Posts Tagged ‘cancer’

I had to share this video  (warning: it might make you cry, it made me tear up more than once). I’m sure many have seen it by now, and it was shared to me by a number of people, including a close friend of mine who is now (thankfully) a survivor.

Knowing someone who had to go through something so terrible is really scary. What’s even scarier is the fact she’s my age.

I’m only 25.

I used to believe Cancer was an “old person” disease – the only experience I ever had with Cancer was with “older” people, including my grandfather (he passed away in his late 60s, when I was only 12). But Cancer can affect anyone, of any age – and with my generation’s bad habits, including using tanning beds and forgetting (or just plain not wearing) sunscreen – it’s a serious issue.

I’m not perfect. I’ve been to tanning beds before (in fact, I have 200-some-odd minutes from a package kicking around at Goodlife, though I haven’t been tanning in well over two years now) and I do sometimes forget to wear sunscreen. And yeah, I love lieing out in the sun and catching some rays in the summer as much as the next girl – but now I make sure my skin is well-protected when I do that. And about the same time I stopped tanning, I started using makeup and moisturizer with an SPF built in, so at least my face is protected at all times (yup, even in winter – where the sun can be just as damaging) and I make sure to wear (or obtain) sunscreen when I go places like Wonderland, the beach, an open dome Jay’s game, or really anywhere where I’ll be exposed for a long period of time.

I got a real eye opener while I was working in Timmins, and did a story on checking & protecting yourself from the sun. The Porcupine Health unit had this nifty software called April Age. You’d get your photo taken, see it aged to 72, and then see the effects of Tobacco and Sun damage on your skin.

I’m sure glad I’m not a smoker – and this really made me realize just how badly sun can damage your skin, even if you are lucky enough to avoid something as terrible as Melanoma.

Some scary facts about Melanoma, from the American Melanoma Foundation:

• Getting just one bad sunburn before the age of 18 doubles your chances of getting melanoma
• In 2009, 5,000 people were affected by Melanoma and 940 of them died.
• It’s the most common form of cancer from those 25-29, and an increasing number of young women are being affected in recent years.
• The number of cases is increasing much faster in females 15-19 than males.
• According to the WHO, more than 65,000 people die a year from sun exposure – usually linked to skin cancer.

But there is good news in all this – Melanoma in individuals 10-39 years is considered “highly curable”, especially when caught early.

That’s why it’s SO important to be aware of your body (and your skin!) and keep track of your moles/freckles/skin and any changes… and to check your skin frequently (I do!) It’s better to go to your doctor and end up be fine and a little embarrassed about overreacting than to be too shy/embarrassed to ask about a dark, discolored, or oddly shaped mole – it could end up being too late.