I was busily humming away in my own bubble of concerns when my best friend Suzie sent me a text saying we should hang out and oh also she had skin cancer on her scalp.
WHAT!?
Given that I run a skincare blog and Suzie wants to help other people avoid the same experience, we decided to record a conversation about what it’s like to discover that you have skin cancer on your scalp, the surgery process, and things learned along the way. We’re not experts at anything other than Ugly Betty trivia, so we’re focusing on what it’s like to navigate scalp skin cancer as a patient.
Suzie was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma in February of this year and had surgery soon after. She has healed very well, but she’s bummed to have a pretty big scar on her head that’s hard to cover up while waiting to see if and how her hair returns.
One’s risk for skin cancer varies quite a bit, so ask your dermatologist or GP if you need to get regular checks. I’m about Suzie’s color and I don’t think anyone in my family has had a spot removed despite a wild disregard for SPF/love affair with our closest star, but my dermatologist pushes strongly for an annual exam. I groan and comply, but I won’t hesitate to strip down in the future after hearing about what happened to my bestie.
Continue reading “Talking to my best friend about her scalp skin cancer experience”