SKIN CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
LOCAL MOM SCOOP and CABANA LIFE Want You to WIN by PROTECTING YOUR SKIN!
When I was 21, my mother found a mole on my back that didn’t seem to look quite right during my college Christmas break. I dismissed it, of course, but she quickly made an appointment with a dermatologist to have me checked out. They removed and examined the mole which took over 2 weeks to get the results. Not thinking much about it, I gladly went back to school. A few weeks later my mother called to tell me I had malignant melanoma. What was that I thought? I flew home as soon as I could, met with the dermatologist again and learned that the malignant melanoma was the deadliest form of skin cancer. The melanoma had mestastasized (spread) across and into the left side of my back. The dermatologist recommended more biopsies which would include removing layers and layers of skin out of my back and testing until there were no more cancer cells.
This was a life changing experience because at the time young people were not getting skin cancer. I used to fly up to Philadelphia and visit the Pigmented Lesion Clinic at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital for Melanoma patients. I was getting x-rays every 6 months. There was a chance of having to remove my lymph nodes in fear that it could have spread. This was a lot for me and my family to handle. The GOOD NEWS was….. I was lucky. I caught it (my mom) in time.
“If melanoma is recognized and treated early, it is almost always curable, but if it is not, the cancer can advance and spread to other parts of the body, where it becomes hard to treat and can be fatal. While it is not the most common of the skin cancers, it causes the most deaths. The American Cancer Society estimates that at present, about 120,000 new cases of melanoma in the US are diagnosed in a year. In 2010, about 68,130 of these were invasive melanomas, with about 38,870 in males and 29,260 in women.”–Skin Cancer Foundation
The reason I am telling my story is May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month. Living in South Florida or anywhere, you have to protect your skin and your children’s skin. I wear sunscreen under my make-up. My kids wear sunscreen to school. We always wear hats to Disney World, local parks and green markets. I use self-tanners and bronzers to give my skin a sun-kissed glow. But when it comes to swimwear, it’s been hard to find something that is stylish and cute for my family.
That’s when I discovered Cabana Life after attending a mommy and me swim class with my daughter. A mother and daughter were wearing fabulous rashguard sets and I had to find out where I could get one.
Cabana Life founder, Melissa Papcock, had malignant melanoma at 26. With a fashion background, she found the need for stylish UPF clothing. So her husband (who also had skin cancer) and co-founder, Alyssa Adams created fashionable sun protective clothing that educated the public about the dangers of the sun. Cabana Life, the leader in sun protection, features rashguard sets, cover ups, hats and other sunprotective wear for men, women and children.
Since it’s SKIN CANCER AWARENESS MONTH, LOCAL MOM SCOOP and CABANA LIFE want to protect you. You have an opportunity to win 1 rashguard set of your choice for a boy or a girl. Simply do the following:
Disclaimer: Local Mom Scoop only recommends products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255
This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. We hereby release Facebook of any liability.
Giveaway Guidelines: Winners will be contacted within 24 hours of winning. You will then be put in contact with Cabana Life to select 1 children’s rashguard set of your choice. You will have 48 hours to get in contact with Cabana Life.
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Perfect post! We are heading to the keys and we need some new rashguards. Thanks for sharing this site!
My sweet daughter only likes to wear rash hm guards to swim, so this would be perfect for her!
Thanks for sharing your story! I too had melanoma at a young age. It is such a scary ordeal but thankfully it was caught early. I recently found Cabana Life and love the cute options for the sun!
I am so glad to hear you are okay and it was caught in time! Thanks for following Local Mom Scoop!
These are the cutest rash guards I’ve ever seem! Thanks for sharing. ps I’m so thankful for modern medicine as you and quite a few dear friends and family members are all survivors.
They are very stylish! Thanks for sharing the site.
Thanks for the reminder and for turning us on to the cutest rash guards for little girls!