After her surgery, Destiny Harris wears sunscreen religiously and no longer sunbathes.

Destiny Harris of Republic grew up spending every summer weekend at the Table Rock Lake with her friends and family. She received so many compliments on her tan growing up that she maintained her sun-kissed look as an adult by going to tanning salons, even during the
winter.

“I was going to the tanning bed every day for about a year before I was diagnosed with skin cancer. I didn’t use any sunscreen, just baby oil. The darker I could get, the better,” Harris says.
Two years ago, she noticed the mole on the back of her leg began changing shape. It grew larger, and had jagged edges.
“I watched it change shape and kind of ignored it. I didn’t want to think that this was happening to me,” she says. “When I would shave my legs, I would knick it and it would bleed. That was a major light-bulb moment that something wasn’t right. That’s when I decided I needed to have it checked.”

St. John’s Associated Dermatologists’ Raffaele Pennella, M.D., the only board-certified dermatopathologist (skin pathology specialist) in the Ozarks, says skin cancer starts in childhood.
“The sun damage you receive as a child is what can develop into skin cancer when you get older. The damage is already done. People who experience skin cancer seem to experience it as a recurrent life-long problem, so I see most of those patients on a regular basis, about every six to 12 months,” Pennella says.

“I was fortunate,” Harris says. “I was able to catch it soon enough that I was able to have the mole (cancer) removed surgically and didn’t have to go through chemotherapy or radiation.”
Harris adds that that her surgery required a cut 2 inches around the mole, leaving a scar across the back of her leg.

She acknowledges that if she had waited six more months to see a physician, her life could have taken a radically different course.
“There’s a chance that I wouldn’t even be here,” she says.
Today, Harris rejects the sun-kissed look and applies sunscreen not only to herself, but also to her children. She says she also tries to limit their time in the sun.
“I am more aware now, and I try to be an advocate to my friends and family, but they are like I was. I didn’t want to hear about it until I had to. Cancer is a touchy subject. People don’t want to think it could happen to them. But it can, and it will, if you don’t protect yourself from the sun,” she says.

Protect Yourself!

• Do not sunbathe.
• Avoid unnecessary sun exposure, especially between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., the peak hours for harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
• When outdoors, use sunscreens rated SPF 15 or higher. Apply them liberally, uniformly, and frequently.
• When exposed to sunlight, wear protective clothing such as long pants, long-sleeved shirts, broad-brimmed hats, and UV-protective sunglasses.
• Stay away from artificial tanning devices.
• Teach your children good sun protection habits at an early age: The damage that leads to adult skin cancers starts in childhood.
• Examine your skin, head to toe, at least once every three months.
Source: St. John’s Mid-America Cancer Center


Skin cancer Q&A

Q. How can I tell if a skin cancer is developing?
There can be many signs including: a change in a mole, a sore that does not heal, a skin growth that increases in size, and a spot that continues to itch, hurt, scab.
Q. What are the three main forms of skin cancer?
Basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma.
Q. What does SPF mean?
Sun Protection Factor (SPF) measures the length of time a product protects against skin reddening from UVB, compared to how long the skin takes to redden without protection.
Q. Can skin cancer be cured?
Almost all skin cancer that is diagnosed early and treated promptly and appropriately can be cured.
Q. How is skin cancer treated?
Skin cancer may be removed by one of several methods including excisional surgery, curettage-electrodesiccation, cryosurgery, radiation therapy, topical chemotherapy, or by Mohs micrographic surgery.
Q. Are sunscreens suitable for infants and children?
Sunscreens may be used on babies starting at six months of age. But applying a sunscreen should not be an excuse for keeping a child out in the sun too long.