Sunny Days Are Here Again

Sherrill Pool Elizondo, Age 74

I’m 74 and live in Texas. Summers are brutally hot and becoming hotter and the sun more intense. Several years ago I began seeing a dermatologist to remove skin tags. Nothing else turned out to be serious. At that time I wasn’t having a total body check. Nothing on my skin looked suspicious (even certain moles)…just skin issues like Eczema at certain times of the year and spots called Seborrheic Keratosis. When I was growing up in South Texas I ran around outdoors daily. Back then parents didn’t slather sunscreen on their kids! As a parent, I didn’t apply sunscreen on my sons either and they were often out all summer on their bikes. I now regret not making them put on sun protection but I don’t recall that many parents did this either except when going to the beach. When I went with my family to the beach for a week as a kid, I DO recall we weren’t allowed outside during the heat of the day and not allowed to swim except early in the morning or late afternoon. Something I tried with my own sons but wasn’t always successful.

In the 60’s and 70’s, most of us recall sun bathing during the summer. I used sun tan lotion but it didn’t contain high SPF. Others used baby oil to get a rich deep dark tan. I was a blond but tanned easily…most of us wanted a healthy looking tan! I’d burn slightly and then tan..never a blistering burn or skin that peeled. I recall only one bad sunburn in adult years. I’d gone to St. Croix in the Virgin Islands with my husband on a business trip in the 90’s.The wives went to the beach one day and had a lovely time being served rum drinks and enjoying a breezy cloudy day. I got a very bad sunburn that prevented us from going on a boat excursion the following day. A cloudy day doesn’t prevent sunburn!

April 2021 I went to the dermatologist. I had a sore on my scalp near my temple that was not healing and assumed that it was a pimple or just dry skin. I’d mess with it and sometimes the area bled. The dermatologist removed precancerous spots near one wrist and examined my scalp. She said we could wait for a while to see if it would heal, as that was my wish, and she gave me a cortisone injection in the area. The following spring I returned to see her. The “sore” hadn’t healed. She examined a small red area on my shoulder (about the size of an eraser on a pencil) and said that it, as well as the sore on scalp, definitely needed to be biopsied. In a few days a nurse called and told me the biopsies showed Basal Cell Carcinoma. I was surprised! I guess I thought I was immune to skin cancer. An appointment was set to meet with the MOHS surgeon in the dermatologist’s office on April 26. This would take several hours so I was told to bring snacks and a book to read.

The surgeon removed the small spot on my shoulder and, after checking under a microscope, she was able to determine the skin cancer was completely removed. I got another injection to numb pain on the larger spot on scalp. After the first scrape, it was determined the doctor would have to do it again.That time it was completely removed but required stitches.This meant applying an antibiotic at home and returning for follow up to remove stitches in May. Everything looked normal on my return but I needed to go back in 4 weeks for yet another follow up. I returned to see dermatologist in February, 2023 and she found another small spot to be biopsied and took care of one precancerous spot on my face. I’d moved from the area I lived in for 42 years and needed to make a 3 hour trip for the appointment in March. MOHS surgeon was not required and dermatologist was able to freeze area. I try to remember, if I’ll be outside any length of time, to apply sun block and wear a hat…the hat I often forget! I use facial sunscreen and BB cream or makeup with SPF and try to stay inside during the hours of the day when the sun is most intense.

I hope all of you take precautions with your skin this summer especially but year round as well! I feel fortunate that what I had was not squamous cell carcinoma or Melanoma. It was explained to me that I had accumulated sun exposure over a lifetime which caused skin cancer. However, the dermatologist said that even ONE bad sunburn can cause this. Be safe! Get yourself checked out with a dermatologist.