Diagnosed 06/30/2017

Went into dermatologist when a sore on my outer ear that had been biopsied a year earlier didn’t heal completely. Had the doctor do a body exam at the same time. He found something suspicious on the back of my shoulder, that of course I couldn’t see. He took a piece out, apparently sent it to UCSF and 3 weeks later, they called me while on vacation in Hawaii to say that I had in situ melanoma. I’m leaving my vacation early to get the area cut out Tuesday and hoping they can get it all. I feel so lucky that I went in to check on my ear…it turned out to be nothing except sun exposure, and sleeping on that side of my face every night. But the word SUN is huge. Be careful.  See a dermatologist….especially if you were a tan enthusiast like I was always, and as a kid. All that “fun in the sun”, sometimes has a payback.