I made an appointment with a dermatologist (a PA [Physician's Assistant], actually) who was highly recommended. I mainly wanted to establish a relationship with a derm so I have someone to recommend to my clients when I find moles they should have checked out. Secondly, I had a tiny (and I mean TINY) dot on my neck I wanted looked out.

If you had seen this dot (mole) you wouldn’t think anything of it, but I did. It was new, which is one warning sign of potential skin cancer. It was also almost black, a second sign. This dot was literally as big as the period at the end of this sentence. Seriously. It was THAT small. I have a good eye though and knew it needed to be looked at.

As it turns out the PA said indeed it was potentially problematic. She recommended either keep an eye on it and take another look in 3 months or take it off now and have it analyzed. I opted for the latter. Why? Because IF it was “something” the something it would be is melanoma, not a less deadly squamous cell or basal cell cancer. So off it goes!

I’ll let you know what the pathology report says. I’m not really concerned because if it turns out to be melanoma, it was removed so early that I don’t believe it will be an issue. And if it is nothing, it could turn into something someday so better it is off my skin!

My point in sharing this story is to let you know that even the slightest change in a mole can signal cancer or a precancerous growth. In my case the “dot” was new, I probably saw it 2 months ago and knew it was new. It was also dark, almost black, which is another warning sign. Go to the following website to see and read about skin cancers and what to look for.

http://www.webmd.com/melanoma-skin-cancer/slideshow-precancerous-skin-lesions-and-skin-cancer

I recommend getting a baseline mole check if you are near or over 40 and especially if you’ve had a lot of sun exposure in your lifetime and if you have a lot of moles. Then I’d go for an annual fully body mole check. In the case of skin cancer it is so much better to be safe than sorry.

I was talking with a client the other day about using sunscreen, etc. I was explaining about the need to reapply, especially if you are exercising. I went on to say the I especially need to do this since I always wipe my face once I start sweating, which no doubt takes just about all the sunscreen away too. She said she didn’t wipe, which was a kind of revelation to me. You mean some people don’t feel the need to wipe the dripping sweat off their faces? Guess not everyone is like me!

But if you are, just know that certainly an appreciable amount of any sunscreen you have applied to your face (or wherever) is coming off during the wiping process. Today, for instance, I was running a trail and it was HOT! I wiped and wiped and keep internally commenting on the fact that basically my face was left sunscreenless. Did I reapply? NO! Do you in that situation? I just know that I will be getting sun exposure with little of no sun protection by the end of my run. It is a risk I take and a reality of life.

The moral of this story is: Reapply your sunscreen! And if you don’t, just be aware you are putting in clock time for UV radiation. Hopefully you enjoyed your outdoor activity and, well, that’s it!

:+) Carolyn.

I was hiking up a trail this morning and came across a beautiful newly woven spider web. It was new because the night before we had torrential rain storms, something a delicate spider web wouldn’t have survived. It got me thinking about life and how we weave our web, making connections with people and things and building our world all encased in our personal web.

Sometimes there are events and turns in life that cause our web, our security, to get destroyed or otherwise disrupted. Being the strong, forthright humans we are, we build. And rebuild. And so it goes. We have this wonderful capacity to continue moving forward, even if we have to rebuild our web numerous times. Just like a spider.

I want to remember that the next time a storm (major life event) comes and takes out my web (causes angst and stress and disruption in my life and home). I have the power to rebuild - every day if necessary - and create another web, to create new connections in my life. To rebuild perhaps a strong web than the one before.

Lately I have been taking on a lot more than is normal for me. Consequently, I am pooped! What my body is telling me is “get more sleep…please!” And unfortunately, I haven’t really had time to catch up. Have you ever felt overwhelmed and can’t get off the treadmill of your life? At these moments, it’s time to take care and listen to your body.

During this time of overload, I’ve been able to take little cat naps; even though it’s not getting me caught up per se, these little moments of rest are helpful. If I’m home between working and meeting friends out for happy hour, I’ll lay down on my bed - even for just 5 minutes - and relax. Any amount of relaxation during a stressfilled or otherwise busy time will help to recharge your batteries, even if just a little bit.

Without listening to your body and it’s needs, sometimes your body will just do what it needs to do anyway. Many times this will appear as some sort of illness - anything to get you to slow down! Our bodies are truly brilliant (and efficient) in this way.

Rest well and take care of yourself! I’m saying this to myself as well as you!!

:+) Carolyn.

I am off to the mountains to help support a friend riding in the Courage Classic at Copper Mountain, CO. This is a 3 day, 155 mile bike ride up and down mountain passes, all for charity (The Denver Children’s Hospital)…and for fun. I will be computerless all day, so Happy Sunday! If you want to read more about this event, go to http://www.thechildrenshospital.org/news/inthenews/2009-News/2009-courage-classic.aspx

My calf, BTW, is healing well from my motorcycle burn. The injured area is half the size it was a few weeks ago and it is getting smaller by the day.

:+)

How many times have you heard the ‘little voice’ in your head, only to disregard it and perhaps regret that decision later on? I can say for sure this computer glitch definitely has me wishing I’d listened.

My mom is probably reading these posts and I know she will be shaking her finger at me in another sentence or two. She sent me this great little backup device for my PC that was totally easy - even I could do it!! I moved it from my kitchen to my office to right next to my computer in order to trigger the memory to USE IT!!! Still, I didn’t. Now my PC is [was] at the shop, and hopefully the technicians will be able to retrieve all on my hard drive, all I haven’t yet backed up. [All was retrieved and rescued in the end.]

My point is: Listen to that voice! It usually if not always knows the right path to take. And if you hear a warning over and over: HEED IT! It might be that all-knowing part of yourself trying to alert you to something that may be blocking your path up ahead.

I wish I had listened, but lesson learned - AGAIN!

OK. I made a promise to write a new blog post every day this month. Life is what happens while you’ve made plans to blog every day.

Computer viruses or crazy mixed up coincidence? Friday, July 10th, late in the day, both my PC and Mac computers shut down without probable cause. I’m completely computer illiterate so I was a bit helpless until I could take my PC into the shop Monday morning. I didn’t know they’d be keeping it until yesterday! Thus….no daily blogs (Did you think I was slacking off and not fulfilling my July commitment?!), which has been a real disappointment for me.

I felt this happening was an important reminder for me. Take life as it comes and then RELAX! Eckhart Tolle talks about ‘accepting what is.’ And if you don’t, it causes pain. At the very time my computers pooped out on me, I had tons of work to do on my website and I had my daily posts to write. Also, I do a lot of communication with clients (as well as family and friends) online, so it was incredibly inhibiting to not have access to my own, personalized computer.

I got through it and I just let go and let life do what it decided to do in the process. I could have gotten all upset and cried out “why  me?” - stressing out about the work I wasn’t able to complete. Instead, I decided to just relax into what was at the time and do other things in the meantime.

It’s not the easiest thing to “just relax” when life takes unexpected twists and turns. But truly, what other choice is there - really? Computer problems don’t stand up to real trauma like the loss of a loved one or other news that really changes  your life. But staying in the moment and not going into the future or reaching back into the past can really help you from getting too stressed out at any given moment. It is not effortless to do - or actually that is exactly what it is! Practice staying in the moment and accepting what is in as many moments during your day as possible. Once you get it down, it will come more naturally and it will serve you, I believe, when the winds of change come crashing through your life.

Happiness is having my PC back!

:+) Carolyn.

For reasons I will explain later, I have not had access to my blog site since my last post. I am running off to work but have lots to say about the past 2 weeks!

I’m so happy to back here!!!!!

Continuing from my last post….my calf is burned!

What happens when tissue is damaged either through a cut or bruise or…burn, that tissue doesn’t pigment regularly. In other words you are prone to hyperpigmentation.

To define the term post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation - it means after-infection dark spots. So with my calf injury (burned skin), I am totally prone to this condition.

To avoid getting a dark mark all around the perimeter of the burned place, I will keep a Band-Aid on the injury (and I’ll keep applying lavender essential oil) any time I am going hiking or will be out in the sun for any length of time until the actual burn heals.

After the tissue heals completely (which may be several weeks), I will probably be OK if I just put some sunscreen on the area when I’ll be out and about.

The point is: Don’t leave injured tissue exposed to the sun. You run the risk of getting post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, which can take a long time to go away (most likely in the winter months). Injured tissue could be a blemish, burn, scrape (especially road rash), cut or any other injury that alters the tissue in any way. Many clients get post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation when they have blemishes on their faces and then get excessive (or sometimes even minimal) sun exposure.

Be careful, pay attention around hot metal objects (!), and wear your sunscreen and possibly a bandage (Band-Aid) on any injured skin if possible.

:+)