UVA radiation. 

Get a baseline mole check by a dermatologist and monitor yourself for any new spots.

Enlist a loved one to check out the parts of your body you can't see. It could save your life.

Anyone can get skin cancer--people of color (Bob Marley died from it), children can get it, too.  So your race or your age don't matter, everyone should be checked.

Please, do as I say and not as I did!  

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