Living a Nightmare from Skin Cancer
- Honoure Stark, a 53-year-old mother of four, has been struggling with an incredibly painful battle with skin cancer, specifically, basal cell carcinoma.
- Starkwho has had at least 30 skin surgeriesadmits she never wore sunscreen in her life, and is now suffering tremendously as countless lesions continue to pop up on her skin. To make matters worse, her reactions to the chemotherapy cream she must use are severe.
- To make sure you're getting the right protection from the sun, experts recommend using sunscreen every two hours and wearing protective clothing, such as a hat and sunglasses. Staying out of the sun during peak hours also helps.
What she initially thought was eczema on her forehead back in 2008, wound up being skin cancer, and she has had at least 30 surgeries ever since to remove them.
Read MoreStark, who is unemployed due to the physical and mental stress of her condition, admits she never wore sunscreen in her life, and is now paying for it in the worst possible way, which is heartbreaking to have to endure. Putting herself out there like this is surely difficult to do, especially in this case, but the Canadian wants to help raise awareness on skin cancer prevention so that no one has to suffer like this, and has started doing TikTok videos.
Miraculously, just two weeks ago, she has finally reported some improvement and is showing signs of hope for her condition. “I'm so grateful I'm healthy and healing,” Stark wrote.
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“I put sunscreen on my children however I didn’t wear sunscreen at all,” she said. “I had sunscreen in my home but it wasn’t something that I thought about every morning before I went outside. I didn’t wear a hat or stand under an umbrella, and that’s exactly why I have this much cancer.”
Top 5 Ways to Protect Your Skin From Skin Cancer
Skin Cancer Prevention
The specific type of cancer Stark has is basal cell carcinoma, the most common form of the disease that accounts for roughly 80% of cases. Typically, melanoma is the most aggressive, and basal cell is usually easier to treat, especially when caught early. Sadly, not in Stark’s case.
Additionally, just like with traditional chemotherapy, patients have a wide range of side effects and reactionssome mild, some more severe, like in this extreme case.
Choose the Right Sunscreen and Use it Often
Dr. Cecilia Larocca, a dermatologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, recommends to SurvivorNet that you use no less than SPF 30 and reapply it every two hours. "Your sunscreen should also be broad spectrum," says Dr. Larocca, meaning it covers both UVB and UVA rays.
One thing that many people do not know is that you only get about 50% of the SPF on the label. "So, if you're using SPF 60, you're really getting closer 30 SPF of protection," Dr. Larocca says.
To make sure you're getting the right protection, she also recommends using sunscreen every two hours and wearing protective clothing, such as a hat and sunglasses.
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