Sun Awareness Week June 6-12, 2016

Since 1989, the Canadian Dermatology Association’s annual, nationwide Sun Awareness Week has helped educate Canadians about dangers of excessive sun exposure — and reduce the incidence of skin cancer in the country.

This year’s Sun Awareness Week takes place Monday, June 6 to Sunday, June 12, 2016.

I celebrated National Sun Awareness Week by having a mole removed.  I had this funny mole that was developing a black edge, so... I took it to my doctor and she relieved me of it right on the spot! So to speak.

She said it was a classic "S K"(seborrheic keratosis) - Nothing to worry about, totally normal.  She burned it with liquid nitrogen right there and confirmed that yes indeed, it was even freezing up like a SK.  So yay!  I was stressing about that mole a bit, even though I was told melanoma would be more likely to appear internally than on the surface, especially in a new spot so far away from the original wide excision.

Otherwise I have been working on various melanoma awareness initiatives during this, National Sun Awareness Week.  I am preparing for a photo shoot with a local magazine that I will share when the Summer Issue is published - very exciting.  Bucket list stuff, that one.

I have also been invited to participate in a project with Save Your Skin Foundation to bring awareness to the "journey" of advanced melanoma.  It too is top secret until reveal time, but it is a very creative concept that I am proud to be a part of.  Stay tuned!

Thank you Save Your Skin Foundation for arming me with a whole bunch of great swag to help spread awareness of Sun Safety and Skin Cancer Awareness!  I will wear it with pride and share it with everyone I meet.  

The bracelets especially will be of interest at the speaking engagements I have been invited to at a couple of elementary schools. They change colour in sunlight to indicate the level of the solar UV index.

The key chains as well... the centre changes colour depending on the level of solar UV index. The darker the shade the higher the UV. The shades match the tones around the outside as a guide.  Very cool!