Machka 

A few of you may remember me from days gone by ... the long distance cyclist. Thousands upon thousands of kilometres outside on the road riding metric centuries, centuries, and brevets of all sorts.
It had to happen sooner or later.
In November I was diagnosed with skin cancer on my nose and hip.
In December the skin cancer was removed from my nose and hip and my nose was restructured.

Put a little dab of sunscreen on your nose next time you're out!

The hip skin cancer could have something to do with the time I spent in tanning beds back in the day.

MinnMan

Glad that you caught it in time. best of luck with the recovery and thanks for the reminder.

rumrunn6

awww, sounds rough, thank you for reminding us. hope you feel better

Steve B.

I'm at the dermatologist twice per year so he can treat assorted spots on the top of my head and arms. Scrapes off, does biopsy, then uses the liquid nitrogen freeze stuff to kill the pre-cancerous spots. It didn't help that I spent a lot of my youth around pools, partly naked.

Charles Lathe

I have had two squamous cell carcinomas surgically removed — one on my hand and one on my thigh. I wear long sleeve shirts, long pants, and a hat with a brim when I am outside.

Mtracer

Glad you caught it and have dealt with it.

I live in the very sunny desert southwest and have taken sunscreen seriously for decades. More so lately now that my daughter is an epidemiologist and did her PhD on skin cancer.

Based on her recommendation, I use mineral sunscreen on every ride on any areas that might get exposed, cloudy or sunny days.

FYI, mineral sunscreens work by literally reflecting the light and as a result actually keep you cooler.

About a year ago, I inadvertently bought a chemical sunscreen. Same brand as my go-to mineral version. It had nearly identical packaging. After about a month of using this, I was convinced it just wasn't working as well. Finishing rides with some obvious redness and just feeling hotter on rides. My daughter looked at it and said something to the effect of "dad, you idiot, this isn't mineral sunscreen." She didn't actually call me an idiot, but it was implied.

I really think the mineral sunscreen results in less stress on my body. Sure I look rather pale wearing it. But I simply don't care. It works well for me.

PeteHski

Thanks for the reminder. I got burnt last year on a local century ride that turned out a lot sunnier than expected.

elcruxio

I'm glad my wife pressured me into the whole sunscreen thing. I used to get burned frequently especially on rides, but recently long sleeve jerseys and 50+ sunscreen added frequently has kept me burn free.

Melanoma is one of the most aggressive types of cancer so the hassle of adding sunscreen etc. is well worth the trouble if I can avoid that particular disease.

GhostRider62

I've had to have stuff cut off my skin, the worst was a 3 incher on my face from the mohs procedure but it was painless and the scar isn't visible. Wearing a hat with a brim is probably a good idea for a teen caddying 36 holes a day or recumbent riders doing a double

himespau 

Best of luck with the recovery. After getting hit by a car, I do most of my riding indoors, so my main environmental worry is long term accumulation of tiny amounts of radon in my basement (or something weird coming off my computer screen).

blacknbluebikes 

Sorry for the late post, but I had indeed noticed your absence for a while. Glad to hear you seem to be on the mend. Hope you can enjoy your summer.