To the editor:
I noted with interest media reports about the recent Canadian Cancer Society campaign to warn people about the potential risk of getting melanoma skin cancer through the use of tanning beds.
As a person who is living with melanoma skin cancer, I know how this cancer can affect one’s life. Therefore, I support anything the Canadian Cancer Society can do to persuade people to avoid the risk of a deadly cancer, like melanoma.
My melanoma began in the summer of 2010, when I noticed a small dark mole growing near my left ankle The mole was removed and sent for a biopsy. It turned out to be an aggressive form of melanoma.
Since then I have had two operations, and many weeks of radiation treatment to kill any remaining cancer cells in the area.
When the melanoma returned, I had chemotherapy, which was not successful, and I was referred to a melanoma specialist in Vancouver. I have had multiple trips to Vancouver for treatment with a new drug.
I am now waiting for the results of another CT scan to determine how effective this new drug has been for me.
Throughout the many medical treatments, CT scans, blood tests and travel, etc., that have dominated my life, I have received excellent care from all of the medical staff who looked after me. However, the disruption of our lifestyle has been immense, and my wife and I are working hard to cope with this disease.
I am fortunate that I continue to look normal and my surgical scars and many unsightly melanoma spots can be hidden under my trousers, but I know how much harder it would be had I been a teenager or young adult. Therefore, I strongly recommend that everyone avoid any activity that may put them at risk of getting skin cancer. Heed the advice of the Canadian Cancer Society.
Peter Nott,
Lake Country
