But I'm Too Young to Have Skin Cancer!

When the phone rang, I had a feeling that I would be receiving bad news. The caller ID unit showed that it was my dermatologist calling with the results from my skin biopsy. "I hate to tell you this...," the doctor paused, "Your biopsy results show that you have basal cell carcinoma. Or in other words skin cancer."

Skin Cancer? How could this be? I'm only thirty-nine years old. I've never been a sun-worshiper. I've never been to a tanning booth, or played outdoor sports, or had an outdoor job. I've never even taken a spring break vacation down south like all my other classmates. Of all the people in the world to get skin cancer, why me?

I did some research and was surprised to find that I really did have many risk factors. Risk factors include having light colored skin, blue or green eyes, blond or red hair, over-exposure to x-rays or other forms of radiation, or a history of skin cancer in relatives. I am a fair-skinned, blond hair person with green eyes and a family history of skin cancer. I was more at risk than I had initially thought.

Basal cell carcinoma is a type of non-melanoma skin cancer. It is the most common form of cancer in the United States. About a million new cases are diagnosed in the United States each year. The majority of these cancers occur on areas of skin that are regularly exposed to sunlight or other ultraviolet radiation.

I first noticed the red mark on my nose when I was thirty-seven years old. I figured it was just an old acne scar. Every day I would put concealer on it and wonder why it wasn't going away. There were days when it would bleed when I washed my face, but I figured it was just a dry spot. It would appear to be healing because a new layer of flaky skin would start to cover it, but it never healed completely. It became an accepted form of annoyance for me.

My inner voice kept nagging at me to get it checked out. I even called a dermatologist to set up an appointment. The next available appointment was three months away. I didn't want to wait that long, so I hung up without making an appointment.