Dear sixteen-year-old-me.

Do you know that I read an article a while ago which said that the baby oil might be better for you than the sunscreens with all the chemicals in them? Not advocating it....by-the-way. That said....great video which makes it's point.

Alan, what a moving video. I will certainly be sending it along. I have so many elderly clients from my hair company and I look at their skin on theirface, neck & head closely and if I see something changing I tell them to go get checked. Every one of them have had something removed, at some time in their lives,  that was pre-cancerous or cancerous. Very scary. Thanx for sharing.

I was on a houseboat vacation with my father. We were about to go water skiing. When my father took off his shirt, I noticed a large, purple, blister-like growth on this back. It was about the size of a half dollar. Family and friends urged him to see his doctor. He didn’t. He was the type of guy who’d say, “It’s nothin’! I’ll just spit on it and rub some dirt on it, and it’ll be fine.” Well, it wasn’t fine. It was melanoma. He was dead within three years. That was 25 years ago this last February.

Then, a dozen years after my father’s death, my 13 year old daughter walked by in a sleeveless shirt… and I noticed a small, purple, blister-like growth on her arm. I immediately had her examined by our doctor. The biopsy concluded it was melanoma. But in my daughter’s situation, we caught it early. The melanoma was removed and she’s been fine ever since.

Melanoma can happen to anyone, at any age, and at anytime. The good news is that you can usually spot it very early. And the better news is that it can be successfully treated when  diagnosed early. But it’s very bad news if you ignore it and hope that it will go away. It won’t.

Thanks for sharing this video, Alan. I think I’ll post it on my Facebook page. 

Oh, great Alan, now you made me cry.....

Alan....as a red-head, fair skinned, blue eyed girl, I know how important this is.  I've had a couple of pre-cancerous things taken off my hands, face & legs and go for a skin cancer check every 6 months.  When I was a kid, there really wasn't much in the way of sunscreen - it was burn, peel & then tan.   We didn't know better & didn't have much choice.  But now we know better & our kids can take preventative measures...if only they will listen.   Thanks for sharing it.

Alan ~ Thanks for sharing this so we can share this too ~ Worth a Reblog for sure ~ Baked in the sun with baby oil for years!!

Only can muster a thank you Alan! Excuse me while I head off to blow my nose and reblog this.

Alan ~ this was a very moving and powerful video.  What a great message that needs to get out.

Hi Alan,

Always worry about this.  Many of us take it for granted, especially when we're young.  Sharing with the kids now.  Glad you posted.

thanks for the post Alan... even though I baked in the sun with baby oil mixed with some red tincture, I'm so lucky to not have any negative signs. But, then again, when I was baking in the sun, we still hadn't experienced the hole in the ozone! Seriously, though, thanks for sharing.;

Thank you!  Shared this on FB!

As a fair skinned person, I can tell you that I'm in the dermatologists office for check ups annually.  But melanoma isn't a disease of fair skinned people.  My neighbor, a lovely olive skinned greek got melanoma from exposure to the sun...and she doesn't burn.  Tanning is actually your skin telling you it's been damaged, just like a sunburn.

Thank you for sharing this video.  I posted it on my facebook page too.