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Melanoma Awareness Month: LOVE THE SKIN YOU WERE GIVEN

Guest blog from Amy Nichole, who shares her story as a three-time melanoma survivor and reflects on her journey with her skin health:

Amy

Let’s fast forward to my teens, it was the IT thing to have tan skin. Being of British, French and Irish descent, my fair skin wasn’t going to tan easily. From laying out in the sun for hours covered with oil to using tanning spray alternatives, I tried everything you could think of! With all my attempts of trying to fit in, my “birthmark” only got darker and that’s when the moles and spots started to appear.  At this point, I scheduled an appointment to have a dermatologist take a closer look at all these odd spots, which led to biopsies left and right. Every single extraction the doctor performed and examined came back as pre-cancerous. Although disheartened by the results, I’m thankful that this first scare educated me on the importance of constantly checking your skin and prepared me for the future I had ahead. 

I’d begun getting skin checks every 3-6 months and made my skin health a top priority following my time with the dermatologist. During a personal ABCDE (Asymmetry. Border. Color. Diameter. Evolving.) check in June 2016, a spot on my upper chest had drastically changed in size. I expressed my concern to my dermatologist and she agreed that a biopsy would be appropriate. THANK GOODNESS I was so proactive! 4 days later, she personally called me to say that it was melanoma and was at Stage 1B and very close to transitioning to Stage 2. We scheduled my first excision quickly and successfully removed the melanoma before it worsened.  Since that day, my life revolved around taking care of myself while outdoors. I started always wearing long sleeves, hats, pants, you name it! With my line of work and living in Nevada, I’m always outside and it gets difficult to cover up with the extreme heat, but I’ve been able to make it work.  

After two years of being cancer free, I had my next scare. I began seeing a new dermatologist that was very highly recommended in the area, working with celebrities and high-profile individuals. After switching though, I just never felt like we were on the same page. For months I was still doing the 3-month check-ins to be safe but at one point he insisted for us to make it a checkup once a year – I declined this suggestion quickly. In February 2019, I was still with the same dermatologist and we came up to our eventually agreed upon 6-month appointment and I came in with concerns of a new spot that had randomly appeared. There was a little back-and-forth on next actions but I requested he take no chances and biopsy.  Just a few days later, he called me to let me know that “random” spot was, in fact, Stage 1A melanoma. While having my first Mohs surgery, they had to go in 3 times, so the whole operation was over 6 hours. During the visit, I requested the surgeon biopsy one other spot that had grown over a scar I had from a pre-cancerous removal. Guess what! Those results also came back as a 3rd melanoma diagnosis. In Feb 2022, I had more than one scare as my melanoma is trying to come back but I have been catching over 17 Atypical spots since Feb with surgery removal of 2 as they were close to changing into melanoma. I see my oncologist and dermatologist every 3-6 months between the two. I will be having reconstructive surgery in the fall to clear up a hot spot on my right area that keeps wanting to form melanoma. They will be taking my skin from my shoulder all the way down to my elbow and doing skin grafts and donor skin to replace mine in hopes to stop it all. Praying for the best in the end and not giving up hope.  

I’m not going to let this bring me down or define me whatsoever. I have an amazing support system and know it’s not going to be an easy road ahead. But the scars and the love I have from everyone is what’s going to help me get through this. I even put on a special portrait session for 12 kids and we raised $900 for the Skin Cancer Foundation in 2019.  In May 2020 we raised $1,000 for the Melanoma Research Foundation with our custom shirt fundraiser.  In May 2021, I teamed up with my good friend Dee and we formed the Butterfly warriors together, along with doing our annual shirt fundraiser for Melanoma Awareness Month. We ended up raising $3,349 for the Melanoma Research Foundation.  This May, we are currently hosting our annual shirt fundraiser and giveaways to help raise more funds for the Melanoma Research Foundation with my best friend Dee once again, as she and I have brought together the Butterfly warriors for a 2nd year in a row. I surprised her with 2 new shirt designs in honor of her sister Rose, who she lost to melanoma in 2018.  

-We are Stronger Together- 

My goal is to bring more awareness and raise money each May for the Melanoma Research Foundation.  You can see a lot of the images from the photoshoot which took place May 2019 here on my website in the “This is Brave” inspiration section of my portfolio tab!  I wanted to help the younger generation be more aware about protecting their skin. My top brands for the best sun protection are Sun50, SwimZip Swimwear, (L.U.V.) Low Ultraviolet, Desert Camo Apparel, Cabana Life & Coolibar along with our favorite place for getting hats: Wallaroo Hat Company.  

After reading my journey up to this point, I want you to take a little advice. We do need to put our faith in the doctors but also you NEED to be your biggest advocate. You are the one that sees your own skin 24/7. Protect yourself, love the life you live, scars are beautiful, and they will never define you.  

But most importantly, love the skin you were given.  

Sincerely, Amy Nichole 

The MRF is committed to increasing awareness of melanoma, sun safety and how important it is to #GetNaked for a monthly self-skin check and yearly full body exam by a board certified dermatologist. Your support makes this work possible; please consider a tax-deductible gift today:

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