I often wonder just how I would have ever known that deadly disease was growing on my body. I do know, however, that I fell in love with sportbikes and truly believe my connection with riding is what saved my life before I even knew it was in jeopardy.
It was March 2003 when Mother Nature finally took a break from ticking us off in Ohio so we could get out for an early Spring ride. I have a mole on my forehead that has been there all my life and it became irritated by the fibers in my helmet lining on that particular ride. I remember reading somewhere that any changes to a mole could be cause for concern so I went to a dermatologist for the first time in my life to get it checked out.
That mole is a typical, round mole with no boarder distortions and my doctor said she didn’t see any indication of irregularity so I had nothing to worry about. Out of curiosity, however, she gave me a once over to look for anything peculiar. My right shoulder blade region is where she found it. They did a biopsy and less than a week later I received a phone call with the biggest shock off my life. At 26, I was diagnosed with Malignant Melanoma. Even though I hadn’t visited Tiffany’s sportbikegirl website in a few years, she immediately entered my mind.
I hung up the phone with my doctor and through tears read everything I could on Tiffany’s site that linked me all over the internet to find more information on the disease. I was freaked out and I had every reason to be. A couple of days later, through outpatient surgery, they were able to successfully remove it all. I was left with a genuine Melanoma scar as a daily reminder of that disease’s attempt at getting me.
These days sunblock is my best friend and it’s a rare day if you find me without it. It’s in my car, in the trunk of my bike, gym bag, at work…everywhere in case I need it. My favorites are Lubriderm Daily Moisture with SPF 15 lotion for my face everyday because it’s light and doesn’t smell like sunblock. For protection when I’m riding or being active outdoors, I use any sports SPF most recently that continuous spray stuff I seem to like.
Skin protection for me has two different meanings: protection from the pavement and the sun. Pavement protection comes in the form of wearing all my gear when I ride (i.e. leathers, helmet, gloves, boots, etc.) and sun protection by wearing hats, sunglasses, long sleeves and pants, carrying an umbrella and the never-leave-home-without-it sunblock. When people choose to neglect one, the other or both it’s upsetting because of how easy the scarring, pain and death can in most cases be avoided.
Get your skin checked by your doctor and wear protection; your life could depend on it in more ways than one.