Warmer weather means more exposed skin

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The weather is heating up here in Austin. Aside from the fact that I need to figure out where the heck my summer clothes are stored in my closet, I need to remember to also put sunscreen on areas that haven’t been exposed to the sun in a long time. This is a problem for me because I am rarely… Read more »

SXSW and my scar

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For those of us living in Austin right now, it’s mayhem. It’s Spring Break for the kids (public schools and UT), the Rodeo, and the mother of all city festivals – SXSW. If you don’t know what SXSW is, picture 200,000 people invading your town with a bunch of tents, food trucks, random parties taking over all kinds of buildings,… Read more »

Melanoma rates jumping – in Iowa

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There was a report on the Iowa Public Radio recently that shows that the rates of melanoma are dramatically increasing. According to the Director of the University of Iowa’s Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center, Dr. George Weiner, the increase can be considered an epidemic. Now, Iowa is not exactly Florida, right? So what is causing this tremendous increase? Dr. Weiner notes that… Read more »

Atypical…let’s wait and see

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I just received a phone call from my dermatologist’s office. Since it wasn’t the doctor on the phone, I immediately assumed that it was good news on all fronts – yes, and no. The one mole on my thigh was normal, no malignancy. Awesome news since that one started changing a few months ago – growing in size but not… Read more »

Family in the house

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We are currently hosting our very first overnight visitor to the downtown condo, my husband’s 21-year-old cousin. She’s been very agreeable to have around, although the cat is still not quite sure what to make of her yet. Kaylee leaves on Thursday, which is when the cat will probably decide to warm up to her. We took her out the… Read more »

My first 3 month check-up

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Today I had my first 3 month check-up with the dermatologist that initially biopsied the spot that would be diagnosed as melanoma. I hadn’t seen her since she shaved the spot off, so the first couple of minutes was spent talking about my excision, my healing process, my scar. Then the “fun” began. Although it wasn’t as invasive as I… Read more »

BRAF Inhibitor Resistance and other things I’m learning

Because of my diagnosis of melanoma late last year, I find myself reading information about the disease. Sometimes, I stumble across information I had no idea even existed. Today, I came across an article that highlighted the efforts of researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Since I live in Texas, I’m always interested in what the… Read more »

Scar check-up, 10 weeks from the excision

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10 week scar

Today I had my follow-up with the surgeon who performed my excision so she could check the scar. It’s been just about 10 weeks since the procedure. It took awhile to get into a room and seen. Hopefully, that’s not a sign that there’s more melanomas getting looked at. The doctor finally came into room, took a quick look at… Read more »

Back from the beach…

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So, after a glorious week off, I’m back to reality. It’s freezing here in Austin and I’m not exaggerating. It’s really freezing here, talk of potential icing – which makes being back from 80 and sunny weather a bit harder to take. I had a very relaxing time in Mexico. Surprisingly, I got no resistance to bringing anything less than… Read more »