“Dear 16-year-old Me”

Hey you, my favorite reader. (Shh, don’t tell the other one!)

I have a favor to ask. Will you watch this video for me? Pretty please?

And then, if it’s not too much, will you pass it on? It can be to just one person, that’s fine. Oh, two people? See, that’s why you’re my favorite.

You might not remember, but I had an experience with melanoma last summer. It was scary. It sucked. I’m ok now.

But I could have NOT been ok.

I didn’t have melanoma in my family.
I barely used tanning beds in college.
I rarely got sunburned as a kid.

I had melanoma.

I had avoided the sun like the plague for most of my adult life.
I wore sunscreen daily.
I ate healthy, took my vitamins, exercised, and went to the doctor every year.

And I still had melanoma.

I got lucky. Really, really lucky. Mine was caught early.

Not everyone’s is.

May is skin cancer awareness month. So could you help me out with this little favor?

If it convinces one person to schedule a check-up with their dermatologist, one person to skip the tanning bed today, one person to take an extra bottle of sunscreen on their vacation, then it will be worth it. Don’t you think?

You’ve always been my favorite.

Love,
Annie

Tagged as: musings, video