On 1/4/2007
Hallielevine wrote:
Hello. My name is Hallie Levine Sklar and I am writing a piece for the May issue of Family Circle on women and skin cancer. I am looking for women in their 40s and early 50s to interview who have had basal cell carcinoma. If you are interested in participating, please email me at
--- Message edited by CancerCompass staff: for personal protection, email address removed. Please review CancerCompass Member Guidelines at
http://www.cancercompass.com/common/guidelines.html ----
Thank you
I'm a 28 year old female who just had surgery in October to have a malignant melanoma removed from my leg. I was misdiagnosed over a year ago by my general practitioner and told that I must have shaved off a mole from my leg. She told me I now had "scar tissue on my leg, and that I shouldn't be shaving above my knees anyways. Over a year later I wasn't satisfied with that answer and that bump on my leg was still growing. I thought "scar tissue" would heal and not continue to grow. So I called a dermatologist and it turned out I had a nodular malignant melanoma. I'm a fair skinned, red-head. I also had a basal cell melanoma removed from my clavicle during my surgery which wasn't as critical as the 1.6 mm thick tumor on my leg. During the surgery, my dr. biopsied four lymph nodes in my groin and they were all negative for cancer. I am now having regular checkups with my dermatologist, surgeon, and oncologist. Oh, and trusting myself more than ever before.
Why did I decide to make that phone call to the dermatologist after a year? My two year old would touch that "scar tissue" on my leg whenever he got a chance and it was exposed. And they say God doesn't perform miracles anymore........
You're free to contact me through my email. I know you said you wanted to interview 40 and 50 year old women, but I would love for you to consider women in their 20s as well, as skin cancer is the most common form of cancer for women in my age group, and it is so much more curable if found early. I'd love to help educate women about checking their bodies for the moles and spots that have changed, because drs. don't see changes like we do.
Thanks,
Laura
I'm a 28 year old female who just had surgery in October to have a malignant melanoma removed from my leg. I was misdiagnosed over a year ago by my general practitioner and told that I must have shaved off a mole from my leg. She told me I now had "scar tissue on my leg, and that I shouldn't be shaving above my knees anyways. Over a year later I wasn't satisfied with that answer and that bump on my leg was still growing. I thought "scar tissue" would heal and not continue to grow. So I called a dermatologist and it turned out I had a nodular malignant melanoma. I'm a fair skinned, red-head. I also had a basal cell melanoma removed from my clavicle during my surgery which wasn't as critical as the 1.6 mm thick tumor on my leg. During the surgery, my dr. biopsied four lymph nodes in my groin and they were all negative for cancer. I am now having regular checkups with my dermatologist, surgeon, and oncologist. Oh, and trusting myself more than ever before.
Why did I decide to make that phone call to the dermatologist after a year? My two year old would touch that "scar tissue" on my leg whenever he got a chance and it was exposed. And they say God doesn't perform miracles anymore........
You're free to contact me through my email. I know you said you wanted to interview 40 and 50 year old women, but I would love for you to consider women in their 20s as well, as skin cancer is the most common form of cancer for women in my age group, and it is so much more curable if found early. I'd love to help educate women about checking their bodies for the moles and spots that have changed, because drs. don't see changes like we do.
Thanks,
Laura