You are vigilant, you are aware… but are you invincible?
If I asked my 20 something-self that question, my answer would have been a “HELL YES”! I would have thought that I was all of the above.
I was vigilant… extremely! Always the one to lather up with sunscreen and never one to really go out and sun tan (except for a few teenage years when peer pressure to have a tan got the better of me…!).
I was aware… particularly so considering the pigmentation of my lily-white skin and the fact that my father had his own battles with skin cancer of the non-melanoma variety.
But invincible… I AM NOT. Unfortunately none of us are, but ask a 20 something-self and I’m pretty sure we would all have laughed in the face of reality and run head first in to this beautiful life of ours. And so we should! But damn I wish I was that 20 something-self again… sometimes.
In my earlier post My Naked Journey Begins I touched on my story and my ongoing battle with melanoma. Unfortunately my situation is no longer in the early stages, but there is hope and hope is a powerful thing. This week I came across an article on a project being undertaken in New South Wales and I would like to share a bit about it with you my Naked friends. It’s called The Genome Project.
The two-year $5.5 million Melanoma Genome Project (largely funded by private donors) will seek to identify the common gene mutations that cause the deadly cancer melanoma by fully analysing the DNA of 500 tumours in our extensive BioSpecimen Bank. The ultimate goal is to enable doctors to tailor each patient’s treatment to the genetic nature of their tumours. The Melanoma Genome Project will build on the recent discovery that about 200,000 Australians carry a mutant gene that increases their melanoma risk.
Different people’s melanomas have different patterns of gene mutation. This explains why a melanoma that looks just the same as another to a surgeon or a pathologist might in fact be much more dangerous, and need more aggressive treatment.
Melanoma represents approximately 2% of all skin cancers in Australia however it is responsible for almost 80% of skin cancer related deaths.
The Melanoma Institute [to read more visit http://www.melanoma.org.au/research/melanoma-genome-project.html]
The Genome Project is an incredible advancement in Australia’s research in to gene mutation and the ‘treatments’ that may best be effective in treating a patient’s diagnosis and furthermore, a better understanding of what we are all fighting. For many Australians like me, this is where that little word… ‘hope’ resides!
This is where Invisible Zinc comes in with their Protect. Prevent. Get Checked. campaign where they are taking a lead in skin cancer awareness and prevention.
Invisible Zinc’s Spot Check – click here
Protect. Prevent. Get Checked.
FOR EVERY SHARE OF THE ABOVE VIDEO INVISIBLE ZINC WILL DONATE $1 TO THE GENOME PROJECT FOR RESEARCH INTO HELPING FIGHT THE BAD SPOTS.
For the month of January, Invisible Zinc will donate $1 of every Facebook share of the online video ad to The Genome Project up to a total of $30,000. Hopefully Invisible Zinc’s initiative will influence others to donate to this privately funded project, which ultimately will lead to more knowledge on melanoma and gene mutation. Winning!!!!
But why stop there… this ad is a timely reminder to all of you my Nakeds to pull your finger out and not just say you are going to do it, BOOK THAT APPOINTMENT NOW! Get a skin check and if you are suspicious of something, and you aren’t satisfied with the answer, then please seek a second opinion. I wish I had. We all put our faith in the hands of a stranger, but we know our bodies better than anyone. Listen to it, be kind to it and above all look after it!
With love, light and gratitude!
x
