No More Bakin' and Bikinis

I always thought I’d be like Helen Mirren, rocking a bikini in my 60s.

Then last November, I had a malignant melanoma removed from the back of my thigh.

My husband noticed a black dot that had appeared in the center of a tan-colored mole like a chocolate chip. I hightailed it into my dermatologist’s office the next day.

Thankfully, the cancer was only at stage 1. Still, Dr. Lillian Soohoo of the Menkes Clinic had to excise a 2-inch slice from my thigh. Melanoma is the deadliest type of skin cancer and is often unresponsive to therapy. It’s the leading cause of death for women between the ages of 25-29.

I knew I was lucky.

Dr. Soohoo told me my skin has taken too many hits, which wasn’t surprising. For as long as I can remember, my life has centered on surf and sun.

At Los Gatos High, I was voted “Most Local,” i.e., the girl who was always cutting class to go hang out at the beach. I’ll never forget posing with Stan Brown for the yearbook photo in our wetsuits by the school swimming pool. Stan was a cute surfer who talked just like Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. At the time, we were just two kids searching for tasty waves, a good buzz and a savage tan.

Miraculously I made it into San Diego State University, where I majored in journalism with a minor in smash ball at Windansea Beach. I saved the tips I made waitressing at the Chart House and winged off to tropical locales like Jamaica and Cabo during spring break. Then there were the summers I spent as a camp counselor in Kauai and Lake Tahoe, teaching impressionable youth the finer points of “laying out.” I was practically living in a Beach Boys song, and now it had come back to bite me in the lily white Coppertone girl's derrière.

Since I am at increased risk for more melanoma, Dr. Soohoo says it’s time to change my ways. 

First on the agenda: No more bikinis.

What?

I’ve always worn bikinis, except for the time I didn’t. I was bodysurfing at Sandy Beach on Oahu (aka “Break Neck Beach”) when I duck dove under a huge wave, and felt a snap. When I looked down, my bottoms were gone. As I tread in crystal clear water, a group of beefy Hawaiian bodysurfers circling me like sharks, my bikini bottoms floated off toward Australia.

Even though I can't wear bikinis anymore, Dr. Soohoo promises I can still have fun. From here on out I vow to:

1. Try to stay out of the sun during the peak hours of 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.

2. Wear board shorts and a long-sleeved rash guard at the beach. “Clothing is more effective than sunscreen in protecting the skin from harmful UV rays,” says Dr. Soohoo. “It is also more reliable, since it doesn’t sweat or rub off.  Think of sunscreen as a filter; it still lets in some UV rays that can cause skin damage.”

3. Protect my kids. Eighty percent of sun damage to skin occurs during childhood and adolescence.

4. Encourage everyone to get checked once a year. An annual skin cancer screening does not take much of your time, and it can save your life. I highly recommend Dr. Soohoo, the queen of tough love tanning. She can scare the bikini bottoms off anyone.

So here’s a shout out to all my friends, loved ones and especially my “Most Local” Hawaiian Tropic homey, Stan Brown. Whereever you are, Stan, I hope your skin fared better than mine. Just in case, please get checked.