So many people have asked me how to tell if they should be concerned about a mole. Here is a copy of the information I got from my Doctor. Also, check out the American Academy of Dermatology website at http://www.aad.org/ . It has a lot of great information on what to look for and ways to do self-examinations for melanoma. Just double click on the picture below and you can read it better and really see the pictures. Have fun!!

What a week it's been! I am so grateful for everything in my life and for my life itself. It's a shame it took something so extreme to give me a wake-up call and remind me to appreciate all the wonderful gifts I have been given. I have come to the realization that all the little things don't matter and the never-ending search for perfection only lies within. If I sparkle on the inside, it doesn't matter what is going on on the outside.




We have all heard how important it is to wear sunscreen and eat well and take care of our bodies. I know I didn't listen and it was more important to look good than to really do what was best for my body. I never in a million days would have thought I would get diagnosed with skin cancer, of all things. That just happens to someone else. I think we all think the same thing. I hope that you can read about my experience and maybe think twice before going out in the sun unprotected. It is a scary realization that getting your skin and tissue and fat cut out piece
by piece is a possibility and it really can happen.



I am so thankful that I was given this opportunity for growth and a profound experience. I am so blessed that it hadn't spread any further and I didn't literally have to learn this lesson the hard way. Having scars and healing from this surgery is simple compared to what I may have had to go through.

I hope all of you, my loved ones, will think a little more, try a little harder, so you don't have to question your mortality. Maybe take a minute right now and think about your life and all the things you are grateful for, without having to. Act as if this was your wake-up call too and keep yourself protected.


Thank you all for all your prayers and for being in my world. I am truly so blessed!!

WE ARE BLESSED!
As some of you may have read on Mandy's Blog, I was diagnosed with skin cancer. Crazy huh? In a matter of four days, I found out I had Melanoma Skin Cancer, had two more moles scooped out of my body, had radioactive dye shot into my leg, had skin, fat, and tissue scooped out of my leg, had a lympnode removed from my groin, received a 13 in scar and a 31/2 in scar, and 24 staples. I was scared out of my mind and relieved out of my mind when I was told the cancer hadn't spread, and went through almost every human emotion possible. I am left today so grateful for all of my blessings, for an amazing Husband and awesome kids, and the opportunity to learn from this experience. I haven't quite figured out what all of it was for. I am still absorbing the whole whirlwind! I am a firm believer in "all things happen for a reason" so I am waiting to figure out what that "reason" is. Thank you for all your prayers and thoughts. I know I felt them and things have worked out so well because of them. When I figure out what this experience means to me, I will share it with you. Maybe that was the point...