actinic keratosis, climbing, skin cancer, and you

So, I just spent this morning with my doc having him look at this rash I had developed on my arms in the last three weeks and I got some pretty bad news. I had originally assumed the the rash on my arm was a reaction to the tattoo which had recently been inked on my arm but NO! Its actinic keratosis and my foolish attemps to "dry it out" by exposing my arms to more sunlight and frequent washing probably only pissed it off more.

So lets recap, 6 years of climbing, the past two years having spent a significant amount of time climbing in Jtree, being only moderately cautious of sun damage applying sunscreen most often only on my shoulders neck and face, and BAM!

Pre cancerous lesions on my forearms, and a guarantee from my doc that I will develop Squamous cell carcinoma sometime down the road and if I am not extremely careful from here on out I will probably have a shitty battle with skin cancer in my waning years.

SO LISTEN HERE ALL YE NAIVE MP.COMMERS! If you would have told me I was likely to battle skin cancer down the road I would have probably said "sure I spend a lot of time outside its likely". But when your looking at pre cancerous lesions at 26 its a whole different ballgame.

WEAR SUNBLOCK, LOTS OF IT. CONSIDER WEARING HATS AND LONG SLEEVE SHIRTS ESPECIALLY DURING PEAK UV DAMAGE HOURS. FRIENDS DONT LET FRIENDS DIE OF CANCER, APPLY THE SUNBLOCK YOURSELF IF YOU HAVE TOO.

Consider yourselves warned.

I just had a friend that was 26 die from melanoma...it was rather shocking.

Thank you for the reminder.

damn, hang tough man...use a sunblock long-sleeve and a ball cap while you're climbing...and keep getting out there. you'll be on it from now on!

re: sunscreens. there are a ton of them on the market and many are full of toxic gunk, like Oxybenzone, which acts like estrogen once it goes into your body. check out the Environmental Working Group's report on sunscreens and make sure you're using a good, safe one!

ewg.org/2010sunscreen/

hang in there, Kyle, you'll be fine! get your skin check-ups and keep on it.

Good that you went to the doc, Kyle. Most of us thickheaded climbers just deal with ailments for way to long before finally going to get checked out. I had a spot frozen off my cheekbone last winter which the dermatologist considered pre-pre-pre-pre-cancerous. Lot's of "pre's" but still enough to scare the crap out of me. While it sucks that you have the lesions, you did get it caught before it went cancerous, so you can make changes starting immediately, which from the sounds of it, will yield positive results if you stick with it.

coppolillo wrote: re: sunscreens. there are a ton of them on the market and many are full of toxic gunk, ... check out the Environmental Working Group's report on sunscreens and make sure you're using a good, safe one! ewg.org/2010sunscreen/

Great point, coppolillo. The site also educates you on which ingredients are more effective for blocking UVA and UVB. Lots to read there. I got recommended to the site by my dermatologist and did a ton of research on the different brands on there. Tried a couple out and have been using Badger for a year now. This stuff is thick as axle grease, but it works at blocking rays and it doesn't come off - perfect for outdoor enthusiasts like ourselves. When you first put it on, you'll look like a mime because your face will be entirely white. The trick is to rub/warm the cream in your hands for a bit before applying to your face. Then just take extra time working it in (remember, this isn't Banana Boat, this stuff goes on to Stay on, so it takes some elbow grease to get it on right). Anyway, I recommend it. They also have solid quality control, which isn't always the case with some of the other all natural ingredient sunblocks where the owner is making vats of it on his own in the guest bathroom.

coppolillo wrote:check out the Environmental Working Group's report on sunscreens and make sure you're using a good, safe one! ewg.org/2010sunscreen/ hang in there, Kyle, you'll be fine! get your skin check-ups and keep on it.

The Nutrigena 50spf I've been buying for a couple years gets the WORST rating possible and the daily SPF I've been using contains formaldehyde. Grossss! I feel so uninformed.

Thanks for the PSA Coppolillo.

Yikes! Long sleeves and sunscreen!!! :) More climbing in deep dark canyons of Red Rocks!

Wow, Kyle. Both glad you caught it and bummed you have to deal with this now. Also grateful for the reminder for myself and my family.

Also wanted to thank Erik for the Badger recommendation. The family that runs the company are close friends of mine and they are good people trying to run a responsible business. Plus their stuff works.