If you or a loved one has been prescribed hydrochlorothiazide, you may want to be extra vigilant about checking for skin changes. That’s because long-term use of this common diuretic has been previously linked to lip and non-melanoma cancers, but a new study may also extend those increased risks to melanoma. “We have recently shown that hydrochlorothiazide use increases the… Read more »
It’s not recent, but a 2012 research study concluded that smartphone apps that are supposed to help people with identifying suspicious moles and growths actually are unreliable. In turn, people delay getting treatment for something. And as we all know, particularly with melanoma, delays are not a good thing. The study, conducted by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, a… Read more »
I’m noticing an interesting trend here on Pink Melanoma. There seems to be lots of inquiries regarding what amelanotic nodular melanoma is and specifically people landing on a previous page here on the blog. Look, I’ll be honest. I really hope people are searching that term because they’ve heard how wildly entertaining this blog is. But the reality is, people… Read more »
The Centers for Disease Control have released a report noting that the cost of treating skin cancer has risen 5 times faster than treatment costs for other types of cancer in a time period from 2002 to 2011. The average annual treatment cost for skin cancer increased 126% just from 2002 to 2006. That’s quite a huge jump, particularly when… Read more »
It has been over a month since my excision. The wound is completely closed up and the infection is completely gone. I’m now in the scar phase. To recap, I had an amelanotic nodular melanoma lesion removed from my knee area. The spot was about the diameter of a pencil eraser, but the excision took a pretty big chunk of… Read more »
In the #LoveMe Challenge, today I’m supposed to share something that makes me unique. I have a wonky eye. When I was born, both my eyes seemed to work well. But my parents noticed when I was about 9 months old, my left eye began to wander. And I began showing decreased hand-eye coordination reaching for things with my left… Read more »
Ironically, today’s #LoveMe Challenge is to share a scar…As readers of this blog may already know, I recently had an excision of an amelanotic nodular melanoma tumor removed from my knee. I’ve already covered the story of how it was found, how it was excised, and some of the “fun” of the recovery. Technically, I guess what I’m sharing isn’t… Read more »
Since I had been diagnosed with amelanotic nodular melanoma in early December 2014, I’ve actually been pretty cautious about who I tell. Blog nonwithstanding, I haven’t gone public on social media asking for prayers and positive thoughts. Part of me loathes those messages because unless you are actually a close friend, you’ll half-heartedly post “Praying for you” and then go… Read more »
What the heck does amelanotic nodular melanoma even mean?
Yesterday, I called my parents to wish them a Happy New Year. I had to time the call for halftime of the early bowl games – and absolutely avoid any of the Ohio State-Alabama pre-game coverage or my dad would probably disown me. Anyway, I was chatting with my mom and realized that she was paranoid that everyone in my… Read more »