My sister went in to her dermatologist today because she had a spot (it kind of just looked like a zit with no head to me) on her face. She said it had been there for a few days, and she was feeling like it was not just a zit, that it was something more serious than that. The doctor told her that it looked like a basal cell carcinoma. He had to cut it out and sent it in to the lab to be sure. Removing it was fairly painful for my sister, and she now has 8 stitches right below her left eye.

We do have a family history of melanoma, and also squamous cell and basal cell carcinoma, so it is not terribly surprising for this to show up on my sister. Knowing that you are at a higher risk for these types of cancer, does not make receiving the news any less hard to bear. Cancer is that six letter word that nobody ever wants to hear, trust me – I know…

I think that it is important for everybody to have a full body screening by a dermatologist. One in every five Americans is diagnosed with skin cancer, making it the most common type of skin cancer. It is also one of the most treatable cancers, and if you catch any problems early, you are at a much lower risk at life threatening problems. While nobody likes the thought of getting undressed and looked over by a doctor, I highly recommend this preventative measure.