Take care of your health.

Seth53

Seth53

Well-Known Member
OK, for all peeps my age....and younger and older...be self-aware of your health. (Full disclosure....I'll be 64 in October).

I had a non-healing lesion on my right upper forehead. It would scab, scab would fall off, it would re-scab, etc. This went on for about 60 days.

I had it removed and biopsied, and yup, it was squameous cell carcinoma (fancy term for top-skin-layer cancer). The lesion was small, not deep at all, was caught early and was 100% removed during the procedure. I had a non-healing, spindling lesion on my left calf about 20 years ago as well which was 100% eradicated.

This has now won me a free trip to the VA dermatologist for life-long monitoring.

I was a pool-rat growing up, lifeguarded, tanned the dickens out of my body, etc. My SPF was baby oil.
Father time is trying to catch up a bit.

So, heed my advice and examine your body for lesions which don't seem to be quite right. Get them examined. Get them removed if warranted.

It'll probably save your life.

That is all...carry on.
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Seth53 said:
OK, for all peeps my age....and younger and older...be self-aware of your health. (Full disclosure....I'll be 64 in October).

I had a non-healing lesion on my right upper forehead. It would scab, scab would fall off, it would re-scab, etc. This went on for about 60 days.

I had it removed and biopsied, and yup, it was squameous cell carcinoma (fancy term for top-skin-layer cancer). The lesion was small, not deep at all, was caught early and was 100% removed during the procedure. I had a non-healing, spindling lesion on my left calf about 20 years ago as well which was 100% eradicated.

This has now won me a free trip to the VA dermatologist for life-long monitoring.

I was a pool-rat growing up, lifeguarded, tanned the dickens out of my body, etc. My SPF was baby oil.
Father time is trying to catch up a bit.

So, heed my advice and examine your body for lesions which don't seem to be quite right. Get them examined. Get them removed if warranted.

It'll probably save your life.

That is all...carry on.
1f642.png
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You just wrote my story. I am older than you. Lifeguard, lake home, fishing boat, no sun screen. After some early removals, I am now clean, but check in once a year, sooner if I notice something odd. I still do a lot of outdoor activities, but Sun screen is a must. Thanks for posting.
 
Had a squamous spot by my ear. Had Mohs surgery. They cut a football shaped chunk around it so it's easier to sew and leaves less of a scar. They checked the bottom layer of the chunk and still had the cancer so they took out more layers. Got too far to where it wasn't numb. That hurt. Everything turned out well. I hate to even call it cancer because mine it wasn't "real" cancer.
 
Wow Seth53. I didn't realize you were up there in age that much, even though that is not too old anymore.

Good reminder and advice. Yes, I was pretty irresponsible when younger on occasion. The worst I was prob burnt was when went to the Indy 500 race in 1995. Got burnt real bad. Blisters on top of my head. Short haircut right before I left. I'm a little better now but should put sunscreen on more often than I do, even though I am not getting burned.

Obviously the melanoma's are a bit more worrisome. Squamous Cell CA is much more common, and luckily can usually be treated and excised successfully. But, it is a cancer and still is worrisome, especially if you have been diagnosed with it. Another common skin CA is Basal Cell CA which has a good cure rate as well. I say there are more Squamous Cell and Basal Cell than Melanoma, but that doesn't mean I am saying Melanoma is rare by any means. There are so many SCCA and BCCA diagnosed each year, that even though melanoma is less, it is still quite significant. Take that into consideration. Take care of your skin.

Again, thanks for the post as a reminder.
 
MelroseHawkins said:
Wow Seth53. I didn't realize you were up there in age that much, even though that is not too old anymore.

Good reminder and advice. Yes, I was pretty irresponsible when younger on occasion. The worst I was prob burnt was when went to the Indy 500 race in 1995. Got burnt real bad. Blisters on top of my head. Short haircut right before I left. I'm a little better now but should put sunscreen on more often than I do, even though I am not getting burned.

Obviously the melanoma's are a bit more worrisome. Squamous Cell CA is much more common, and luckily can usually be treated and excised successfully. But, it is a cancer and still is worrisome, especially if you have been diagnosed with it. Another common skin CA is Basal Cell CA which has a good cure rate as well. I say there are more Squamous Cell and Basal Cell than Melanoma, but that doesn't mean I am saying Melanoma is rare by any means. There are so many SCCA and BCCA diagnosed each year, that even though melanoma is less, it is still quite significant. Take that into consideration. Take care of your skin.

Again, thanks for the post as a reminder.
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Yeah...hard to believe I'll be 64 soon. Don't feel like it and (so I've been told) don't act like it :) I am fully into a cardio/resistance training protocol and look/feel the best I have in a long time.

Age.....It's mind over matter....if you don't mind, it don't matter. :)
 
Seth53 said:
Yeah...hard to believe I'll be 64 soon. Don't feel like it and (so I've been told) don't act like it :) I am fully into a cardio/resistance training protocol and look/feel the best I have in a long time.

Age.....It's mind over matter....if you don't mind, it don't matter. :)
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Good for you and way to work. Mentally, I still feel like in my late 20's or 30's. 60 year old grandparents now aren't the same as when people were 60 or 70 when growing up. They looked just so much older and frail back then it seems. Maybe it's just because I'm getting closer to that age. Who knows.
 
MelroseHawkins said:
Good for you and way to work. Mentally, I still feel like in my late 20's or 30's. 60 year old grandparents now aren't the same as when people were 60 or 70 when growing up. They looked just so much older and frail back then it seems. Maybe it's just because I'm getting closer to that age. Who knows.
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Today's 64 is yesterday's 40 dont-cha-know?!

While I'm at it, be sure to have your BP and glucose checked regularly.

I was at 106/71 yesterday and am about to go off my BP meds.
My A1C was 5.9....a bit high-normal, but down siginificantly since I got back into the workout lifestyle.
LDL was 65. HDL was 80. Etc. Good numbers.

As a health professional I still see a LOT of people with their head in the sand about their health. Just get your blood tested (chem20, lipids, PSA, CBC/diff) and see where you're at.
 
I had a basil cell carcinoma removed September of 2020. It was almost the size of a dime. By the time they took out the margins in all directions it took seventeen stitches to sew back up. I now make annual visits to the dermatologist for check ups.

Celebrities who have succumbed ro skin cancer include Bob Marley, Burgess Meredith, Maureen Reagan, and baseball player Nellie Fox.
 
Northside Hawk said:
I had a basil cell carcinoma removed September of 2020. It was almost the size of a dime. By the time they took out the margins in all directions it took seventeen stitches to sew back up. I now make annual visits to the dermatologist for check ups.

Celebrities who have succumbed ro skin cancer include Bob Marley, Burgess Meredith, Maureen Reagan, and baseball player Nellie Fox.
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Where was it at? A dime-sized basal is significant. Glad you're healed!
 
Seth53 said:
Where was it at? A dime-sized basal is significant. Glad you're healed!
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It was on my sternum. Thank God for Novocain!

Also I couldn't see it as they were in the process of removing it. I'm sure dermatologists are used to much worse.
 
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Seth53 said:
Today's 64 is yesterday's 40 dont-cha-know?!

While I'm at it, be sure to have your BP and glucose checked regularly.

I was at 106/71 yesterday and am about to go off my BP meds.
My A1C was 5.9....a bit high-normal, but down siginificantly since I got back into the workout lifestyle.
LDL was 65. HDL was 80. Etc. Good numbers.

As a health professional I still see a LOT of people with their head in the sand about their health. Just get your blood tested (chem20, lipids, PSA, CBC/diff) and see where you're at.
Click to expand...

Another real problem is individuals just taking meds for chronic diseases. Take the meds to level the lab values. It is a false sense of security as the underlying condition is often still there such as being overweight or the diabetes, but people think they are healthy because the lab values normalized. We are just treating the symptoms with some of these chronic diseases. We now manage chronic conditions with meds, live longer than eventually go to shit because it catches up at some point.
 
Northside Hawk said:
I had a basil cell carcinoma removed September of 2020. It was almost the size of a dime. By the time they took out the margins in all directions it took seventeen stitches to sew back up. I now make annual visits to the dermatologist for check ups.

Celebrities who have succumbed ro skin cancer include Bob Marley, Burgess Meredith, Maureen Reagan, and baseball player Nellie Fox.
Click to expand...

The bold above is why these skin CA's can potentially become problematic even though they may not have a high mortality. They often times are on the face or certain sites/structures of the skin that are a challenge for a dermatologist or surgeon because of the tightness of the skin or where in proximity it is to a tricky location. They can be a challenge and leave deformities depending on and or how much tissue needs to be taken for adequate margins.
 
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