First Rule of Skin Cancer: The Sun is Not Your Friend!

I love the sun, but the sun doesn’t love me. I knew something was wrong when two spots on my face and one on my chest kept itching and hurting. My dermatologist confirmed it: I was dancing with skin cancer and they had to be removed. I didn’t want my face to be cut and scarred, so I put it off. Bad idea. 3 years later, those 2 spots turned into 8, but by then, my amazing dermatologist @drdouglaswu @cosmeticlaserdermatology told me about a workaround that wouldn’t cut my face. 

Photodynamic Therapy (PDT). It’s expensive, painful, and insurance doesn’t cover it. PDT is a 2-stage treatment combining light energy with a photosensitizer drug that destroys cancerous and precancerous cells after light activation from a laser that makes them toxic to the targeted tissue. 

The laser felt like I was being stung by a bee, but I knew it had to be done. It took 6 hours. Afterward, I looked sunburned and had to wear sunscreen and completely cover up and stay away from the sun for 24 hours. I was quite the sight when I left the doctor’s office!

What I learned:

👉 Always wear sunscreen, rain or shine, whether I’m staying inside or out. Sun exposure gets through windows.

👉 It was a bad idea to put off treatment just because of the expense. PDT was worth every penny to save my skin and health!

👉 PDT is not covered by insurance. Insurance prefers to pay for the less expensive method.

👉 Recovery is fast and leaves no scarring.

👉 My face, neck and chest look better than ever now.

👉 Thankfully, all signs of skin cancer are gone!

Are you taking care of your skin?

Photos:

1. Bottom left: Last sunny hoorah the day before my treatment.
2. Top left: Yikes! 8 lesions the doctor found and outlined to laser of my face, neck and chest!
3. Top right: My Unabomber look to cover & protect my skin for the drive home.
4. Middle right: 12 hours later… still spotty. Just give it time, said my doctor.
5. Bottom right: My skin by day #18 wearing only sunscreen, eye makeup & lipstick.

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