TUCSON, Ariz. — May is Skin Cancer Awareness month, and here in southern Arizona, we're all particularly at risk of getting too much sun.
The meteorologist for Good Morning Tucson, April Madison is always the expert when it comes to our weather, but she has also been forced to become an expert in protecting herself from skin cancer.
April is beautiful, no arguing with that. But recently, whenever she has looked in the mirror, there has been something that stands out to her.
"I have chronic basal cell carcinomas, different kinds of basal cell carcinomas," April explained. "And I've had them taken off my legs, frozen or taken off in a scrape and burn type of situation, sometimes surgically, off my legs for years, from not taking care of my skin."
In the last few years, they've started appearing on her face. One she was able to treated with radiation, but tha
"I had a spot on my face recently that had to be surgically removed. It was a cancer," April said. "I was out for a little bit of time waiting for it to heal. It's still healing, and I've got my glasses on because it covers it a little bit, but I'm way healed. It's been, you know, enough time now where I can cover a little bit of it with makeup, but it'll be a while before it clears enough to where you don't see at least the little bump or the line."
While April brings us the weather with a sunny disposition every day, she knows it was her time in the sun in years past that brought this on.
"As a young adult, as a teen, not only getting in the sun too much, but tanning beds, all the bad things you can do to your skin. I did it, didn't wear enough sunscreen. Don't have the best skin for that to begin with, because I'm very fair, but really, it can affect anybody, regardless of your skin. If you're not taking care of it," April said.
Talking with her dermatologists, President and Founder of Ironwood Dermatology, Dr. Robyn Glaesser says thankfully April has been proactive about getting checked every six months and getting treated when necessary.
She says there are signs we should all look for in our skin.
"A non-healing sore, a new lump or bump, an irregularly pigmented lesion, or anything that looks sort of like a pimple that doesn't go away," Dr. Glaesser explained. "Those are the things to think about and the reason to call a dermatologist."
Dr. Glaesser says the time to take action to protect your skin, is always now.
"Your body can repair some of it, but it can't repair all of it, and it is a cumulative risk," she said. "So any time that you intervene, you will do yourself quite a bit of good."
The Mohs Micrographic Dermatologic Surgeon at Ironwood, Dr. Anthony Cervantes, who did April's surgery, says she was right to act when she did.
"If a cancer goes untreated, there can certainly be issues," he expained. "The cancer can grow. In the setting of a basal cell, most of the time, those basal cells are not going to metastasize or cause damage in other parts of the body, but they will continue to locally grow. If it's on the ear or lip, it can cause distortion, pain, it can invade into the underlying muscle. In the setting of a squamous cell or melanoma, those will eventually grow to the point where they can metastasize."
April is now passing on that life lesson, to the ones she loves.
"To really, really pound the sunscreen to my son and even to my husband, who has very tan skin," April said. "He doesn't burn as easy, but it can happen to literally anybody."
Claire Graham is an anchor and reporter for KGUN 9. She grew up in Tucson and graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in musical theatre. Claire spent a decade in Washington state, where she worked in journalism, met her husband and welcomed their baby boy, before moving back home. Share your story ideas and important issues with Claire by emailing claire.graham@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and X.
