Ouch!

If you're from a colder climate or the northern hemisphere, then you may not be aware of the dangers of overexposure to the sun and the fact that over time you can develop skin cancers. According to the Australian Cancer Council, Australia has the highest rate of skin cancers in the world and over 1,400 people a year die as a result. Nice.

Culturally, these days if you don't "slip, slop, slap" then most people think you're a bit thin on grey cells, but when I was a kid there was almost no skin cancer awareness and I spent lots of time in the sun and regularly got badly sunburned.

Well, today I've payed a little more of the price of getting burnt in those early years and had another skin cancer removed (and another $280 removed from my wallet). I went to the specialist to check on a thing on my leg which looked suspicious only to be told it was a wart - bizarre! The doc froze it off anyway which is nice, 'cause I was overly conscious of it, but he then checked the rest of me out and found one in my hair (what little remains) and one on my back.

The one on my back got "scraped off" under a local anaesthetic and the one in my hair I need to use a cream for. It's the third time I've had skin cancers removed and I'm only 35. I guess I'll have a few more removed by the time I'm done; I'll just need to keep a close eye on things so that I don't end up a statistic or with horrible surgery. Searching on Flickr for "Skin Cancer" produces some rather horrific images.

Needless to say, Anne and I make sure our girls get covered up when they go in the sun, and these days I do my best to avoid it all together (I like to preserve my office tan!).