happy spring

I told you all you would be hearing more from me about sun care. I guess the first day of spring would be an appropriate time to tell you what I think. I don't think of myself as a very loud or outspoken person, but let me tell you since Braden's diagnosis my stance on sun protection has changed drastically. I am no saint when it comes to my relationship with the sun and tanning beds. I, unfortunatly, am very guilty. I once loved the tanning bed. I very recently loved getting just a "little sun" to give me that summertime glow. ICK!!! What was I thinking?!? There is no such thing as a "healthy glow".  I knew about melanoma. I have taken care of patients dying of melanoma. But it would never happen to me or my loved one. Right?

I wish I could describe the feeling I had in my stomach the day Braden called me from work to tell me he received a call from the dermatology office and the mole they removed on his back was melanoma. No big deal, just a little mole on his back and now it was gone...right? Nope, that wasn't the end. The mole was big enough they needed to consult a surgeon and biopsy some lymph nodes "just to make sure it hasn't spread." WHAT!?! I knew what this meant. I know what lymph nodes do. This isn't happening to me. No way. Not my life. Not my husband. We have a three year old. We want more children. We are happy. We are healthy. We have plans. We need to save for our retirement. He is only 32 years old. We don't have time to deal with this! So off to the surgeon we went. He informed us that because of the size of Braden's mole, there was only a 6% chance it could have spread to nearby lymph nodes. 6%!!!! The odds were in our favor. It wasn't going to happen to us...but it did.

So my husband gets to live the rest of his life with this yucky diagnosis, but thankfully we found the mole when we did. We feel blessed for that. Unfortunatly, Braden will never be considered "cured" from melanoma, because there is no cure. The statistics show Braden has a 70% chance of living the rest of his life with "no evidence of disease." Which means he can live a long and healthy life. So, yep...that means there is a 30% chance it could come back.  And where would it most likely come back you might ask? His organs. Enough said.

I don't tell you these things for sympathy. Braden has a long life ahead of him disease free...we have to believe this, and in no way will we let this disease control our lives. We will try to make a difference. If we can save just one person from this diagnosis it will be worth it. Already thanks to Braden, we know of many friends who have had their skin checked. Some even have had moles removed. Please let Braden's story be an example for you. Don't be the next diagnosis. I'm not asking you to change your life. It's pretty simple. Put on your sunscreen. Stay out of tanning beds. Protect your children. Get your skin checked. The risk isn't worth the reward. 


This video has a powerful message. I hope you will take a minute to watch.

 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4jgUcxMezM