MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — When you’re outside in the summer, the thought might cross your mind that you want to get some sun before heading on vacation for a couple weeks. Or it may never even be something thought about — I mean, what could a little bit of sun hurt? Even if I get burned, it’ll just turn into a tan later on … right?
At a doctor’s appointment in early January, a dermatologist told me that not only did I have skin cancer, but I was diagnosed with Melanoma. A mark on my upper back slowly turned from something that looked like a birth mark into a bleeding, scaly and fatty mess.
Following surgery to remove the spot and two sentinel lymph nodes, results read that one of the lymph nodes came back positive for Melanoma. After several scans, the road to a cure began with monthly immunotherapy infusions, as well as more scans as the months go by.
As it stands, I have Stage 3 Melanoma with full hope from the oncologists at WVU Medicine’s Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center — who have all been wonderful — that this is all for curative reasons and we can wipe out this disease.
So why am I writing this in the sports section of a daily newspaper? The shoe doesn’t seem to fit.
Well at my first appointment at the cancer center, my oncologist was blunt — this all began with sun damage. I don’t know when or how, but after years of minor to major sunburn on my upper back, Melanoma was the end result. It could have happened over a decade ago when I was still a kid.
This is a public service announcement to all athletes who take the diamond in the spring, put pads on in the summer and fall, and do anything outside for that matter — please be careful and take care of your skin.
It’s not “just skin cancer,” which is often joked about a lot when someone gets a bad sunburn. Basal cell carcinoma, Squamous cell carcinoma and Melanoma are all serious and not something to brush off.
Here are a few ways for those who have to be in the sun for any amount of time to try to prevent skin cancer:
- The obvious is to not get sunburned, which begins with sunscreen, but not just any sunscreen. The higher the SPF, the better, but that doesn’t mean anything lower than 100 won’t work. It is recommended by the Skin Cancer Foundation to use a water- and sweat-resistant (especially for athletes), broad spectrum (UVA/UVB) sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or higher. Other ingredients that should be included are zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. Lather or spray any exposed areas and repeat two hours later.
- I know this is a tough one for athletes with uniform requirements, but wear SPF and UV protectant clothing when applicable, including sun hats, sunglasses and long-sleeve shirts.
- This is one of the easiest to do but also one of the easiest to avoid — check yourself. Look from head to toe and get someone else to check spots you cannot see. My spot was on my upper back, so I had no idea it was there until it was too late. Along with regular checks yourself, go see a dermatologist or professional to do full body checks.
Summer is one of the best times of the year and being outside and enjoying the West Virginia weather is one of the best things about living here. I am certainly not saying to avoid being outside, this is simply a plea to be careful and be smart.
The sun can be fun, but it can also be detrimental to your health.
