Slip Slop Slap
Back in the 1980's the Cancer Council in Australia ran an iconic and internationally recognised sun protection campaign. I am an 80's child and remember the carton seagull that encouraged sun smart behaviour very well – SLIP on a shirt, SLOP on some sunscreen and SLAP on a hat. The campaign was effective and over the years the rate of the two most common forms of skin cancer has decreased.
The slip slop slap campaign has been running in some form ever since, with the added inclusion of Seek (shade) and Slide (on sunglasses). However, melanoma a particularly lethal form of skin cancer is still steadily on the rise down here in our sun drenched country.
With my fair skin, I have always been fairly cautious of sun damage. Although, like almost every Aussie kid I have been sunburnt badly. I can recall on numerous occasions after a day at the beach, returning home to discover lily white outlines of my clothes juxtaposed by red raw skin. This then followed with an uncomfortable night bathed in aloe vera oil and peeling skin for weeks.
Hitting home
This brings me to a brown mark on my face.
I can not tell you when it first appeared, sometime in the last ten years. From time to time I would notice it and think about getting it checked out. It was not until very recently, after spending an evening reminiscing over old travel photos that I realised the mark had significantly grown. By now a pale lump had appeared in the middle.
So I went to my local doctor. I was told it was a melanoma, most likely benign but the kind of thing that can turn real nasty at any point. I was asked whether I had any history of skin cancer or had spent considerable time in the sun. The doctor talked about early detection, removal, plastic surgery and then gave me a referral to see a dermatologist specialist for closer investigation. It was a month long waiting list before I could get an appointment at the closest Dermatologist.
It has been a long month.
Today was the day of my Dermatologist appointment. The nearest city with these sort of medical facilities is a two hour drive from home.
Good news and a life lesson
Turns out that my skin mark is nothing more than a genetic discoloration mark. It has a long name, that in the blur of flooded relief escapes me. It is not a melanoma. It will not develop into one and the only reason to remove it is for purely cosmetic motivations. It is also not caused by sun. The Dermatologist, offered cheap and quick laser removal there and then, so I figured, heck why not. The whole appointment including the laser treatment took less than half an hour.
We hopped back in the car and I spent the two hour drive home, with a numb face, thinking about the ordeal. Flooded with relief, I felt like a new person. My skin mark story had a happy ending, but taught me a very valuable life lesson.
Stress and anxiety about future possible events is truly a waste of time.
This past month, I have tried to manage my thoughts about my so called melanoma. I did not even want to think about the dreaded cancer word, treatments, plastic surgery, a chunk of my face being cut out, probing and testing. I thought I had pushed the thoughts away. Deep down though I know it was bothering me. Really bothering me. Even my husband admitted to googling it. It didn't help that those I mentioned it to, all had a dreadful tale of a friend.
Even though the future events have not even occurred or may never eventuate, dwelling on the fear and anxiety puts your body into a state of stressed response. This is not dissimilar to the response your body would feel if the actual event occurred. This is quite scary, because essentially your body is living out a fiction, told to it by your mind.
I messaged my dad with the good news and his reply is another life lesson - "second opinions are useful".
I am over the moon with the result of today.
I feel empathy towards anyone not receiving good news.
In the big picture, a skin mark on my face that turned out to be nothing, is not exactly a miracle tale or a story of overcoming great odds. But good news is still good news and worthy of celebrating. At least to me.
Until next time, slip slop slap
xx Isabella
nice post
Thanks for the post!
We really have to be careful about stuff like that.
Glad it turned out well for you.
Yeah I feel stupid for not getting it checked out earlier. I have thought about this mark many times before in the last ten or so years, so there has probably been even more wasted thought time on this, than just the last month. Funny how we can put things off for so long.
I lost my Father to Melanoma a couple of years ago, unfortunately Queensland has one of the highest rates of Skin Cancer in the world. The Slip Slop Slap campaign is now showing results with Sin Cancer rates in people under 40 falling for the first time.
I should add that despite my best effortsin keeping covered with sunscreens, growing up on the beach, plus living and working outdoors on boats to the Great Barrier Reef have caught up to me and I have had my first BCC ( Basal Cell Carcinoma) recently removed from my back along with a number of solar keratose burnt off with liquid Nitrogen from my face and hands. I am now required to have a full skin check every 6 months.
Wow - at least with such regular check-up you can hopefully stay on top of it. When the doctor asked me if I had been in the sun much, I thought well not recently (I had an office job for years) but as a kid, well I grew up on the south west coast of Western Australia. Swimming at beaches was THE activity, everything I did as a kid was outside.
Sorry to hear about your loss @stephen-somers. Skin cancer is a horrible thing. I feel renewed vigour to be smarter in the sun and with very young twin daughters I owe it to them to be vigilant. That Slip Slop Slap campaign (which I saw growing up in Western Australia) was very powerful - I have never forgotten it. Glad to hear there is now positive results in the rates falling.
I'm glad you didn't have anything malignant. It looks as though the babies are protected by sunshade in that picture. Precation is never a bad idea, just not the only one.
Totally agree about precaution. I will be wearing my hat more often that is for sure and teach my daughters to be sun smart too!
G'day, from a fellow Aussie. We have the highest skin cancer rate in the world, on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. Why? Caucasian skin, extreme UV radiation, middle-class demographics, with enough money to get out and enjoy the outdoors on the weekend.
In Australia (particularly, because we are under the ozone hole) it is important to protect our English skin. We are just not built for these conditions. There is a reason Aborigines have a dark complexion. :)
I will also say, I am more a fan of appropriate clothing to prevent sun damage, than topical sunscreen applications, which may itself be harmful, but that is a heated debate for another time. :)
Also, you mentioned Aloe Vera, great for sunburns. Have you ever tried extra virgin coconut oil? This stuff works wonders for a sunburn as well!
:)
Trust me @darknet I am wary of sunscreen too. I hear you. I feel in a bit of a tricky place with young twin daughters, but I don't always feel comfortable lathering their skin with sunscreen. Porous skin, chemicals.... I appreciate the heated debate factor with this one! I too prefer the appropriate clothing approach. I remember as a kid, Mum made me wear a t-shirt in the water. I used to hate it, because it was cold.
I have actually never worn sunscreen in my entire adult life, I used to surf literally ~8hrs a day, and would come home roasted. My mother has been getting small melanomas removed from her nose over the past few years (she is 75), she used to spend all day at the beach back in the 60s. We really need to be careful here in Oz, and I will probably pay the price in the future.
Yes, tough decisions re your children. I too would opt for the clothing on the kids. Would prefer not having my kids soak up all those crazy chemicals in sunscreen. Here is a shortlist of common chemicals found in sunscreen, which may help others in making the decision to 'slip slop slap' or to 'slip + slap' only. :)
Bi-annual skin cancer checkup should become standard procedure for anyone over 30, especially in Australia. Also, the check-ups are free (some of them).
Thanks for that list. Oh I just re-read your comment and saw the part about extra virgin coconut oil. Someone got me on to this a few years ago. It is amazing!!!! Really bad sunburn, the sort of burn that I thought for sure was going to peel, disappeared to a gentle tan overnight. Yes more people need to know about Coconut oil and sunburn! Thanks for reminding me @darknet
That is my experience using it as well, magic stuff. Needs to be the extra virgin variety though. :)
I remember as a kid smothering ourselves in oil and lying in the sun to get a tan. No way would I do that now! Sun screen every day on my face, even cloudy days I have and spf-25 on. I'm glad you are ok :D
Thanks @opheliafu. I always wanted a tan as a kid too! These days I have accepted my white complexion, I never tanned well anyway and just ended up with more freckles.
Glad things turned out well. Sydney has been my home for the past 10 years. The sun in Oz is deadly. Slip slop slap is a MUST.
Living in a tropical country and having tanned skin, skin cancer is not very common in the island of Borneo. Nevertheless I still take precaution and use sun tan whenever I go to the beach.
Hi @positivesteem - Thanks for dropping by. Yes I think the combination of fair skin and burning sun here in Australia is a recipe for disaster. Glad the same issue isn't prevalent in Borneo.