Sun tanning and resultant skin cancer

This is my story about skin cancer – it is not anything special, but I hope that people reading this; will think twice about aiming for a bronzed sun-kissed look.

When reading horror stories about skin cancer, a person is quick to assume that it will never happen to you, and although I was fully aware that sun tanning not only carries the risk of skin cancer but also premature aging, I was sure that I would be smart enough to dodge both these conditions by applying enough moisturizers and using a sun tan lotion with a SPF factor.

After returning to South Africa in 1983 from the United Kingdom, at the age of 25, I though that sun tanning was the greatest thing out, and dutifully sun bathed every weekend.

I ran with the rich and famous crowd and all of them where beautifully tanned all-over, since they did not have to work, and could while away their days around the pool all year round.

In all fairness I must confess that I have a very light skin, and have never turned brown when sun tanning, but I was committed to achieve that “healthy” glow that you get with a sun tan.

Every week I used to wake up on a Monday morning with liver red skin and swollen eyes – but that was not enough to stop me.

I simply went out and bought new sun tanning lotion, with an even higher SPF factor, in the hope that a more gradual exposure to the sun’s bronzing rays will achieve my goal.

Needless to say – this never happened, yet I kept on with my sun tanning sessions every weekend, then worked on the sore and swollen sun burnt skin during the week, only to be ready to start the cycle again on the weekend.

After about three years I eventually admitted to myself that I would not achieved a bronzed sun tanned look, and stopped my sun tanning sessions.

For years I never gave it a thought, but a couple of years ago, I started to notice rough patches on my skin, which were uneven and slightly raised. That was twenty years after my return to South Africa and my repeated sun tanning sessions.

During a normal doctors visit I asked him to look at these patches, and he confirmed that they were non-malignant skin cancers and that he could simple freeze them off.

After three sessions of freezing these patches, which was not only sore, but also left my skin slightly indented where it was frozen, I decided to have a dermatologist look at these marks, as they simply kept on returning.

After a consultation with a very prominent skin specialist, I was put on a three week course of Efudix / Efudex (active ingredient being Fluorouracil) – which is a topical cream applied to the affected area, and this then has a ‘chemotherapy’ effect on the skin – destroying only skin affected by skin cancers.

The first week of treatment was fine, with my skin only becoming slightly red, but in the second week lesions started to form on all the places that were affected – and there were many.

Apart from not looking awful – it was extremely sore and some nights I could not sleep because of the pain.

After applying the cream for three weeks my entire skin was one mass of lesions with blood and lymph draining from some of the lesions.

Apart from the pain, I simply couldn’t go out in public – firstly, my skin was too sore and sensitive to any sunlight, even reflected sunlight, and secondly, it really looked as if I had some weird illness and had a distinctive look as if I was suffering from the pocks or leprosy.

Although it was a sore and unsightly treatment it worked wonderfully well and the doctor was delighted with the results.

Since my skin was extremely inflamed and had raw wounds, I opted to use a herbal cream to combat secondary infections and to soothe my extremely sore and irritated skin. When I applied the Ageless Healing Cream it stung, but had wonderful results in bringing closure, and a healed skin.

But my intention with this short article is to warn people about how easy it is to pick up skin cancer – even if you think that it would never happen to you.

The real kicker is that you normally do not see the damage done immediately – but like me; it can take up to twenty years for your frivolity to claim its cost.

And another word of warning – please do not think that it is safer to tan at a tanning boutique – be that on a sun bed or a sun shower – any of these can cause the same skin damage and skin cancer.

I know that a “healthy” sun-kissed look may be perceived as sexy, attractive and wealthy – but maybe the ancient Chinese were not stupid to go for the whitest skin possible – as it showed that you were not a peasant having to work the fields – and you had the added benefit of not picking up skin cancer.

In other words – STAY OUT OF THE SUN.

M.A.M. - South Africa.

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