I hope you’ll mark your calendars to tune in to WMTR-AM, on Sunday, Oct 2nd at 9:00 AM. You can find it in the Morristown/Eastern PA/Central NJ area at 1250 AM. OR you can listen live online!
I’ll be interviewed all about the latest Melanoma news and the difference a thorough screening can make…and more about why MoleSafe is the world’s most comprehensive detection and surveillance teledermatology platform for Melanoma screenings.
Just a quick post here: We’ve been hearing from friends that this Pulitzer Prize winner is a very compelling read:
Emperor of all Maladies
As one friend wrote of “The Emperor of all Maladies”: “May sound depressing but it’s not. It’s fascinating and feels (so far) like a must-read for anyone who has had cancer or been touched by someone who did. Said another way, EVERYONE.”
The official description:
“…a magnificent, profoundly humane “biography” of cancer—from its first documented appearances thousands of years ago through the epic battles in the twentieth century to cure, control, and conquer it to a radical new understanding of its essence.”
Have you read it? What are your thoughts? As always, your comments are welcome.
We thought this was an impactful video from the David Cornfield Melanoma Fund, a Canadian non-profit doing a good job of raising awareness among young people and their caregivers about the importance of prevention and early detection of Melanoma. This Public Service Announcement speaks for itself…and for many who are no longer able to tell their story of melanoma. Please share with everyone…and especially every 16 year old… that you know:
May is Melanoma and Skin Cancer Awareness Month, and we have a few ways to make the vigilance easier! First, we invite you to “like” our new MoleSafe Facebook page! We’ll try to keep you updated with interesting updates from all our locations and patient comments. Straightaway you might want to check out the patient video of the Walters sisters who get regular check-ups at our CentraState MoleSafe location after they were each diagnosed around age 30. They describe our approach and their version of sun protection vigilance, too.
Next, what better time than Mother’s Day to thank moms like the Walters sisters who now also ensure they practice safe sun exposure for their kids as well! As a reminder, that includes having them play in the shade, using protective clothing, and applying sunscreen regularly.
Speaking of sun exposure, SpaFinders is in on the awareness path with a sun-exposure alert bracelet! Much better idea than the “suntan turnover time alerts” we still hear on the radio some times…
Another way to make a “fashion statement” about melanoma is through the numerous items touting Melanoma Awareness which you can find at Zazzle.com, for example.
We applaud the AAD‘s “31 Days and 31 Ways” to Prevent and Detect Melanoma. Check out each of the days of May for good tips and suggestions, as well as their list of locations for free skin cancer check-ups. Of course, we believe that May is the best time — before summer kicks off — to get the most thorough exam possible using the latest high tech methods of screening for skin cancers and melanoma, and that is the methodology used by MoleSafe in the U.S. and MoleMap worldwide.
Here’s to a good, healthy month of May!
Exactly six months ago, I shared a blog with Melanoma Updates readers, written by a woman chronicling her battle with Melanoma. I shared her story because I was impressed by her good attitude, helpful information, and generosity of spirit, and thought her blog would be helpful beyond her small community in Cyprus. Her name is Alethea Ayers and she is the 35 year old mother of a toddler.
While there are, sadly, many victims of skin cancers and Melanoma — hence the existence of Melanoma Updates and our goal of driving awareness and preventative actions, Alethea is one who has been inspiring and very public about her battle with the disease.
Now that battle has faced a two-sided assault: she has received news of some 10 brain tumors, and is also fighting to raise the funds to travel from Cyprus to Germany for more advanced treatments. As a physician I can say that this kind of metastasis is unfortunately statistically common in Melanoma patients, and survival rates are statistically unsatisfying. You can read more on brain metastases on the Skin Cancer Foundation Web site.
I can tell you I don’t know Alethea, and have not vetted her case or her cause, but between her Facebook page and very specific blog posts I find her story and attitude very compelling and worth the read… and perhaps a contribution. That is a personal decision, and there are many worthy causes we could all support. At the very least, I want to share her very human emotions in her latest post here, filled with reminders of what we’ve been touting at MoleSafe as well:
Getting hopeful with every passing day as it means a day closer to when I can start my treatment. I can’t wait till they start shrinking these darn things and I can start a normal life again.No one teaches you in school or as you grow up what do to in these situations, there’s no break glass in case of emergency and there is no instruction manual on what to do in case you get brain tumours. So I live every minute by the minute and make it through the day with all your wonderful help.
All I ask that you please please avoid sunbeds, and sunbathing. Please love the skin you are in. Milk bottle white, means you are alive and will be alive. Life is too precious.
Love the skin you are in.
This update is just a thank you to all our friends and patients of MoleSafe and readers of MelanomaUpdates.com, and warm wishes for a heavenly Twenty-Eleven. As we face a new year lots of us like to reflect on what occurred and what we hope the next year may bring. This time last year we announced our alignment with the Charles C. Harris Skin and Cancer Unit at NYU’s world-renowned Langone Medical Center – the first major hospital in the United States to partner with and adopt the MoleSafe methodology. As you may know, the approach we use is the “gold standard” of skin cancer detection in high occurence countries such as New Zealand and Australia, having the prestigious NYU Medical Center implement the MoleSafe method was a wonderful way to start 2010.
Now, with six clinic locations in the United States – from Albuquerque to Savannah, it is hugely satisfying to know that we’ve helped thousands find peace of mind about an area of concern, or even prolonged or saved some lives via early detection of Melanoma. And skim through our other past blog posts this past year and it’s clear the word about best practices in detection and skin cancer prevention is getting out there more and more. Yet my wish for the New Year is to offer peace of mind and good health to thousands more, from all of us at MoleSafe around the country, as we continue to fight the good fight.
Thank you for sharing this blog with your friends and family — and for remembering that the new year is a good time to renew a commitment to regular skin cancer check ups!
Stephen J Cannell passed away in early October at the age of 69, due to complications from Melanoma. The creator of “The Rockford Files” and “The A Team,” Cannell produced more than 40 TV series including “Baretta,” “21 Jump Street,” and “Wiseguy.” Certainly his loved ones will suffer the loss as much as any who lose a family member or friend. But when a high-profile personality falls victim to Melanoma it does help raise awareness and the point that this is not a disease that can easily be won even with access to the most expensive of doctors and treatments.
It is an equal opportunity assailant.
The good news is the money IS being well spent in research and seems to be starting to pay off. As I wrote about Bob Marley and other celebrities who have suffered and lost to Melanoma, vigilance is key, no matter your walk of life. Regular screenings at MoleSafe can SAVE LIVES via earlier diagnoses. In addition, as requested by the producer’s family, you may choose to honor someone with a donation to the American Cancer Society …or the Melanoma Research Foundation or the other organizations they list who are also doing excellent research towards finding better treatments and hopefully a cure:
If you know others doing great work, please share!
As you may know, MoleSafe’s origins are from MoleMap, which has gained a position as the “gold standard” for melanoma screenings in countries with some of the highest occurrence of the disease: New Zealand and Australia. It doesn’t matter where one lives, as the sun warms our planet everywhere…but some are more exposed more intensively.
Story of Melanoma patient's fight for life, and to raise awareness.
So we bring you this journey of Alan Lewis, from 3News. Alan, a record-setting speed boat racer, is a melanoma patient from New Zealand and now in a race for his life. He’s making it his mission to shine a worldwide light on the need for early detection of skin cancer by allowing a series of videos to follow his fight. Though his situation is dire, we thank him for his candor and bravery and by sharing it here hope to help that goal.
In the video, Alan mentions the challenge of a self-skin exam. As we suggested in a post from February, a great way to “love the one you’re with” is a mutual skin exam as a first line of defense. But best practices? Book your own thorough screening at a MoleSafe location today.
As you may know, MoleSafe’s origins are from MoleMap, which has gained a position as the “gold standard” for melanoma screenings in countries with some of the highest occurrence of the disease: New Zealand and Australia. It doesn’t matter where one lives, as the sun warms our planet everywhere…but some are more exposed more intensively.
Story of Melanoma patient's fight for life, and to raise awareness.
So we bring you this journey of Alan Lewis, from 3News. Alan, a record-setting speed boat racer, is a melanoma patient from New Zealand and now in a race for his life. He’s making it his mission to shine a worldwide light on the need for early detection of skin cancer by allowing a series of videos to follow his fight. Though his situation is dire, we thank him for his candor and bravery and by sharing it here hope to help that goal.
In the video, Alan mentions the challenge of a self-skin exam. As we suggested in a post from February, a great way to “love the one you’re with” is a mutual skin exam as a first line of defense. But best practices? Book your own thorough screening at a MoleSafe location today.
There are many blogs on the personal experience and epiphanies of those confronting cancer, but we were all moved by the sometimes serious, sometimes lighthearted and always inspiring blog by melanoma patient, Alethea Ayers who writes “Me and Melanoma.“ This 36 year old mother in Cyprus takes us through her world of dealing with skin cancer while balancing life with a toddler with the ups and downs of battling a disease:
I see people all the time now with sunburn from mild to quite severe and I want to ask them if they know what they could potentially be doing to themselves. A friend of mine said she used baby oil recently. I said I used to use that. Look at me now. She promised she wouldn’t do it again. I hope she doesn’t. You see until this happens to you, you take many things for granted too, like our skin. We pay little or no care to what we subject it to when we spend hours in the sun just to get a tan and laugh and joke about our silly tan lines and our white bottoms afterwards. I have to say I dont miss the white bottom but I do miss being sun kissed. Now I feel like I’m being sun bashed. lol You cant get a skin transplant. Once you get melanoma you cant un-get it!
Mrs. Ayers writes with a charming candor that may help the healthy as well as those sharing her challenge to keep a good perspective:
One day at a time, one bus ride [to radiation therapy] at a time one zapping at a time. I go to bed early most evenings so I’m never knackered in the mornings although it takes me time to actually oil my my facial muscles to smile first thing. So poor hubby gets grumparse Alethea whilst everyone on the bus gets to see me awake and chirpy Alethea. By the time I get back its time to get my son from day care. He is such a happy baby (gets it from me lol) I don’t have time to feel sorry for myself.
In another entry she mentions her belated understanding of how day to day sun exposure that we may not even think of can creep up on us, such as hanging an arm out the window while driving. It’s a good reminder that defensive driving should include sunscreen! And checking that arm regularly — and other places where you may unconsciously get day to day exposure – as a more frequent part of your skin self-exam is a good idea, as mentioned by Dr. Richard Besser of Good Morning America:
No matter what your skin color, you have to check your skin regularly for signs of skin cancer. The first place to check is any area that is sun-exposed: your face, neck, ears, hands and your back and legs if you’re at the beach. Don’t forget your arm if you hang it out the window while you’re driving. Balding men should check their scalps — even the skin exposed by the part in your hair.
As Mrs. Ayers reminds us, please don’t take your skin for granted.
