This nodular lesion is a squamous cell carcinoma. These lesions are seldom fatal but can be disfiguring. Credit: The Skin Cancer Foundation

The images are startling, clear, and come with specific explanations of the whys and whats that distinguish the moles and lesions in the photos.  They may be difficult for the average person to review, but I feel they are important as a way to increase awareness of what could be ignored or overlooked  and with this kind of education what could, just as the title promises, save your life.  Just as we felt about Dr. Oz and the “in your face” videos of skin cancers and prevention information that he shared, this photographic guide is worthy of a “Hat’s On” award for straightforward, helpful coverage of exactly what to look for in the variety of skin cancer presentations.

And yet again, here are those rules of thumb again for your skin self-exams and warning signs to heed:

• A skin growth that increases in size and appears pearly, translucent, tan, brown, black, or multicolored
• A mole, birthmark, beauty mark, or any brown spot that:
  • changes color
  • increases in size or thickness
  • changes in texture
  • is irregular in outline
  • is bigger than 6mm or 1/4”, the size of a pencil eraser
  • appears after age 21
• A spot or sore that continues to itch, hurt, crust, scab, erode, or bleed
• An open sore that does not heal within three weeks

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.