Skin Cancer

[SARGE]

For 4 years I've seen my dermatologist my primary physician referred me to. I see her every 6 months and she always "freezes" with an aerosol can (liquid nitrogen), several spots on my face and head that are pre-cancerous. These are not the same spots each time, as new ones always seem to appear. Getting them early is the key before they develop into something nasty like melanoma cancer, a very nasty one. Melanoma and esophagus cancer are the 2 nastiest forms one can get, and my gastro doc treats me for the pre-cancerous cells in my esophagus every few months as well. Geez, seems I'm a high risk in both cases. Anyway, the skin doctor says even though I wear and have worn a hat all the years I worked outdoors, a good thing, my condition could have easily been lying dormant since I was a kid and played outside those years. Also, wearing a hat is good but the reflection from the ground beaming up to the face is just as bad. They are just finding out these things. Wearing sunblock lotions is good but for the older folks, the damage can be there from years ago, just waiting to jump out as mine is now. Am now awaiting my latest biopsy on a spot she cut off today. The routine gets old.

Everyone should be screened by the doc to see where they stand. She has "frozen" spots" on me that were not even visible to me. Other bumps I did see were not threatening. As for my esophagus, well it may be too late but eating very bland foods may help - no spices, caffeine, fatty foods, etc. Oatmeal and such gets very old, believe me.

[juppy]

I'm sure I'll probably be the same way as I grow older, Sarge. I've always been fair-skinned and was born with red hair (it went blonde at an early age). Never could tan.....always just sunburned and then the skin would peel off. Even had a sunburn that blistered a few times.....that was fun.....NOT! Anyway, I notice from time to time that I get a dry spot of skin here and there on my face or my hands. Usually some lotion makes it go away, but I always wonder whether it may be one of those "pre-cancers" you talked about. I use sunscreen all the time now, but it may be one of those "too little too late" type of things. Good luck with yours, and I hope the biopsy test comes back good.

[Petef56]

Originally Posted by SARGE For 4 years I've seen my dermatologist my primary physician referred me to. I see her every 6 months and she always "freezes" with an aerosol can (liquid nitrogen), several spots on my face and head that are pre-cancerous. These are not the same spots each time, as new ones always seem to appear. Getting them early is the key before they develop into something nasty like melanoma cancer, a very nasty one.

Sarge, have you ever experienced an itching sensation on your skin even
when no rash or other abnormalties were visible?

Reason I ask, is that I think what they are calling skin cancer takes many years to
develop and you will feel itching sensations first before any abnormalties appear
on the skin.

---pete---

[SARGE]

Originally Posted by Petef56 Sarge, have you ever experienced an itching sensation on your skin even when no rash or other abnormalties were visible? Reason I ask, is that I think what they are calling skin cancer takes many years to develop and you will feel itching sensations first before any abnormalties appear on the skin. ---pete---

Yes, and always wondered what it was. There are very many possibles you know, but always seems to be on the head and face area. Interesting point.

[Petef56]

Originally Posted by SARGE Yes, and always wondered what it was. There are very many possibles you know, but always seems to be on the head and face area. Interesting point.

I was speaking to someone recently who had symptoms of itching on areas like the legs
and arms. It was driving her nuts as her doctor(s) had her misdiagnosed for 3 years,
thinking allergies and other things but finally she was diagnosed with cancer. Point
being that unexplained itching can be a sign of cancer developing in the very early
stages. HOWEVER, as not to cause false alarm I don't want people reading this to
automatically think cancer just because of unexplained itching, but just keep it in
mind and mention it to your doc.

Doctors still don't know all that much about cancer, how it starts, how to prevent it,
etc, but I have a theory that certain kinds of cancer takes years to develop and even
with skin cancer, when those moles begin to look abnormal, i t just might mean that
you already have cancer in your system and those abnormal moles are just a symptom
and not the root cause of the cancer.

---pete---

[MaxRat]

Sorry to hear about all that Sarge...

I still am up in the air about all that sun stuff...I mean people in Africa are outside all day and they dont get skin cancer like we do...same sun...same ground just a different hotter location...

I think cancer has to do more with the body's PH level than anything... seems people with low Calcium levels are more apt for Cancer?

if being in the sun all day is bad...I am going to live a very short life...

I never wear sun block or a hat or more than shorts...

[doubledragon5]

Hope things go well sarge. Yesterday my oldest daughter 18 yrs was told she has a nodule of some sort on her thyroid. The doc thought maybe it was just a cyst, but turned out it was not.. He is concerned, and now she needs to go for a CT scan with that red dye to see what kind of nodule it is...This scares me and the wife, because she is young and is the healthiest of the four of us..

[Petef56]

Originally Posted by MaxRat I still am up in the air about all that sun stuff...I mean people in Africa are outside all day and they dont get skin cancer like we do...same sun...same ground just a different hotter location...

Even here in the USA if you ever expereinced the intensity of the sun in the northern
states versus the southern states you can feel a big difference. I wonder what the skin
cancer statistics say about occurances of skin cancer are in the northern versus the
southern states?

---pete---

[kamikazi_tom]

I'm sorry to hear about that stuff Sarge, sounds like a real pain. I'm just curious is you living in Texas could have to do with this. Does Texas have any large hole sin the OZone layer? I am 50% Irish and 50% italian. It is odd becuase I am as white as a piece of paper yet I almost never get sunburned. I play baseball all year round and at the end of the summer my right hand gets tan, and thats it. It's rather commical considering almost all catchers get this.

Anyways, I really hope everything works out well for you. Many advances have been made in treating skin cancer, so even if you are diagnosed do not fret!

Good luck SARGE!
Tom =]