Fishing Forum

[cool][#0000ff]TubeBabe and I just got a call from our dermatologist to schedule our annual skin cancer checkup. A regular thing and a good thing for folks our age who have spent as much time in the sun as we have. We work hard to cover our skin and to dose well with high SPF sunscreen but we still have some "spots" to freeze off every year. Great weight loss program.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I only wish I had known in my youth what I know now. Probably wouldn't have made much difference because young folks all think they are immortal and don't need to worry about overexposure to sun until they are older. WRONG. It is the sunburns and the heavy doses of sun you get in your younger years that increases your chances of getting skin cancer when you are older.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Over 2,000,000 cases of skin cancer every year in the US. Many of those become fatal melanoma. Most could have been removed and the outcome much better if they had been diagnosed earlier. And a very high percentage could have been prevented by taking better care of your skin while you were younger...and especially when out on the water. Water magnifies the effects of sunlight on human skin.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have lost a couple of former fishing buddies to skin cancer...almost certainly as a result of spending a lot of time on the water with little or no concern for covering up or using sunscreen. One buddy...Gary Lindstrom (Big Dog)...was a fishing buddy in northern California. We went different directions and he ended up running a guide service on the Kenai River in Soldotna, Alaska. About 4 years ago he noticed some crusty patches on his ears...early in the season...and just figured it was basic sunburn before his skin was conditioned to the long days on the river. By the end of the season...when he went to the doctor...it had become malignant melanoma and he did not last much longer after that.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Recently had a cousin in Idaho...a few years younger than me...who had a golf ball sized chunk of flesh removed from the back of her leg...in a spot where she had gotten sunburned a few times in her youth. All of us kids ran around with few clothes all summer and we all got burned a lot.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Been reading fishing reports on the board and I am amazed at how many anglers seem to feel it is a badge of honor to come home fried by the sun. There is really no excuse for it and every time you damage your skin like that you are shortening your life. Wonder if your heirs will appreciate your "toughness" at your funeral.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Harsh? yep. But not as harsh as skin cancer.[/#0000ff]
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[quote lavaman]+1[/quote]

and who was complaining about getting a bit crispy after Saturday's adventure??? [shocked]

Good reminder TD. Sorry to hear of your lost comrades. My dad was always one to cover up, hide in the shade, wearing long sleeves and pants at the beach - we always laughed at him. Even with all that, he's had a number of spots frozen and shaved off.

Trust me - you do NOT want to end up looking like THIS lady! The tan-aholic mom!
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I've come to realize that Yote ain't happy unless he's on here posting 24/7...and also unless someone else other than him gets skunked. LOL

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[cool][#0000ff]Wouldn't want to be her kid either.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I was just thinking last week that I was one of those in high school...in southern Cal...who always had to be one of the first with a good tan and then maintain it as long as possible through the year. There were times I was nearly as dark as the "lovely" lady in the picture. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I have sometimes wondered where a lot of my school chums are these days...and how their skin looks. Beautiful then but maybe not so much these days.[/#0000ff]
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Now have you heard theat some scientists are suspecting sunscreen as a possible cause of melanoma. No joke it's out there, you can't win for losing. If they are correct now what? I just got my SPF shirts from BPS the other day.
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I've come to the conclusion that just being alive is detremental to your health.
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[cool][#0000ff]Nothing surprises me any more. Almost any chemical substance exposed to human tissue over time will result in some negative changes. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]And marriage is the leading cause of divorce.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Heard about a 60 year old guy who was told by his doctor to stop smoking or it would kill him. Sure enough, at age 107 he died.[/#0000ff]
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Gonna toss in that not only melanoma, but even lowly squamous cell carcinoma CAN be fatal, if not detected or treated early.

In addition, smoking increases the risk of EVERY type of cancer manifold. Eat your veggies, because cabbage, broccoli, tomatoes, etc fight cancer. Also, vitamin D like crazy.

Tanning used to be an attribute of the laboring classes, and no gentleman or woman would be caught dead with a tan. Tanning is tied for the worst fad ever, as far as I'm concerned.
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Oh man, and I've burned myself good the last couple of weeks. Last year I burned the front of my legs everytime I took out the pontoon too.

Good advice TD. I know I should listen.
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"...Also, vitamin D like crazy. "

The best source of vitamin D is sunshine.[crazy]
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For us its mass quantities of sun screen (face, ears, neck, nose, hands arms, legs) including wearing the SPF rated fishing long sleeve shirts and pants along with hats. I also wear lightweight SPF rated fishing gloves without the fingers...Its fun being out in the Sun but one must also be mindful of the harm that can be done. Also good quality sun glasses. [cool][cool]
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Hey TD, good post and I know it full of important and true facts...

I figure my smokes and whiskey should take care of me long before the sun can. In fact, it is my retirment plan. they should get me before i need to retire.

I too have some fishing buddies and life long friends in the same boat (pun intinded). both have had multiple "cut offs" through the years. they tell me the same thing.

Wouldn't you say early detection is just as important as covering up? My friends, in my opinion, are a little ahead of the game by getting things checked out early and having it dealt with.
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[font "Calibri"]We (Wife and I) lost our dad AND grand-dad to melanoma. My friends it’s an ugly death. By the time it was over, dad had ¾ of his nose removed and his forehead looked like Frankenstein. [/font]
[font "Calibri"]It took 5 years to take grandpa, long and slow. It stripped his once proud 6’4”, 240lbs frame down to around 120ish. A little cream can go a long way![/font]
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I can second what Tubedude said. I'm 28 years old and red on the head, which has meant of been red on the face far too many times when I was younger. I try really hard to stay covered (maybe you've seen my makeshift fishing hat), and keep up on the sun screen but it might be too little too late. Last year I went to the skin doctor and had my first pre-cancer spot frozen off from my face. It was a wake up call for me and I have a mission to now protect my little ones.

I recently read a study done that said children who get even one severe sunburn as a child dramatically increases the chances of getting skin cancer as an adult. So cover up and use sunscreen!
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A good reminder. Just last week I went in to have some spots looked at. They were "pre cancer" and removed very easily. Regular check ups sure would be easier than the alternative...

Nothin' I can do about what I did as a child. And, there's not much I can do about the lack of protection I now have on the top of my head - except accept that "hat hair" is 'en vogue.'
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"Wouldn't you say early detection is just as important as covering up? My friends, in my opinion, are a little ahead of the game by getting things checked out early and having it dealt with."

[cool][#0000ff]VERY.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]As others have mentioned, we can't turn back the clock and undo what we have already done...or not done. If we have experienced damaging burns in the past about the only thing we can do is to be watchful and go to PROFESSIONALS...real dermatologists.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]One of the reminders I got just a week or so ago was from a female BFTer who had a "growth" for a while. Her regular doctor told her it was nothing to worry about. But another doctor demanded she have it removed and biopsied. Yep. Early stage of the big C...but not serious...yet. Could have been in a year.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]We all have our bad habits and vices. Some are easier to give up than others and some are worse for us than others. What we do for and to our bodies is our own business and nobody else's. But if people really knew just how mean and nasty it is to die from cancer they would not be quite so flip about it. A couple of other members have alluded to that situation.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]Not trying to be preachy. Just a friendly reminder to everybody and hopefully somebody who might take it to heart and prevent what is preventable.[/#0000ff]

[#0000ff]Nobody gets out of this life alive...and there are never any armored cars in a funeral procession. In other words, enjoy the life you have and take good care of yourself. And spend your last dollar as you are checking out of this "program"...cause you ain't gonna take it with you.[/#0000ff]
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