Most of us have been guilty of it at one point or another "” spending a little too much time under the sun, baking in the rays without enough sunscreen or cover-ups to protect our skin. Despite my parents drilling it into my head as a kid to always wear sunscreen, I have to admit I don't always follow that advice and end up looking like a cooked lobster at least once during the summer. But after hearing this woman's experience following overexposure to the sun, I'd be crazy not to change my sunbathing ways immediately.
Radio host Janet of "TJ, Janet & JRod" on KJ103 in Oklahoma City has always loved the feeling of the sun on her skin. So much so, in fact, that she used to spend a lot of time running outdoors without wearing a hat. "This is so wrong, [but] I like that feel of "˜Oh, I got a little too much sun today.' It makes me happy," she said. She was also a former frequenter of tanning salons.
Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with skin cancer in 2017; specifically, a basal cell carcinoma on her face, as a direct result. In December, doctors removed the mass from her nose, leaving behind a large hole. But that wasn't the worst part for Janet.
In a strange yet effective healing method, Janet's surgeon took a vein from her forehead, flipped it, then reattached it to her nose. "It's a hard sell trying to convince people that this is the best way to go," facial plastic surgeon Dr. Ivan Wayne explained. "I'm gonna split your forehead, then take a piece of skin and put it on your nose. But it works amazingly well."
She lived with that "forehead flap" for weeks before finally having it removed at the end of the month, but she took it in stride, even showing it off to others in an effort to warn them about the dangers of sun exposure.
Learn more about Janet's story in the video below. She's such a champ!
Now Janet is living cancer-free with a never-ending supply of sunscreens for every occasion. "It does change your perspective on what you do and how you protect yourself," she said. "What I have really tried to emphasize to my children is, "˜You better at least be putting on sunscreen anywhere you don't want a vein hanging out on your face for three weeks."
I certainly wouldn't want that, either. That's why I'm pledging to wear sunscreen whenever I step foot outside from now on. Congratulations, Janet, for your victory and your good-natured attitude throughout your battle with cancer.
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