All those summers in the sun came back to bite me yesterday. With my reddish hair and fair skin I’ve always jokingly said I was a “poster child for skin cancer” and while that comment used to get a laugh or two, it’s not so funny today.
Last week I went to the dermatologist to get a few moles checked out. I left the office without one of my moles and it took a little trip to the lab. I got a call last night from the dermatologist, a good friend of ours, that the mole came back with some good news and some bad.
The bad news: the mole is Melanoma In Situ which simply means it is melanoma cancer that has effected the top layer of the skin.
The good news: It was caught early. PRAISE JESUS moment! I will have to go back to the docotor next week and have a little more skin removed around where the mole to make sure it is all gone.
The news rattled me a little. It just makes you pause and get perspective. When you hear your name and the dirty little “c” word in the same sentence it feels like a punch to the stomach. And to think, it was just a little mole that I might have ignored for another year or two! Thank God it was just a bad mole that we caught early and not something more serious. Grateful for his protection in my life today.
So what’s the practical application? I feel a little vulnerable today and I think it is probably a good thing. While we aren’t called to live in fear, we do need to be wise with our bodies, our holy temples, so that our lives can bring much glory to God. So wear sunscreen…get checked…care for your bodies inside + out. It’s the only one we have.
Now I need to stand on my soap box and yell at you readers:
the vogeltanz family 
Glad you’re ok, Em! Thanks for the word-from-the-wise!
Praying for you! Make sure you get check ups every few months for the next year or so. My family learned this lesson the hard way! Praise God it was caught early! Much love!!!
I myself have been in your position back when I was 18. Thankfully, it was early too and was easily removed. It is hard to see all my friends that haven’t had this experience treat their skin so terribly. The whole being tan thing is overrated and frankly dangerous but most people learn through their own mistakes and not someone telling them. Hopefully you sharing your experience will convince some people that sunbathing and tanning is not in their best interest. Glad you are ok and that you caught it early!!
Went through something similar a few years ago and I am never in the sun. I live in Wisconsin for Pete’s sake. Probably some bad sunburn from highschool. 😦 It’s so good you pay attention to your body and take care of yourself!!
Ok Em. I am gonna go and get some checked. Remember Stacey did that in college. She was smart for that. We have much to learn from our friend still 🙂
So glad you are okay!! How scary friend. Thanks for sharing I will call Dr Campbell on Monday to make an appointment.
Hello. I just came from Babe of my heart blog and was scrolling through your posts when I found this one. I just wanted you to know that my cousin (28 years old) also had a mole removed and the surrounding skin. We were so thankful when the doctor called back and said that even though it is cancer….they got it all. Well 4 years later the cancer comes back and she passed away after 9 months of intensive chemotherapy. I am only saying this because we were also told they ‘got it all’. And they were not right. I am not sure if there is a way to know 100%, but I felt I needed to tell you so you can drill your doctor, and at least know to be checked as often as you can!! Take care.