Angie's Malignant Melanoma

by Kylie
(Akron, OH, USA)

Starting when we were in high school my friend Angie was a sun lover. She spent hours laying out in the sun during the summer months.

Then she started going to tanning salons because she wanted to develop a darker tan. She went to the tanning salon daily, all year long and on most days she would also sunbathe in her backyard.

Then she bought her own tanning bed so she could use it as often as she wanted to. This went on until Angie turned 40. That’s when she noticed the spot on her back.

She’d always had a mole there but its appearance had changed dramatically and it changed quickly. She asked me to take a closer look at the mole and I urged her to make an appointment with her doctor.

She made an appointment with her doctor thinking it was nothing. I on the other hand feared the worse. She was diagnosed with Malignant Melanoma two weeks after her 40th birthday.

Luckily they found it early. Her doctor scheduled her for surgery right away. She had the mole removed and some skin around the area as well. She was lucky and made a full recovery.

The only reminder of the Melanoma is the slight scarring and indentation left behind from the surgery. Angie no longer spends hours bathing in the sun.

She uses sunscreen everyday and limits the amount of time she spends in the sun. She wears protective clothing and hats or baseball caps to protect herself from the sun’s harmful UV rays.