Your eyes can focus on a tiny splinter in the finger of a squirming child, a stop sign in the distance or stars blinking light-years away. You can roll your eyes, flirt with them, do a double-take and express joy or despair without words. When you think about how amazing your eyes are, wouldn’t you do anything to protect them?
Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer but, thankfully, it is also one of the most treatable when it’s detected early. While survival rates are high, most skin cancer patients quickly that you’re not completely out of the woods once a skin cancer has been removed. Not only do your chances of recurrence increase, but preventative measures and changes to your daily routine are unavoidable. Just ask ABC News anchor Michelle Charlesworth.
She was a much-sought-after model, and her looks were her meal ticket. But when her clients asked her to “get a little color” for photo shoots, she never dreamed it would lead to skin cancer —and a disfiguring scar smack in the middle of, yes, her face.
At the Miss Indiana USA competition this past October, contestants showed off their accomplishments, drive, and talents. Brittany Winchester wowed the judges by sharing her passion for affecting change and was crowned Miss Indiana USA 2017. Brittany was diagnosed with multiple basal cell carcinomas and devoted her pageant platform to skin cancer awareness, pledging her voice to a cause that has affected her personally.
Although the nonmelanoma skin cancer basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is rarely life-threatening, it can be troublesome, especially because 80 percent of BCCs develop on highly visible areas of the head and neck. These BCCs can have a substantial impact on a person’s appearance and can even cause significant disfigurement if not treated appropriately in a timely manner.
