I would add if there is something that you think should be biopsied but the Dr's dismiss it, be VERY persistant until it's done. My wife had amelanotic melanoma which is quite rare, colorless and doesn't fit the usual diagnostic criteria and it took 5 years before it was diagnosed and it has now spread so she is now in the 9 month mean survival time group.

Unfortunately most of the vaccine trials have failed to show any benefit compared with standard treatments. Even IFNa-IL2 treatment which is the current gold standard at least at some centers only adds around 12 months to survival time, so melanoma is definitely not something to mess around with.

mises, I'm really sorry to hear that.

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Mises, I'm very sorry to hear about your wife. That's terrible. Best wishes to both of you.

The information presented here about skin cancer is very valuable and I would encourage everyone to print it off and paste it at their desk and at their home. Skin cancer is no joke and it's not a cancer to be treated lightly. It might not seem as tragic as lung or prostate cancer, but don't be fooled - it is just as deadly.

I have so many friends that disregard it. "I'm too pale." "It's not sunny outside, it's cloudy (Oregon)" "A little color is good." Blah, blah, blah. Every excuse in the book. The fact is, color is not good. When your skin obtains color from the skin, it is because damage has been done to the cells. Sure, darker skinned people might have less risk, but that doesn't mean "no" risk.

Remember, the ozone is not getting stronger. It's getting weaker and allowing more "bad" ray's to get through to us. As triathletes we spend a large amount of time outdoors (and how many of you can realistically say you're not training between the peak sun hours of 10-2).

I get checked very frequently by the dermatologist. If it even looks slightly suspicious, I'm on his calendar. I would much rather have a small scar than cancer. I just recently had four removed from my back (thankfully all checked out okay). The downside - I was out of the pool for two weeks. The upside - I have my life and I'm healthy. My Dad has had it, his brother and sister, my uncle ... the odds for me are not "if", but "when". I grew up surfing on the Texas Gulf Coast and I got my share of really bad burns. Back then, suncreen was Coppertone Tanning OIL #4. Basically I would have been better being a piece of bacon lying in a frying pan.

If you have kids, protect them. Never let them go outside without sunscreen. Make them wear good protective hats. And for god's sake, keep your teenage son's and daughters out of the cancer coffin's at the tanning booths. Acne for most kids in the future will be a blessing compared to getting any form of skin cancer.

While this may sound so gloom and doom, just go back and read "mises" email and see what his wife is enduring. It's nasty stuff, so the main thing is - be aware of it and be proactive about covering up.

Dennis