Terry Martin’s passing from Melanoma is just another reminder of just how dangerous this cancer is. As watermen, we’ve all been over exposed over the years, especially us older riders who grew up clueless about sun exposure and use of sunscreen during the earlier years.
And Melanoma is so insidious, a small spot can literally be the tip of a metastasized nightmare, whereas if detected early enough, it’s fully treatable. I’m fairly aggressive about seeing the skin doc, go every 6 months, having spent years running bluewater boats and boarding powder in the high country as well as almost five decades surfing. Every visit I get newly appeared barnacles burnt off, and usually end up with a biopsy from the latest mole that had shown some changes.
We’ve probably all know at least one, probably more, surfer who has been mowed down by Melanoma. The first I knew was a red haired youngster who was a fixture at 4 Mile, north of Santa Cruz back in the early 70’s, seemed to always have a sun cracked lip. Then one day, ‘did you hear about’…never saw him again.
A couple others I know went down, and a good mate of mine in West Oz was lucky and caught a Melanoma in the early go stages, as did his wife just a year later. Both a bit scarred up from the surgeries, as many older West Oz vets are, still here and kicking thankfully.
So if you’re not already, see the skin doc for a head to toe. Learn to ‘road map’ your body, and know when to see the skin doc immediately if you detect any changes that shouldn’t be there…
Totally agree! My father had one on his calf at age 19. They cut it out, leaving a big of a crater and he lived to be mid 80’s w/ not recurrance. But that brings me to my big question that I have never gotten an answer to including from skin docs who act as though I never spoke when I ask them:
In women, the most common site is the legs and melanomas in men are most common on the back. So if UV/sun exposure is the main cause, why isn’t the main site of melanoma on the face or scalp or arms?
just be careful of products with nano-particles…apparently they can be part of the problem not the cure. 70% of sun creams use this and according to researchers they can increase your risk of skin cancer. read on…
thing about Melanoma, it can pop out anywhere, not just on areas of the skin that are the most sun exposed. A common pathology are Melanomas that start with a small mole on the bottom of the foot, even between the toes.
Not always sun, either, can be genetic susceptibility. My mother, 87, just finished treatment for the second Melanoma in her life, the other was when she was in her 40’s. This is a woman who has avoided the sun like a plague her whole life.
I see mates at the beach with obvious sun damage, suggest they see a skin doctor, they tend to ignore the suggestion, don’t want to deal with it. My skin doc here in Oregon says he averages 15 - 20 Melanoma diagnoses a month in his practice, almost always folks who have never seen a skin doc before and waited until they had a really obvious problem. For too many of them, he says, they waited too late.