Earlier this week I shared an article on my Black is the New
Pink Facebook page. It was written by
April Pulliam who shared her life-long experience with tanning which ultimately
led to her diagnosis of melanoma. She
admitted that her excessive tanning led to her skin cancers. “I worked so hard for this damage,” she
wrote. “I paid big bucks for years, but
it’s nothing compared to the price I am paying now and will continue to pay for
years to come. A tan was never worth it.” Obviously this is wisdom based upon a
difficult experience and poor decisions.
During the last 6+ years of reading and sharing thoughts
about melanoma, I have been exposed to many such stories of tanning leading up
to a diagnosis of skin cancer or melanoma.
Some former tanners have died as a result. Some have survived with minimal
scarring. Many experiences lay somewhere
in between the two extremes. April’s story is not new, nor is it
unique. But it’s a story that should be
shared as often as possible so that people understand the impact of tanning. I applaud April sharing her story and for
warning others to not make the same mistake.
The day after posting the article, I stumbled upon a video
that April had appeared in which she shared her experience. Despite the same story, the video had much
more impact. The skin on her face was
raw due to the annual application of a chemo-cream that wards off pre-cancerous
spots on her skin. (My brother had used
the same cream with the same results at one time during his years-long
fight). Not only was April sharing her
story, her appearance conveyed the true struggle in living, red color. Once again, I decided to share her story on
my Facebook page. The first comment
posted to the video was this:
“This
story pisses me off. She got what she
deserved. Myself I NEVER EVER willingly
went into the sun without sunblock and I got skin cancer.”
Needless to say, her comment inspired many to respond with
angered tone. I’ll admit that I was
quite shocked at the statement as well.
Actually, I shouldn’t say I was shocked…I was disappointed. As social media becomes an engrained part of
everyday life, negativity and insensitivity seems to grow by leaps and
bounds. What people state online is
often far more harsh than what one would say to a person to his or her
face. With that in mind, this woman’s
statement shouldn’t be shocking at all.
But again, it’s disappointing.
My mom smoked. She
died of lung cancer at the age of 70 years old.
Her health suffered. But she
lived a pretty good life. I’m biased
because she was my mom, but I recall so many more good things about her than
bad. She deserved a quiet, painless
death at the end of a longer life. I
wish she would have chosen not to smoke, but she didn’t deserve lung cancer
even if she did.
My brother died of melanoma at the age of 55. He never visited a tanning bed that I know
of, but he certainly tanned at the pool in the summers. Baby oil was his “lotion.” At the time, sunburns were the enemy which we
treated with Solarcaine and aloe. Once
the peeling and pain were gone, the issue of damaged skin was never thought of
again. It’s just how it was. He led a very successful and happy life with
his wife Debbie. He had a great job
which made him happy and they had many good friends. He deserved to be alive today. He did not deserve melanoma even if he did
get some dark tans.
It seems that the lady that responded to the video did
everything that she could to not endure sun damage. Despite her efforts, she got skin cancer. Perhaps that’s where her anger grows. I have a cousin who had mouth cancer, despite
never having smoked or chewed tobacco or any other “vices” associated with mouth
cancer. He often questioned why chain
smokers would live cancer-free yet he had to suffer. While most melanomas can be attributed to UV
exposure, many cases cannot. It just
happens. Redheads are predisposed to
have a higher risk just because of who they are. It’s not fair. But redheads don’t “deserve” skin cancer any
more than someone who tans. No one
deserves cancer.
I’ve kept the woman’s comment on my page along with the rebuttals
and her counter-arguments. I want there
to be a voice…a dialogue. I seriously
doubt that this lady will take back her words in that her anger seems pretty
deep. I’m not a therapist, so perhaps my
assumption about her anger is completely off the mark. Maybe there is some other reason for her
anger. Or maybe she’s just an ass.
Regardless of who she is, she was diagnosed with skin
cancer. I applaud her efforts to fight
off the ill-effects of the sun with sunblock.
I am sorry that she was diagnosed anyway. I hope she doesn’t have melanoma or that she
doesn’t have to suffer as April has or as my brother did prior to his
death. She may have pissed off a lot of
people with her remarks, but even she doesn’t deserve the skin cancer she got.
