At what age did you realize that staying out in the sun too long could be dangerous and how did you find out?
I think the day that I was diagnosed with Melanoma was the day that it set in and I was 24.
Similar situation for me. I was 43 and diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma. Before that, sadly, it was absolutely not on my radar. 
I was 43 too! I practically grew up at the beach. I distinctly remember feeling like I was cooking from the outside in. I never thought Melanoma would happen to me, until it did.
...if we only knew then what we know now! I can relate to your story. I felt the same way when I was using tanning beds. I can remember people joking about cooking themselves in those beds. Funny but not, right? I hope you are doing well now and your healing went smoothly!
April, SkinCancer.net, ModeratorThank you for your reply. When you felt like you were "cooking from the outside in", did you think that it was harmful at the time? If you did, did you just try and put it out of your mind? Scott skincancer.net moderator
At the time I wasn’t old enough to drive and my mom wanted to stay at the beach. Her suggestion was to cover up which sounds great until you realize it was 95 and humid. Her other “solution” was to have me go down by the water where it was cooler. Needless to say I stayed at the beach a lot more than I wanted to. When I got older there was better sunscreen (used to call it suntan lotion) and I wouldn’t go to the beach as much as I used to. The other side of that was everyone I was around would give me grief about being at the shore and not being “tan” enough. Man if I knew then what I know now……..
I totally agree!!! This is a very thoughtful reply. I think you hit some of the highlights very well. I think most of us and our caregivers didn't fully understand the effects of the sun and tried to mitigate it by just cooling off (but still being in the sun). We somehow equated coolness with not getting ultraviolet rays. We also felt compared/judged at times for being pale. I am with you on all of this. Scott skincancer.net moderator
Oh my goodness YES! I also remember being in a boat and getting HORRIBLE sunburn because of the reflection coming off the water. Don't forget you can still get sunburn while skiing or snowboarding from the sun reflecting off the snow too!
Exactly! In fact I got a sunburn when I was taking photos of eagles from a bridge. I spent about ninety minutes fairly early in the morning with the sun reflecting off the ice in my face. It was windy and cold and even though I applied sunscreen, I burned. Sad day for me. Scott skincancer.net moderator
