Cancer Screening

There was a free melanoma screening event going on at several of the local hospitals/clinics today, so I took my boyfriend there. He has many many moles all over his body, and although he is Asian, that isn't an automatic guaranteed protection from skin cancer. These screenings are free and there for many good reasons with good intent, so why not use the available resources?

First, I had the doctor check his back, which has a light colored but large mole which the doctor said is probably is a birth mark and nothing to worry about. Although the shape is large and irregular, the mole itself is even in tone and very light. He has other darker spots around his back that he should stay aware of but are too small for any kind of intervention at the moment.

I then asked the physician to check his legs, which do have darker spots/moles. Indeed, he pointed to a few more which were a little darker and bigger and requires attention to make sure they don't get bigger or change in any way.

Then, he found a lesion in the lateral portion of his calf. I knew he had that mole/moles - I called it the triangle of moles and jokingly told my bf that I will use that mark to identify his body if his face had become too damaged. I honestly thought it was a clump of three moles that were close together, and my bf said he thinks he's had for quite a while. So I wasn't too worried. The doctor, however, did say that was very abnormal and needed to be removed and biopsied immediately - within a week. My gut says that it's benign because it's been there fore the 2 years that I've dated him and I don't think it's changed in the 2 years I've been with him either.

We'll set up an appointment this week to get the lesion excised.

But the lesson is - free screenings are such great events. Everyone should take advantage of them. They're preventative and can catch diseases which have great prognosis with early intervention. People may scorn and say - oh hyperchondriacs - but really, better safe than sorry. This is a perfectly rational and reasonable way to ease any anxiety and make sure your health is at its best. Nothing is lost at all. What is truly ridiculous is to freak out and pile up with worries and pay hundreds of dollars to see physician after physician for expensive diagnostics... when quick screenings are free. Even a quick trip to the family doctor is relatively cheap with insurance. And, what is truly sad, is to notice something about your body that doesn't seem right then NOT do anything about it... until it's really too late.

Life is too short.. take small preventative measures early on and prevent major damage and pain later on.