Skin Cancer !!

Well, this is no joke. When out fishing or ?? cover your ears, arms, and almost any exposed skin.
Already dealt with Squeamish cell cancer on ear, now it seems I have to have surgery on my dad gum forearm
Don't yet know if it's more Squeamish or Basil cell yet. Just hope they can get it all.
Looks like all those years out in the sun are now showing up and have to 'pay the piper'

Found out the hard way, baseball cap and sort sleeve shirt is not the apparel to use.
Hope none of ya'll get this stuff...
Cover up, have fun fishing....little uncomfortable but the alternative is NOT good

God Bless us all
Lee

I wish you a speedy and successful surgery to get rid of that. My Grandfather had to have several surgeries to remove spots he had gotten from years and years of working outside, the last one was nearly his whole right ear. I believe in covering up, do I do it every time, no, but I am a firm believer in how bad the sun can be over time.

Peace and Bent Rods

HuknBull67

thank you and Welcome
Just not sure how much 'meat' I'm going to lose this time.
God Bless us all
Lee

Best of luck Lee. Maybe it's basil cell and not too deep.

Gotcha.
I had a "spot" show up on my nose several years ago. Had to have it biopsied and sent to lab. Turned out it was nothing, but that tool the doctor used to take out a chunk of skin looked like a piece of spaghetti, but felt like a jumbo pencil from kindergarten.
Would have made the perfect country and western song, "my ears are full of tears lying on my back crying over the biopsy".
I had to go to long sleeve micro mesh shirts and wear a buff. Still haven't moved to the long pants, still wear knee length shorts and tennis shoes, no sandals.
My wife would call me in the middle of the lake asking am I wearing my sunscreen.
My plan is to be around for her a long time... It's worth it to me....

Wishing you well, my friend.

Prayers and best wishes. Thank you
for posting. I will take your advice and hope other do as well.

Thanks ya'll. I'm hoping this time it's not that deep.....lost 1/2 one ear....Lord knows what and how much of my arm.
Just thought I would pass along so my hopes are that none of ya'll have to go through this.
Sucks....
God Bless us all
Lee

Good advice. I'm a redhead who grew up in the 70's-80's and sunscreen was never even spoken of growing up. Waited til afer getting burned then put something on it. Paying for it now, but at least so far it's all been basal cell and not something worse, even though the scars from the stitches are still pretty ugly. I cover up every time out now and encourage everyone else to do the same. Wide brim hats, neck gaiters, sunscreen and always long sleeves. In the long run you'll be glad you did. Thanks for the post, Lee.

Blond here, fair skinned. I'm 60.

I became a big fan of high SPF sun screen as soon as it hit the market and I've used it religiously since. Many of my fishing buddies actually refused to put it on.

Had a check up a month ago. Doc checked face, ears, arms, the usually vulnerable areas.
No issues.

The product works IF you put it on.

Some of the new shirts with built in hoods are awesome. Even Academy now has them. Sun gloves work well too. I grew up before they had sunscreen, so I go to the dermatologist every six months. The key is early detection when the growth is still small.

Agree 100%. I've tried several different brands and as of now Gillz is my favorite. Their neck gaiters and shirts with hoods are the best I've found so far.

Have a really good friend that was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma a few years ago. He was a fisherman just like the rest of us and it all started with one tiny spot on his neck. After brain surgery, losing part of a lung and countless procedures he beat it but I can assure you there are not many that can. Put on sun screen trust me it's not worth the risk....

I go to the dermatologist every 6 months for a full body scan. At 69, I have had 4 melanomas removed.

I go with its of sunscreen and wear one of those hats that look like a Star Wars storm trooper helmet. My wife hates that hat, but if you trade your ball cap for it on a hot sunny day you'll see that it has an immediate cooling effect as well as protecting you from the sun. I, too have had a little carcinoma cut off my ear.

Prayers sent your way, God Bless!

Best and most important post of the year. Great advice from all posters and we MUST ALL PAY HEED. I've had my fair share of trips to the dermatologist and two surgeries. I am a believer now of preventive care of my skin. Not many layers left. Thanks Lee for posting and may God bless you in your recovery and healing.

I am 73 years old and last month my skin DR. removed 3 pre-cancerous things on my face.
The rest of my body was clear
Been fishing and out in the sun all my life. Feel very fortunate.
I do use sunscreen now on a regular basis.

Dang Lee, sorry to hear that!! Thanks for reminding all of us to take care of ourselves. It is very important. I started wearing the long sleeves, sun-gloves and buff a few years ago.
I'll pray for you and your recovery.

Thanks all, appreciate that. Just wanted to pass along any information so hopefully none of you have to go through this.
Just found out and surgery is on the 8th.....so I'll find out then.....
Danged old Texas sun is wonderful AND possibly dangerous.


God Bless us all

Lee

Prayers up . Mom's side was really fair and the grands had several surgeries to remove spots . Dad's folks were darker but he always covered up when working outside . He never had a problem .

Cover up!! Wear good wrap around sunglasses too or risk growths on your eyes and face eye surgery. That's something I'm not looking (no pun) forward to.

Hang in there. Prayers up.

I had surgery for Melanoma on my forearm in March 2015. I didn't tell anyone at the time,I just dealt with it. Take sun protection serious because it is. Wear wrap around sun glasses also because you can get Melanoma in your eyes too. Don't take it lightly. That stuff can just show up out of no where. You don't feel any different but when you go to the dermatologist to let them look at the brown spot.....they get serious with you in a hurry. They cut a 3" X 2.5" section out of top of my arm to make sure they got it all. Then....they stitch it up and the stitches are so tight the bottom on my arm had a bad burning sensation for 3-weeks because the skin has to stretch to accommodate the section that is missing. Couldn't straighten my arm for two weeks or it would pull the stitches out. It's not fun. I am sharing this so you guys will take it seriously. I now have half moon shaped dip in the top of my arm.

I don't even like getting out in the sun now and I avoid it in the middle of the day. I still fish tournaments but I wear all the SPF clothes and sunblock that I can. And it's still on my mind while I am fishing.

My team partner back in the late 80's went to get a couple of spots on his neck checked out. His wife was on him about it, but he kept putting it off. Once he went, it was cancer. Spread quickly. We buried him 6 months after he went to the doc. Make sure you use Sunscreen with high SPF, long sleeve shirts, wide brim hats to protect yourself the best you can.

Forgot to mention. Good Luck with your surgery Lee.

Count me in too. Grew up getting burned all the time back in the 60s-80s. Saw a spot on my chest and had it checked. Turned out to be melanoma. Had the Mohs (sp) surgery which took out a spot about the size of a golfball. They didn't stitch it back though, just let it grow back which took months. Apparently got it all. My Mom has had 4-5 melanomas removed from neck, back and leg, luckily all were caught while really small. Just have to be diligent and constantly look for them.

Good luck lee whish for a fast recovery for the fall bite! Good info

I've had basil cell cut off of forearm , looks like my wife bit a hunk off my arm for the at fudge bar in freezer ( but that's a whole other story) Had it removed from ears, forehead, & the other forearm. It's learning a new process you check wallet , keys, Hat( full round brim),& long sleeves.
They went about 3 inches deep into my arm ,scare only dips down about 1/2 inch. GOOD LUCK

Need to start protecting myself now especially since I work outside every day

Fast Recovery Lee. You're not missing much on eagle mtn right now

Praying for you








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I'm glad to see this thread getting so much attention. I routinely cut off skin cancers as part of my job. Please wear sunscreen, hats, and sleeves unless you want to help me send my kids to college. I have had 2 skin cancers removed myself (a basal cell carcinoma and the more serious squamous cell carcinoma). I was one of those kids who ran around without his shirt on and got multiple sunburns as a child. Please cover up your children also because multiple blistering sunburns early in life is a significant and well-documented risk factor for developing skin cancer later as an adult. To some degree, my parents are to blame and I refuse to be that same parent who accepts sunburns every summer as just part of living in Texas.

I keep a bottle of sunscreen in my boat at all times. While I used to keep it hidden in the compartment with my motor oil, I now keep it in my passenger drink holder so that I see it and remind myself to spray it on before heading out. I also wear a hat and a "buff" which hopefully provides the sun protection they advertise. When you're young and invincible, the sun is your fun friend. But when you get older and people start cutting off parts of your skin, you realize the sun is not your friend.

Well said. Thank you for that.

Lee, I hope everything turns out okay for you. Good Luck.

Friend just had melanoma removed behind his ear. After skin graft it still left a hole the size of a 1/2 dollar. Looks like Phil Mickelson took a big divot with a wedge to his noggin.

We can not be reminded about this enough...my dad has had all kinds of spots cut off. I am careful to cover up and remind others...no shame in that either.

Awareness is key - get will sir!

First time poster , I live in California , my son moved to Frisco Texas last October and turned me onto this website . First off , Lee , thoughts and prayers for your recovery , I have been in your shoes many times. After 40 years of bass fishing and 14 years of coaching baseball for my son , I have had the past 15 years of multiple skin cancer scenarios --Mohs , curettage , electrodesiccation ,cryosurgery , and various topical treatments .
It's really a numbers game , the more actinic keratosis you have and the longer you leave them unattended , the more likely they will turn into something more serious . I go in yearly for a review , sometimes more often if I see a suspicious spot . If you attack these spots early and often , they tend to be easier to keep from a more serious scenario. I use three methods to do this , cryosurgery for the visable spots , Levulan bluelight therapy to attack the "unseen " spots and Fluorouacil for the stubborn spots , including SC and BC's. Mohs surgery as a last resort . If you use Fluoruoacil , just be ready to look really bad for at least a month , but it works really good . I also use a physical sunscreen and not a chemical sunscreen . I believe the chemical sunscreens are slightly toxic to the immune system (Oxybenzene and Avobenzene are highly suspicious in general) If you use physical type sunscreens and don't like to have that "white" ghost appearance , the brand I prefer is Replenix . It is a little expensive , but it doesn't have that "white" appearance and has no bad chemical ingredients .
I hope to catch my first Texas bass with my son very soon !
Tight lines ,
Robb

Prayers Sent. Get healed up soon and I hope to see you pretty soon.

I have been wearing the long sleves and a huge hat along with sunscreen.

Best wishes for a quick recovery, Lee!

That stuff is no joke. Had a spot taken out a few months ago, hope they got it all out.

My Father in law had another Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) removed from his lower eyelid. This is his 4th, all required reconstruction surgery. I could post some photos but they are a little too much for a public forum. He is 94 now was a peanut farmer is his youth and is paying for it now. I can tell you that his struggle through these has been a call of awakening. We all need to be diligent in our protection. So many are prepared to carry arms of protection now a days and disregard the protection from the Sun, it is a bad choice to do so and one you will regret later.

Hope all goes well Lee