Bill,
like a few others had said, you need to get a professional check it out for you.
a few areas my doctor has been working on me have improved, but I had one area that did require surgery and about 6 stitches on my upper right ear about 2 weeks ago. my wife (surg tech,just took out stitches). I have another appt in a few weeks.
good luck, Bill, get it checked until the Dr says all is good.
Jack.. 
With the nice sunny weather we have had the last few days I thought it would be a good idea to bring this one back up to the top to remind everyone to protect yourself from from the sun when you head out to your favorite fishing hole. Even now in March you need to protect yourself.
Very true Steve and a good reminder!
I wish I would have put sun block on my face yesterday. JP Mason and myself ended up with sun burn 
Bill,
have a specialist check it out. A few years ago my regular doc sent me to a specialist because of a mole on my arm. I probably have a half dozen or more moles but for whatever reason the doc was concerned about this one. To make a long story short the doctor was right and I had skin cancer. Fortunately it had not spread and they were able to cut it out. For the first year I went back every three months for check-ups and now it is every six months.
A word of advice. Make sure you thoroughly trust the phisician you see. About six years ago my sister-in-law had skin cancer (melanoma) on her back. The doctor performed surgery, but missed some of the cancerous tissue. The cancer spread and by the time she got to the Mayo Clinic it was too late. The cancer had literally spread to her brain and she died on the operating table. This is serious if not caught early on.
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I have had a mark on my left arm for several years. First it looked kind of like a pimple with being red with a white area in the middle. Now it looks like a shiny smooth area. Its not very big. Any idea what it might be? What does skin cancer look like?
Thanks, Bill
I am no doctor, but I have had three basil cells removed. One looked like what you described. I wrote it off as a mole, but it tested positive. You really need to get that checked out. Basil cells usually stick to themselves, and destroy tissue immediately surrounding the cell. Melanoma can spread to other areas of the body, and can be deadly. No sense in tempting fate.
I can certainly relate! I’ve been carved up each of the last two April’s and am due to go back in next month. Fortunately, none have been identified as cancer, but I did have one excised/re-excised three times on my chest and took three patholigists and a trip to the oncologist to verify that one wasn’t cancer. Sufficiently scared me enough to wear hats, shirts and/or use high SPF sunscreen. Having a “golden hue” just isn’t worth it.
Jim
><(((>
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Very true Steve and a good reminder!
I wish I would have put sun block on my face yesterday. JP Mason and myself ended up with sun burn
You got that right.. My whole head is a cherry tomato. 
It’s also important to wear sunglasses on the ice, the UV rays off the snow can damage your eyes.
With the FYB this weekend I thought it would be a good idea to bring this one back up to the top. Even in the cold weather if the sun is out you need to protect yourself from the sun, so don’t forget the sun block this weekend boys 
REGARDLESS of the time of year. SUnny or cloudy.
If you are outside. SPF 30 or MORE is a MUST.
PERIOD…. 
Jack.
I gotta tell ya Steve, this scares the hell outta me. I’ve got a spot on my nose that is doing exactly what you describe. Think I’m going to try to get in next week and see what’s up.
Amen! Been down that road!!! Same thing and had to have several layers of skin taken off. If you have sore’s or funny looking spots that won’t go away, get them checked!!!! I waited and because of that, they took NUMEROUS layers of skin. (More than if I had them looked at sooner. 
)
It hurt enough after they took them out that, I always wear a wide brimed hat and plenty of sun screen, when the sun is out.
Protect yourselves folks!!!!
I just got two more taken off for a grand total of 5 over 7 years. You guys will now see me wearing the Crocodile Dundee hat on the advice of my Dermatologist. Yeah, it may look funny, but it sucks going through that! The damage was most likely already done when I was younger and didn’t have a care. But our kids do have the opportunity now to change what happens in their future. Make sure they wear the sunscreen! 
I thought I would just say thanks again, Steve. I went to the dermatologist today and she lopped off a pretty good slab of this thing I’ve got on my nose. She looked at it and immediately said it looked very suspicious, possibly cancerous. I’ll hear back from them in about a week and see what the biopsy results are, but I’m already convinced. Your post got me to finally get to the dr, even though I’ve had this thing for probably 2 years or better. Thanks again Steve, you may be doing more with this post than what you thought.
You are welcome Brian glad I could help, I hope your results come back negative. Hopefully this post will get others to go get checked and be more careful when it comes to being out in the sun. Here is a pic of me in my goofy looking hat, looks very goofy but it gets the job done and it beats getting a sun burn on the ears and neck
Steve,
This post could be TTT every month, and It will continue to get the word out, to those who need to hear it the most.
I’ve got my funny hat, but I do NOT do pictures of nice fish with it, after the pic and back in the water.
the funny hat is back ON. as in Right ON….
thanks,
Jack..
thank you so much for sharing your story. I hope that it never comes back. Heal fast.
Yes, thanks for bringing this topic up! I got checked a few weeks ago. Had three moles removed, but all turned up fine.
Hope you recover fast and thanks for the insight.
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Hope you recover fast and thanks for the insight.
Thanks for all the well wishes guys I am fine now, if you look at the date of the post you will see that this was 3 years ago, I bring this one back up to the top every year about this time as a reminder to everyone, which reminds me it’s time for me to go in for my yearly check up.
Do I see new IDO headgear in the future?? 
Hey Steve,
Just wanted to pass along an update. My biopsy came back a few months back saying I needed to get some cancer removed. I was down in Omaha yesterday and got er taken off (and yes, we were dodging tornadoes like you wouldn’t believe). I had the Moh’s surgery done at the office of http://www.dermatologysurgery.com and let me tell you, Dr. Watts is probably the coolest Dr I’ve ever had, hands down! Very laid back, and luckily they got it all in the first layer. I sit here now with an absolute crater on the side of my nose, but it’s better than the alternative. They are going to let it heal naturally without any sutures, so that’s even better. I owe this ALL TO YOU, Steve. I just wanted to pass along the thanks in getting me to the Dr, because that’s really what did it. Without your post, I’d probably still be sitting here with the mini-volcano that I once had on my face. From now on, you better believe the sun lotion will be flowing liberally on my boat, and I’ll be watching spots like a hawk. Thanks again, Steve!
You are very welcome Brian I am glad that everything came out good for you. Remember to get your yearly check ups as well I have been a little lax on that but I have an appointment for a check up in July. Once you’ve had skin cancer it can creep back up on you if you are not careful.
That time of year to bring this one back up to the top
I work out on the grounds crew for a golf course in the summer. Three years ago, before using sunscreen, I had a crusty patch on each ear lobe that wouldn’t dry up. I showed my wife, who is a nurse, and she said that’s your warning, You’d better do something about it. From that point on I started using sunscreen and wearing my French Foreign Legion cap. I don’t need to lose my ears!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great post and what timing! I just got back from getting checked out this morning.
I got carved up pretty good a few years (seven spots total). They had to go back after one on my chest three times. The second time back for that one (by the dermatologist) had me pretty concerned…the third time back with the oncologist had me petrified. To make matters worse, the first two pathologists in Minneapolis and Indianapolis couldn’t give me a positive ID. It took a third pathologist at Johns Hopkins to finally NOT call it melanoma.
Yep, shirts, hats and sunscreen for me now…having some color just isn’t worth it!!!
When you go in, be sure to have them check your ENTIRE body…not just those you “think” are exposed to the sun. Cancer is not discretionary as to where it can show up!
Jim
><(((>
P.S. I’m very happy (and thankful) that I was given a clean bill of health this morning!
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Yep, shirts, hats and sunscreen for me now…having some color just isn’t worth it!!!
See, now if you were a fat guy like me, you wouldn’t worry as much, cuz you always have a shirt on. 
Glad you got it taken care of. I learned the hard way already that you gotta stay on top of it.
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