is there any way of reversing the damage the sun has done to our skin. i have tanned a majority of my life without protection and have burnt a few times in the past. Especially when I was a kid. i mean we did not really know the dangers back in the late 70's and 80;s like we do now. my parents never put sunscreen on us kids. i have had a few scares about strange moles. Actually I am going through one right now. I have a very small freckle on my arm that recently i think, I never really noticed but now has dark brown to black inside of it. Very small. i went to my GP and he said it was nothing to worry about. Easily said then done hey? Anyways, he said to watch it over the next month to see if it changes. I hate that waiting game. I just want to know, ya know. Anyways, i feel for everyone here concerned and if I was to do it again SUNSCREEN all the way. Oh well cant worry about spilt milk. I hope everyone concerned here finds out that there is nothing wrong with their moles and I hope we all decide to protect ourselves from now on.
another question, while im at it, since some of us have burnt as kids etc...what are the percentages that those will develop skin cancer in the future. Keep in mind we take the necessary precautions now!

Cheers

To see if you can reverse the horrid sun damaged skin, I would suggest you go to a qualified plastic surgeon, they apparently have marvels in laser treatments, and skin peels, and who knows? Your dermatologist that you are going to for your mole should be able to help steer you in the right direction.

the only thing I know is about 8% of the general population may MAY develop the deadly melanoma form. Basal Cell, and SCC are easiy cureable, and if caught in Time like if the MM is in insitu stage the figurres are something like 98% chance no more.

Late70's and 80's I always had sunscreen on my kids. Now I was a child of the 50's and sun screen was not invented then, and I was burned, even as an infant, I only use a SUNBLOCK which contains zinc, and other goodies not a sun screen. Sun screen filter out UVB the rays that BURN but only with certain indregients will a product filter out UVA.

I myself have stage 2B mel and yes the waiting game sucks I have had 4 biopsies 2 mel and 2 not and all of them are on areas that did not even see the sun at any time....... Right now a lesion from inside my eye is being tested, after a full excisional biopsy it showed at the beginning what is called severe dysplastic (not mel) but since it is so close to being Mel, the doctors sent the slides to other cancer centres for further evaluation prior to deciding just how much more of me has to be taken out.

All I can say, is slather on goop, wear proper protective clothes, and stay out of the sun from say 10 to 4 pm. I also take Vit D3 which may or may not help me from getting a vit D defincency.

Hope you continue to stay safe, and I am happy your are aware!

...all of them are on areas that did not even see the sun at any time......

To paraphrase my dermatologist after I asked the very same question:

Your skin is one organ just like any other organ in your body. Damage done in one area may cause a reaction to a different area. If, for example, you have a mole that has the propensity to become cancerous on your bum, and then sunburn on your arms, your skin as a whole reacts to the sunburn and possibly enables the mole to change on a molecular level.


It made more sense to me after I found that out since my mm was on an area that i guarantee had never seen the light of day. :o