Summary: <p>A little over a month ago I found out that a biopsy of a mole on my leg came back positive for melanoma. And I was very lucky because they found it in the earliest stage and were able to remove it and I can now say I am cancer-free. But the reality of that situation isn’t that they found it because I was being proactive about my health. In fact, I was just really lucky. This week on the podcast I wanted to talk about how this incident opened my eyes to a whole part of self-care I had been completely ignoring, my physical health.</p> <p>I had gone to the doctor about the bump under my lip in LA, but it didn’t flatten out like they said and I was a little concerned, but also knew they had done a biopsy so it shouldn’t be cancer. I put off going to the doctor for about a year and then when I got plantar fasciitis, I went in to see if I needed a referral for my feet and since I was there, I asked about the bump under my lip. So, the doctor put in a referral to dermatology.</p> <p>I went to the doctor and they found another mole they were worried about on my leg. I had a biopsy done on the mole and it did come back as melanoma. I was able to get help from a friends’ mom who lived a few miles from the doctor’s office and was able to get the mole completely removed. And have since had a cancer-free diagnose from the follow-up biopsy done from the tissue collected during the surgery.</p> <p>This event made me realize I need to do a better job of taking care of myself physically. I haven’t visited a doctor for an annual exam since my son was born almost 4 years ago. I didn’t think I had time to go to the doctor, but I need to make sure to take the time to go to my regular doctor check-up and as I continue to get older ensure I do the additional screening to help find issues before they become major problems.</p> <p>This podcast episode was inspired by this blog post on <a href="http://www.airmantomom.com/2019/11/how-a-skin-check-saved-my-life/">www.airmantomom.com</a>.</p> <p><em>This post contains affiliate links</em></p> <p>Are you looking for a holiday gift for a female veteran you know? Check out my book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1079328440?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860">Women of the Military</a>, if you would like a signed copy please email me at airmantomom at gmail dot com. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/1079328440?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860">Get your copy here.</a></p>
