MSI Press Blog

  May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month. That gains attention close to home. I just had stitches removed from skin cancer surgery (last week).  According to my surgeon, skin cancer can take the form of melanoma , basal cell carcinoma , or squamous cell carcinoma . Of the three, melanoma is more dangerous because it spreads easily and quickly. Squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma can usually be excised.  Both my late husband and I have experienced squamous cell carcinoma. For him, it appeared like a little horn on his forehead. It was easily excised and left no scar. Mine was more insidious. An "age spot" appeared out of nowhere, then grew, then changed shape, then because pussy, bled, and itched. The Skin Institute did not believe it was cancerous, but I insisted on an early biopsy -- and I was right. When something appears to be very wrong, it usually is very wrong, and the patient is still his or her own best advocate. We were fortunate. With squamous cell carc...

  Who would have thunk? There appears to be a link between skin cancer and acne. Well, every bit of forewarning helps -- especially in reminding all of us, not just those who suffer from acne, to wear sunscreen and not to lie around for hours tanning in the sun. If we weren't born with brown skin, well, that's life. Browning it in youth and risking skin cancer later is so not worth it! Take a look at the research HERE . It's not just the obvious skin cancer that acne might predict, it is also other kinds of cancers, like breast cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, and some lymphomas.  And to muddy the waters, it could be that the propensity for skin cancer could be the reason for the acne. Shades of Schroedinger's cat -- or the old dilemma:: chicken or egg? For other Cancer Diary posts, click  HERE . Blog editor's note: As a memorial to Carl, and simply because it is truly needed, MSI Press is now hosting a web page,  Carl's Cancer Compendium , as a one-stop...

  While there have been some posts on skin cancer before, what is new in this article,  The #1 Early Sign of Skin Cancer Most People Miss, According to Dermatologists (msn.com) , is the new discoloration that appears and gets dismissed.  That is precisely how I found my skin cancer: a discoloration that most people assumed to be an age spot next to my eye that for some reason most had thought to have been there for a while, but it was not. I saw it appear. I asked the Skin Institute to have it looked; there was a three-month wait for an appointment. I asked to be on a wait list and, lo, they were able to get me in within three weeks. "No, clearly not cancer," said the doctor. "I should be able to freeze it off, but let's take a couple biopsies--a slice and a puncture--just in case." Now, I was not in a hurry for any kind of biopsy since all my biopsies have to be done without painkiller, to which I am severely allergic. But, of course, it had to be biopsied. A ...

  More than once, someone has said, "I thought I had a pimple and went to the dermatologist just in case. It turned out to be skin cancer." This article might help:  How to Tell the Difference Between a Pimple and Skin Cancer︱GentleCure And by the way, it was because of a pimple on top of a newly appearing brown spot that got larger, bled, itched, and would not heal that I discovered my own skin cancer -- the dermatologist thought it was nothing to worry about until the biopsy came back! For other Cancer Diary posts, click  HERE . Blog editor's note: As a memorial to Carl, and simply because it is truly needed, MSI Press is now hosting a web page,  Carl's Cancer Compendium , as a one-stop starting point for all things cancer, to make it easier for those with cancer to find answers to questions that can otherwise take hours to track down on the Internet and/or from professionals. The CCC is expanded and updated weekly. As part of this effort, each week, on Monday, th...

  Those with skin cancer or with relatives/friends with skin cancer might find the following breakthrough interesting:  Physicist uses harmless rays in skin cancer detection breakthrough . For other Cancer Diary posts, click  HERE . Blog editor's note: As a memorial to Carl, and simply because it is truly needed, MSI Press is now hosting a web page,  Carl's Cancer Compendium , as a one-stop starting point for all things cancer, to make it easier for those with cancer to find answers to questions that can otherwise take hours to track down on the Internet and/or from professionals. The CCC is expanded and updated weekly. As part of this effort, each week, on Monday, this blog will carry an informative, cancer-related story -- and be open to guest posts:  Cancer Diary .   Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow  MSI Press  on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with  MSI Press LLC ? Ch...

  Jimmy Buffet died this year from Merkel Cell Skin Cancer. He may have experienced symptoms and not noticed them. They are easy to miss, until it is too late. Here are some of the symptoms:  5 Merkel Cell Skin Cancer Symptoms Jimmy Buffett May Have Experienced, Say Experts (msn.com) I am fortunate that I responded immediately and assertively to my one sign of sin cancer: change in an age spot. It was not right. Intuition said so. Observation said so. The skin care center wanted to put off my appointment for four months because "it was not likely to be cancer." I insisted I be put on a waiting list in case any openings came up earlier, and one came up almost immediately. The doc took a look and shook her head, "Does not look like anything to worry about to me, but we will take a biopsy just in case." Now, I understand the reluctance to biopsy someone who has to do it without painkiller because of an allergy to local anesthetics, but I am a pretty calm patient with a...

  This is not the first time we have written about cat cancer in a Caturday post. We learn more about it over time, and it seems that more in general is learned about it over time.  Blind Cat rescued share the following interesting and information post about cat cancer:  Feline Carcinoma (blindcatrescue.blogspot.com) . Cat cancer not only occurs, but at least in our household has become common as our cats have aged. Among our cats, three have died of it, and two are living with it. The breed does not seem to matter; it appears that cancer is blind to breed. Intrepid was the first to be diagnosed with cancer and the first to die with it. In his cancer, it was small cell lymphoma. He lived only a few months after diagnosis. His vet missed the cancer -- that happens with people, too. After describing Intrepid's late night howling to a friend who works at the SPCA, he gave us the name of a vet with excellent diagnostic skills. She immediately intuited the problem, scoped Int...

  My eyes are pretty good -- well, actually, very, very good. At 75, I still do not need glasses (per my last eye exam three days ago). This only once in a while seems unusual to me when one friend or another complains about an eye problem or glasses or... eye cancer (yep, there it is, the big C associated with eyes). When my CHARGE Syndrome son, who lives at home with me, saw his own eye doctor the next day, I learned that it really is very rare to have normal near vision at my age. The doctor prepped my son for what she thought would be unpleasant news (that he would have to start wearing glasses now at age 45). Age 40 is kind of a magical line, she explained in language she hoped he would understand. Once you cross that magic line, you can pretty much expect to need glasses. "Uh, not always," I interrupted her. "I crossed that line 35 years ago, and, well, nada changed." She ignored me -- what could she really say -- and proceeded to check my son's eyes. Res...