There was a recent article on Prevention.com about a doctor’s advice to avoid cancer. The usual suspects were there: avoid stress (could someone explain how in modern society we can avoid stress? Maybe we can mitigate it but there’s really no way to completely avoid it…); exercise regularly; and volunteering. But one of the items concerned mold, specifically the types… Read more »
Antioxidants have been promoted as being wonder substances, capable of fighting aging, cancer, and all kinds of other harmful things. But a new report from the researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center suggests the opposite – antioxidants may promote the growth of cancer – in mice. The researchers transplanted melanoma cells treated with antioxidants or nothing to… Read more »
This weekend, I made the trek down I-35 to San Antonio for a long-awaited concert – Ricky Martin. I had only been vaguely aware of Menudo (the boy band he was in way back in the day); but living in Miami in the 90’s, I had grown to be a fan of his Spanish language songs. When he released “Maria” –… Read more »
I had my nine month check up yesterday. As always, it’s a bit of nervous tension in the room, which I try my best to defuse by saying ridiculously inappropriate things. Making the doctor and her assistant laugh is my goal. I’m hoping that they will be extra vigilant in checking out things in order to keep me around to make… Read more »
Yesterday was my birthday and it was a time of fun, but also reflection. I woke up thinking that this time last year – things were so different. I was still waking up in the same bed, same room but I was waking up a year older, a year wiser, a year sadder, and a year different than the person… Read more »
Michael Flatley, the Irish dancer most well-known for Riverdance, was diagnosed in 2003 with malignant melanoma. He states in an article in the Irish Mirror that his diagnosis prompted him to take a hard look at his life and reevaluate his priorities. Wealth and material things were no longer as important as his family, friends, and his art. Getting a… Read more »
It is my sixth month anniversary of my excision…Six months since the diagnosis of melanoma became real. I was aware of the fact that there was an invader in my system; but that morning, riding in the car with my husband and my parents to the dermatologist’s office, the fact that I had skin cancer was very real in a… Read more »
Amelanotic nodular melanoma obviously is one of the prime examples of skin cancer not arising from an existing mole. At least, in my experience, that is true. Now a study reported in June 2015 at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting has added its voice. According to the analysis of researchers, they discovered that non-mole melanomas “tend to be… Read more »
It has been a few days since the five-month mark of my amelanotic nodular melanoma excision. In a week or so, it’ll be the six-month mark from my diagnosis. Obviously, I get to celebrate that milestone with a visit to the dermatologist for my every-three-months check-up. At this point, I’m not exactly sure that she’ll find any moles that will… Read more »
By now, you’ve probably seen the news story of a young woman named Tawny who used to use a tanning bed frequently in her teens. The graphic image contained in the story shows a beautiful young lady with red blisters and scabs all over her face after a round of treatment for her basal cell and squamous cell cancer lesions…. Read more »