Skin Cancer: What You Don't Know Can Hurt YouI’ve had skin cancer for a lot of years. My first diagnosis was in 1995. When I received that diagnosis, I naively thought skin cancer would be a "one and...reactions4comments
6 Tips for Staying on Top of TreatmentLiving with a long-term health condition requires us to stay on top of everything: doctor’s appointments, new symptoms, insurance, and, of course, managing treatment – all while taking care of...reactionscomments
Getting Back To Myself... Or Am I?When I was diagnosed with dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) in February 2021, it changed my life completely, particularly my perspective on life. For one, after my initial biopsy, I was told...reactions1comment
Hitting the TrifectaI’ve hit the trifecta of cancers. A trifecta in the horse racing world means horses finish in the correct order. Years ago, we attended the Kentucky Derby with its time-honored...reactions12comments
"I Have a What in My Eye?"School holidays are prime times for teachers to make appointments. I can’t remember a break in the last 25 years when I haven’t had one doctor’s visit or another. With...reactions6comments
Using My Pain to Encourage My PatientsI'm a physician assistant and recently started working in an emergency department, and sometimes I am required to perform laceration repairs, which is a fancy way of saying putting stitches...reactions1comment
Emily Hayward's Story: Changing the Way We Look at Skin CancerIf the pandemic has provided us with nothing else, it’s given us time. I’ve wavered back and forth with using that time wisely and wasting it away. During one of...reactions2comments
Tiny Volcano Thumb Goes to the Dermatologist“She just makes squamous cells,” my dermatologist said to the resident as the resident froze a pre-cancer on my neck. I guess that makes me sound like a squamous cell...reactions9comments
How Much Time Should Your Dermatologist Spend Doing a Skin Check?I have read numerous comments on skincancer.net about the thoroughness, or lack thereof, of a dermatologist performing a skin check. This made me realize that all dermatologists are definitely not...reactions21comments
A Letter of Warning to the Precancer on My ChestListen up. Your days are numbered. I’ve got my eye on you. You won’t get past me like some of your friends have. All the signs are there, and I...reactions12comments
Three Lessons I Learned From Sharing My Cancer Journey OnlineIn December of 2019, I heard the words, "you have stage 4 melanoma" for the first time. It was the day my whole world turned upside down and everything would...reactions2comments
SRT and DementiaSkin cancer is the most common type of cancer, and approximately 1 in 5 Americans will be diagnosed with skin cancer by the time they turn 70 years old. Our...reactions1comment
Is It Okay To Demand That Your Doctor Biopsy An Area?As a moderator for skincancer.net, I have read far too many comments from community members who've said that their doctor (or in some cases, even several doctors) told them that...reactions8comments
Spotting Melanoma on a Rival, Three BIG RED WORDS Can Save a LifeVancouver, British Columbia, and Seattle, Washington, are two amazingly beautiful cities separated by 142 miles and an international border. The two-hour (or so) drive along Interstate 5 between the two...reactionscomments
Efudex and What I Like to Call Back-tracingUnfortunately, many doctors don’t go into a lot of detail about the redness irritation that Efudex can cause. Skin cancer patients are often stunned when they begin looking at images...reactions5comments
Why Don't We Treat Melanoma with SRT?Radiation therapists like me claim that "superficial radiation therapy for the treatment of non-melanoma skin cancers," but why just non-melanoma? What about a melanoma disqualifies it from receiving superficial radiation...reactions1comment
New Year’s Skin Cancer ResolutionsIt’s that time of the year again! We are setting goals, we are going to eat better, exercise, read books, go for walks, call our friends and family on a...reactions2comments
Captaining an Emotional ShipStanding near midfield during pre-game warm-ups, I took in the sights and sounds of Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Midtown Memphis. Soon the Memphis Tigers would take on a football...reactions5comments
What's Heat Got to Do With It?It’s been unreasonably and, I’ll just say it, unseasonably warm in my area of Tennessee this winter. We are talking about 70 degrees on Christmas Day. Temperatures like this lead...reactionscomments
Community Views: AnesthesiaWe recently published an article detailing one advocate's experiences with anesthesia, and its use during skin cancer surgeries and related procedures (which you can read here). Many of our community...reactions9comments