Brigette Lea Guerrero: Melanoma & Basal Cell Carcinoma Survivor

Well, this is a story of my cancer—melanoma and basal cell. I have always been outside…photography, jet skiing, swimming, golfing, hunting, fishing—never with cover. The tanner/redder I got, the better. I can remember at least 50 sunburns that I have had and some were worse than others.

I would actually go to a tanning bed in the morning and then sit by the pool before going out at night. Once it was so bad that I couldn’t open eyes. Yes, I burned my eyes. That would stop most but not me.

So, two years ago I got a wakeup call—melanoma on my calf. And just most recently, basal cell was found on my forehead, which resulted in at least 20 biopsies/frozen spots and a dose of Carac Chemo Cream.

It is something that I do blame on myself. It is still very hard for me to be in the sun because I want to be in 100%, with no hat but I can’t. I have purchased hats in every color. I have purchased swimsuits with long arms that cover. Do I like it? Nope, but it’s my new life. It’s my new summer. I will adjust. It makes me sad. I know I have more spots to have removed and probably another dose of chemo but I am alive and, hey, that’s something.