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Skin Cancer...That is a scary thought. If you know me, you know that ever since my sophomore year of college, I have been addicted to the tanning bed. I choose my words wisely because it is an addiction. It becomes an image booster when you hit that point where you have to be tan to feel good about yourself. That is such a selfish act on my part knowing what my mom has been through for as long as I have been around. I had been hearing for a while that I needed to stop tanning because it is extremely bad for me for the obvious reasons and given my family history. But honestly it was going in one ear and out the other for a long time. The last time I went to the tanning bed was early this year. And only due to the fact that I was busy all the time with work did I stop going. It wasn't until I went home one weekend about a month ago after my mom had a skin doctor visit. She had several visible spots on her hands and her face that skin cancer had been taken off. This has been something she has dealt with twice a year for a very very long time. But for some reason, it hit me differently this time. I made a promise to her and Eric that I would never go in the tanning bed again. I also decided that I needed to know about my own skin. So I went to the doctor hoping everything would be fine. I'm young, nothing like cancer could happen to me, right? Well, I guess I was wrong. I had to get two biopsys that day, on my stomach and my ear, with the instructions that I would know the results in about a week. I heard back from the doctor and they let me know I had to come back in to have more removed from my ear because it came back pre-cancerous and they wanted to make sure it was all gone. So, not exactly skin cancer (thank God!) but enough to scare me. Enough to make me more aware of the spots on my body so I can continue to monitor them throughout the year and start to wear sunscreen on a daily basis. I may feel less positive about my body image, but that will change over time. I am just happy to know that I am healthy, and I could have added years to my life by changing my ways.

Here is a picture of my wound...

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