sun exposure and skin cancer...

Listen to your wife and doctor.  The don't rush you into surgery to make a buck when it comes to this stuff.  One day benign next day malignent.  You choose one race or a life time of racing.   Don't F$&# around with this stuff.

If I'm not being blunt enough let me know.

You definately did the right thing. Take it from someone who works with Melanoma patients for a living...it is NOTHING to mess around with. Even if it was just a compoud dysplactic nevus or one of the other more benign skin diseases you still don't want them sitting there.

This is also coming from a very fair skinned, red haired guy who does not tan, just turns red. I always have to wear longsleeves in mid summer even with sunblock on otherwise I get a nice little burn. Missing a race sucks but spending all of your families savings on Cancer treatment and then dieing anyway sucks more...(just my opinion there!) Hope everything turns out ok though and that you had a good surgeon.

good thing you went and got checked out... hope you feel good enough to race.I've had the dermatologist look me over but it's been a long time and I am admittedly a sun worshipper. I'm hoping the family tree of Italians who baked in the sun for generations with no sunscreen and no skin cancer have passed on those genes to me.

SPF30 when you're out for hours. And should re-apply as well. One burn with any blisters is enough to increase your risk dramatically even if you're not prone to it.
 

Oh Cryps! You are getting me nervous. Last week I made an appt for my very first body check of moles etc... which won't be until August. I fear that after years of sun exposure that one of the hundreds of moles I have will be more than just a mole. I hear ya...sun screen peeps! Put it on!

Even if cancer is not found, the sun really ravages your skin and sucks the years away and replaces them with wrinkles. Dang, if only soaking up the sun didn't feel so good on my bones.

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I've worked in the Oncology field for 15+years

Never Underestimate the Power of Melanoma

Thanks for posting this. I'm continually shocked when I hear about people skipping the sunscreen or deliberately tanning with all we know about skin cancer. I spent half of last year dedicated to a melanoma awareness program and it is a very real, very deadly, very common cancer. If you let it go untreated you have less than a 5% chance of survival. I have a friend with such advance melanoma that she has to get a screening every two weeks and has multiple surgeries per year.

My brother was treated for Stage 1 melanoma last winter and I've had several dysplastic moles removed, all requiring a massive chunk of skin and stitches. I have scars all over me. I take the few seconds required in a race to spray on my SPF 30 and I reapply in both transitions. I'm not willing to die to have a tan or shave a few moments off my race time. Everyone should schedule a screening this summer. It takes 5 minutes and could save your life.

I got 2nd degree burns over a large amount of my body while racing an IM in over 110 degree heat.

Lesson learned: If you are going to be outside for more than a few hours, it might be the best bet to invest in cool (temperature-wise) long-sleeved protective clothing (Craft makes a nice Kona kit, although a bit expensive).

My friend who is (almost) a doctor says that for every SPF of sunscreen, expect that to last you one minute of protection. E.g. SPF 30 should be re-applied every 30 minutes, which to me is shocking.

Skin protection is probably one of the most overlooked areas amongst triathletes. Be careful!

This is a great point. De Soto makes the cool wings and arm sleeves designed for sun protection as well. They are super light and will not make you hot. I don't know why I don't wear them myself, I should look into it.

I'm in a lovely little quandary right now - Vitamin D deficient and a pretty decent risk for skin cancer. I discussed at length with my PCP, and we decided that I should do runs up to 45 minutes with no sunscreen (sunscreen blocks Vit D) and any longer than that, apply liberally.

Having done more research than I care to admit (red-head, whiter than white can be, Scottish & Welsh...), here's the digs on sunscreen as I remember it, and accurate to about 2000-ish: SPF 30 is about the realistic limit of giving you any more benefit. Beyond 30, the numbers go way higher (as does the price, generally) without giving you anywhere close to the same jump in benefit. That is, SPF 30 is twice as protective as SPF 15, but SPF 80 is only about 5-10% more protective than SPF 30. However, in good brands - and Coppertone regularly comes in very high in independent testing - the higher SPFs will have more moisturizer. Having better moisturized skin makes it more able to deal with the assault, and thus fend off the burns and recover fast than dry skin. Thus, for me, I go for about 50-ish Water Babies and call it good.

As for dealing with your missing chunk, get one of those tegaderm patches to cover the stitches and keep the water out and you'll be good to go. After all, it's all about who can HTFU the most, right??

My Dad died from a melanoma after living his whole life in Scotland; it wasn't a nice way to die and he endured much painful surgery.  Living in Australia, I'm totally neurotic about sun exposure - I have the de Soto arm and wing coolers and also the beanie to stop my scalp getting burnt as I have very fine hair.  I can highly recommend the coolers, my arms and head feel noticeably cooler than my torso and for next summer, I'll get a pair of leg coolers as well.

Hope you heal soon and more power to your wife, she sounds like a top babe 

i'm with you on that...italian and mexican here...you'd think we'd have natural uv protection in our skin.  maybe that's what all the hair all over me is for?

Most of us who grew up in the 70s and 80s are paying the price now. Melanoma is no joke. I get checked by my dermatologist at least once per year now. When he first saw me, even before my exam, he said "I can tell you've spent a lot of time outdoors and in the water. You have a lot of sun damage on your face."

Let me just add that this the fastest and easiest medical exam you will ever get. I sit in the room for a few minutes in my manly gown, the doc comes in looks me over and says "OK, everything looks good." If he sees something that bugs him, he just applies a little freeze to it and I'm out the door.

To everyone who says that they come from a family w no skin cancer history/ dark skin: WEAR. SUNSCREEN.

my mom and her parents are from Sicily and are pretty dark --- and my grandfather got skin cancer.  He had all of these open sores on his head... it was awful.

What other kind of cancer is there that's SO preventable with something you can buy at the drugstore ??

My dad had a similar non-melanoma patch on his forehead. The doctor removed it but my family really takes care.  Well, my dad is better than he was - still not that diligent. Darn Doc told him it was probably from an overexposure when he was a kid. Anyway, we always bothered him about wearing sunscreen when he'd go to baseball or out for his marathon guys' golf days ... 

I have this exact complexion and I am pretty careful but i still forget sometimes. I was running MCM a couple of years ago and I had a small tube in my fuel belt - thankful i had it as the sky cleared up. I must've looked funny running along with a little tube of SPF 30 trying to get it on my ears and neck.  

Yay thanks for posting this. My friends all think I'm a sunscreen tyrant, but I just think it's so stupid to take the risk when you don't have to.

I've had a few moles removed (just aplastic nevi, never melanoma), and know how much it sucks when it cuts into your swim training time (and run training time, if they're in an inconvenient spot). But it's much better than risking your life.

Just keep in mind that if you go with the chemical sunscreen you have to put it on at least 15 minutes PRIOR to sun exposure. I think the physical blocks work immediately (zinc oxide, titanium dioxide).

I always go for the crazy thick physical ones (SPF 30+) and end up looking like I have white paint all over my body. And I don't even ever burn (asian skin here). Just don't be stupid.

I'm pretty fair and have had several moles removed.  Yup it sucks but it's better than the alternative!

I had a mole removed from my breast when I was 16.  It came back as a severe abnormality and the Dr went in again and took a pretty large chunk out.  I looked lopsided for months!

Last summer I had a mole removed from the top of my foot- very painful- done by my GP.  It also came back severe and learning my lesson from my breast and foot I had a plastic/derma remove it.  The difference was amazing- almost no pain.  A tightness where the skin was pulled, but the pain was almost non-existent.  It has completely healed and you have to look hard to see the scar.  The Plastic/Derma also gave me the once over- he recommended removing a mole from my stomach.  PAINFUL!  It was like he took a mellon baller to my tummy!  No stitches- this heals from the inside out so it's still a purple spot on my Celtic pale skin.

I wear SPF 77.  Always.  Except for last weekend where I was dumb and burned myself.