A word of advice to the old and those with lots of sun exposure...

[O.S.O.K.]

Be very suspicious of every new skin "thing" that you come accross or that appears on you.

I was a competitive swimmer (outside pool as a kid), lifeguard and pool manager all through HS and college. So I got plenty of sun on my hyde.

A few months ago, a small pimple-like thing on my lower back started to bother me and increased in size a bit, so I checked with the doc about it - he said it looked like a "sebaceous cyst" which is a common benign type cyst, but sent me to the dermotologist anyway. The skin man said the same thing about it and asked if I wanted it "drained" or removed. I said take it out - as it would definately come back if just drained. He used a little "plug cutter" to take it out and it went to the lab - routine for anything removed.

Well, I was in Florida on business and sitting in an airport waiting for a delayed flight (story of my life) when I get a call from the wife - said my "cyst" was actually a malignant tumor - but not a real bad one... etc. but I had to go have more taken out.

This made me feel rather strange.

Well, it was a squemous cell carcinoma - this is the second most common type of skin cancer and not nearly as bad as a melanoma - but cancer nonetheless.

I've had the second procedure and the stitches are now out and I've got a nice, new 1.5" scar on my back. This should be all for this, but I am to watch it regardless.

I now must see the skin doc in three months to check and then again in 6 and then after that, every year... seems the odds of another one popping up somewhere are greatly increased once you have the first one...

Anyhoo, the moral of the story is don't ignore any big "pimples" or other things that apear on your skin and don't go away...

[alismith]

I think a better moral would be to stay out of the sun as much as you can.. Being a redhead, I fry easily, so I've stayed out of sun as much as possible. I go to dermatologist every year and he is pleased that I have no "UV radiation" problems. A lot of people my age have been having problems with skin growths, etc., that are related to a lot of tanning when they were younger. A friend of mine died about 10 yrs. ago. His hobby was golf and he spent every weekend on the courses. He got a growth on his ear and when they biopsied it, they found it was malignant cancer that had spread down into his neck. He died about 6 months later.

For the women: if you get a lot of sun now, your skin is going to look all leathery, loose, and wrinkled when you get older. Yuck.

If you have to be outside, either cover exposed skin or use a lot of sun block. UV isn't anything to play with.

O.S.O.K., glad to hear you got the problem taken care of.

[O.S.O.K.]

Thanks.

And yes, that's another good moral.

But, after the fact, you need to be somewhat paranoid...

[L1A1Rocker]

Glad you caught it early. I have a brother that had to have a big section cut out of his lower leg on a melinoma. They don't mess around with that. For a dime size thing they took almost 2.5 inches of skin off.

[imanaknut]

Very good of you to bring this up, and quite a coincidence as I am having a check up with a dermatologist this Wednesday. Since I can't check my own back, I figured as I get older I might as well have someone who knows what they are looking at give me a look-over.

[abpt1]

My dad is a life long pilot with 40yrs under his belt he had a softball sized brain tumor and skin cancer on his nose and I know a few other pilots had cancer.......I think more pilots should beware of solar radiation... I dont feel that aluminum and Plexiglas do a great job of blocking out harmful rays . I don't know but for sure but that's my guess..

[alismith]

My dad is a life long pilot with 40yrs under his belt he had a softball sized brain tumor and skin cancer on his nose and I know a few other pilots had cancer.......I think more pilots should beware of solar radiation... I dont feel that aluminum and Plexiglas do a great job of blocking out harmful rays . I don't know but for sure but that's my guess..
If he were flying jets, then he would have been flying at higher altitudes where the air is alot thinner than at ground level and doesn't block as much UV radiation. Therefore, he was getting higher doses even though he was behind plexiglas. Sorry to hear about your dad.

[abpt1]

If he were flying jets, then he would have been flying at higher altitudes where the air is alot thinner than at ground level and doesn't block as much UV radiation. Therefore, he was getting higher doses even though he was behind plexiglas. Sorry to hear about your dad.
My family owned a flight school and a few small airlines ...He was a flight instructor and later worked for a few different airlines flying L1011-DC10-707-727. My mother was also a flight instructor and I have been flying all my life but he flew the most above 10k ft . He is on SS now and cant work ....Thanks its so very sad......Once they open up your head your never the same person .

[O.S.O.K.]

Watch out abpt1 - my Dad has had several skin carcinomas - though, no melanomas - they are indeed the worst of the skin cancers. My Dad's had basel cell and squemous cell (the two lower levels of the dermis) carcinomas - mostly on his head and around his ears...

Point is, it's somewhat genetic - at least the propensity for getting it is...

Sorry to hear about your Pop - hope he gets better.

[JTHunter]

I think more pilots should beware of solar radiation... I dont feel that aluminum and Plexiglas do a great job of blocking out harmful rays . I don't know but for sure but that's my guess..

The aluminum does keep the UV out as it is opaque, but Plexi does not. Glass eyeglass lenses and glass windows do keep out a lot of the UV but with so many people wearing "plastic" or polycarbonate lenses nowadays, there will probably be more people with cataracts in the years to come.

abpt1 the altitude of the plane is a factor as well. Less atmospere means more UV.

O.S.O.K. - glad to hear they caught it early.

[Prometheus168]

I have had alot of bad sunburns in my life.. and it does worry me... as I have gotten older I have started to wear sunblock whenever I am out....

Rusty

[renegadebuck]

O.S.O.K., glad to hear you caught it and you'll be fine.
abpt1, sorry about your pops. Be sure you keep a watch on yourself.

[slamfire51]

Skin cancer is NOTHING to fool around with.
Take it from someone who ignored the signs for a couple yrs. before having major surgery.
I had Basal cell carcinoma in my cheek and it was slow to progress, but over time it made it's way across my face. Thank God it was not malignant.

I was diagnosed in 2008 by one of the country's top dermatologist at Vanderbilt hospital in Nashville. After the diagnosis, he found 4 more places on the top of my head.

The procedure to remove these is known as MOHS. The cut an area larger than the affected area, take it to the lab, and under a microscope, determine if there are any cancer cells on the perimeter of the removed skin. If there are cancer cells still present, they cut a larger area until no cancer cells are present. In my case, they got it all in one cutting.

My cheek, was a different story entirely. The area was so large, they had to do the MOHS in an operating room at Vanderbilt. The procedure required them removing 2/3 of the lower section of my cheek, then cutting and stretching the skin from my back and neck up to the top of my cheek where the affected skin was removed. It's amazing how much human skin will stretch.

While the tissue was absent from my cheek, he had to clean all the facial nerves of cancer that had wrapped around them. He also had to remove my ear temporarily to cut out part of my saliva gland that had cancer in it.

The operation took 4 hrs. and was a 100% success. Cancer free now for 1-1/2 yrs. Check ups are a norm now.
The facial reconstruction Dr. did an amazing job. Scars are barely visible.

Please, please, if you suspect you might have cancer, have it checked out NOW!!


(http://www.google.com/url?url=http://www.google.com/health/ref/Basal%2Bcell%2Bcarcinoma&rct=j&sa=X&ei=YxlDTKK8C4H88Ab41NXBDw&ved=0CCgQswIwAA&q=basal+cell+carcinoma&usg=AFQjCNFs641hHRH54hj3dHl5Hc-BClW9LQ)

[remy1492]

Scary stuff. I am from SoCal and would ride up to 50miles a day by the ocean with NO sunblock. Ahhh to be a stupid teen surrounded by people with equally as tan and leathery skin. Ignorance.

Now I am more careful being 34.

I have several thousand flight hours, perhaps the worst was in small jets where the canopy is large and seems like a magnifying glass on a bug with sunlight.
A lot of C-130 hours, where there is no direct light but still, bright reflections from snow mountains in Afghanistan, to white clouds in S America.

Eye protection is my #1 thing and I wear DARK oakleys that block almost all spectrums of UV. The GLASS pilot glasses we get dont cover the sides of the eyes as well. Sometimes the Afghan hills were so bright from the sun at 17000 ft that I had glasses AND the pilot helmet dark visor on, and still was squinting. I would not be a good eskimo.

Skin, knees, eyes, ears............things I try to protect, because once they're gone...............
And you bet I will be all over my kid's asses about safety too!