Over the past month and a half I’ve been on a journey with my skin. As a natural redhead, my skin coloring is pale, and the sun loves to burn me until I resemble a little lobster. I’ve seen some posts on TikTok and even some stories in the news about skin cancer scares and that it’s always a good idea to get frequent skin checks. It seemed like a sign from the universe to finally get myself checked out.

I was a little nervous for my first skin check because I read that if they find something suspicious or concerning that they’ll take a sample right then and there. I’ve never been a fan of going to doctors or the prospect of any sort of procedure due to fear of needles, pain, and surgery. However, with Covid-19, my fear of shots has basically been healed, although I prefer to not look or see the needle.

During my visit, they did a thorough check of my whole body. There was a mole on my back that I’ve pretty much had my whole life, or as long as I can remember. Yea, it was a little sketchy looking and definitely had some characteristics you’re supposed to look out for, but I never thought much about it. It’s also hard to see your own back! Of course when the dermatologist saw that, she said that it needed to go. What she really meant at that phase was that a sample needed to be taken.

Before I knew it, they were using a pretty painful shot of anesthesia in my back and getting to work. While I could feel movement of them “shaving” a piece of the mole off, there wasn’t pain associated with it, which was good! The shot, as the assistant in the room warned me, was definitely the worst part. Not sure why it hurts so bad, but it’s not as painless as a Covid shot.

Ten days later I got my results, and while I didn’t have cancer, the cells were extremely dysplastic (or unusual) and something they needed to take care of right away, or it could lead to cancer. Within 2 more weeks I was back in the office, this time laying on my belly to have my mole cut out of me. I was quite nervous this time because the dermatologist, when she called to give me results, told me it was more invasive and would require two layers of stitches. I’ve never had stitches! After 2-3 shots of anesthesia (go redheads!), which were painful again, the procedure began. The doctor and her assistant kept talking to me the whole time to keep me relaxed and to make me comfortable, which was great. When it was time for the stitches I could feel the strings rolling around on my back, but thankfully didn’t feel any pulling or needles going in and out of me. Overall, the procedure was a lot less scary than I anticipated, and I was quite proud of my bravery. Brian took me out to lunch afterwards, and we took the day off to relax.

I recently got the results back and the stitches out. All clear! I’ll now be going for annual skin checks, and recommend you do too! These visits should be covered by your insurance and are important for everyone, regardless of age or skin color. I’m glad I went and got checked out. If I can do it, you’ll be just fine!