I am not a sun worshipper. never tanned, not an outside type of person, always have used sunblock, I am not a real blond, but have very light skin ,and ended with BCC twice, and several pre cancer lesions.
I was told it is not the sun but the UV rays that because of damage to the ozone we do not have protection for UV rays.
That I need to wear long sleeves and pants and hat even in cloudy days.
I do not miss what I was never interests into, the Sun, but I do miss not being worried when I see a change on my skin.

Thanks for your reply Deraming. I was never told conclusively about the UV rays and the ozone but would tend to agree with that because none of my recent ancestors had it and some of them were farmers. I guess the upside is that our skin will look better longer for staying out of the sun... we just have to be vigilant on checking our skin. I'm sorry you've had to deal with this as well.

I'll bet you look good in a hat. Aren't there hats that are specially made for people with cancer? They might be expensive but I imagine you could find one around. That way you could stay outside longer.
It is just a suggestion.

I am glad it was caught early , even with the huge scar now fading, my onco/dermatologist sees me every 3 months, and a cloth hat is best , I use a sun umbrella.They are lovely around.

Lynnie, I do have a variety of hats. I like the umbrella idea as well.

Deraming, I'm glad it was caught early.

I recently went to spain and I had to walk a long way in the sun with no cover from trees or buildings.
In the end I put my rain umbrella up, I know I maybe looked silly to the locals but my health is more important than what someone I don't know thinks.

I just try to exercise common sense and moderation, but i refuse to be paranoid and to see the sun as some demonic threat to my health. Sunlight is a nutrient, we are meant to be in the sun.

Most experts would have us believe that skin cancer is purely a function of too much sun, skin type, genetics, and the like. What about Vit D level, immune system function, state of one's detox pathways, and just general health?

My melanoma appeared when i was already ill and immune compromised with lyme disease, AND when my Vit D level was dangerously low.

scooby - i agree with you on the umbrella...

DougKeith - I've wondered about these skin cancers surfacing during stressful times and asked several dermatologists about it. They always say "stay out of the sun." But I'd have to say that the first one popped up for me when my marriage was failing and I was under extreme stress... when the 2nd one came up, I was going through several other work and personal challenges and under extreme stress. . . I might start taking vit d

I highly recommend that anyone (everyone actually) have their vitamin D level checked. It will almost certainly be too low, which is the possible cause of many health issues. There is much disagreement on this, but do some research and you will find that many experts see low levels of vitamin D in nearly everyone who does not work outside, and there also appears to be a direct relationship to chronic diseases.

If tested, the lab report's acceptable range starts too low in many experts' opinion. Look for a much higher level 50 - 70 or even much higher if you have a chronic health issue.

If taking a vitamin D supplement, be sure to take it with vitamin K2/MK7. (K2 is not the vitamin K that is found in multi-vitamins, it is K1, totally different.) K2 is difficult, to nearly impossible, to get in your food, so a supplement is needed. Again, I highly recommend that you do your own research on this vitamin because it is almost certain that your doctor will have no idea what you are talking about if you bring that up at your next visit. It is a very new concept that K2 is needed with supplemental vitamin D, but not when D is obtained naturally (sun). It is now considered by many experts (but again this is new) that taking supplemental vitamin D without vitamin K2 can be very dangerous, and may be one of the causes of heart disease and other Cardio problems. Calcium with vitamin D users, should be especially concerned. (Why do you think that calcium is going to your bones and not another, unwanted place?)

As for getting vitamin D the natural way; sunshine, even that is not as simple as it may seem. Remember the amount of sun rays reaching the surface of the earth vary a lot by location (north to south) and the season (almost none in the winter months in most of the US and too much in the summer especially in the south). So supplementation is almost always needed at least some of the time depending on where you live.

Vitamin D is really becoming an interesting topic on many web sites. I highly recommend that you spend the time to do your own research and decide what is best for you; it's your life.

Thank you for the information on vitamin D. My mom seems to think that's why she got her recent heart problems because dr. told her to take a large dosage of it.

My D vitamin level is normal, one takes care of oneself based on a personal decision , there is no "my way is for all" I do not have cancer or any other illness in my family, they live to their late 90 with not even a cold, all my extended family is healthy, for some reason I got breast and skin cancer, never smoked, drunk alcohol, eat healthy, never frozen or can meals, the way I see it, it just happen because of the environment , and because I never look back , I do not dwell ; but in my next life I will have a more high risk life and I bet I will be healthy as a horse.

Deraming, I like your philosophy.

patty mum said:
"DougKeith - I've wondered about these skin cancers surfacing during stressful times and asked several dermatologists about it. They always say "stay out of the sun." But I'd have to say that the first one popped up for me when my marriage was failing and I was under extreme stress... when the 2nd one came up, I was going through several other work and personal challenges and under extreme stress. . . I might start taking vit d"

There u go. Point to me is that there is much more to health than the simple explanations that come from western medicine. Its a system that has neither the time nor the inclination to look more deeply into causes for disease. When a dermatologist says stay out of the sun as the only remedy for skin cancer, that is just plain quackery.

I started the other thread (about looking for holistic practitioners) because of this. All the dermatologists I;ve been to are basically technicians who can remove things and have them tested and spot dangerous moles, but know next to nothing about where disease comes from. They see the skin as an organ that is isolated from the rest of the body. Sorry for the rant, but this is serious stuff to me...

sptrout -- Agree about Vit D supplementation requiring some forethought and research. I'm not supplementing with K2 while taking D, but might ask my herbalist/naturopath about this.

I do eat natto, which is VERY high in K2.

As u say natural sunlight as a D source eliminates these issues. Another reason completely avoiding the sun is irrational. But yea true about being difficult during winter, at high latitudes, etc. Tricky but all these nutrients are in balance in sunlight for a reason.

DougKeith, I am surprised that you are eating natto, which as I understand it, is very unusual outside of Japan. I also understand that it is not something most folks in the US would be able to handle. However, you are correct, natto is probably the top of the list for a food that contains K2. Dr. Mercola discusses vitamin D and K2 numerous times in his writings. But even he says he cannot stomach natto if I remember correctly. What do you think of it, and where do you buy it?