In yesterday's post, I mentioned that I will work on getting a tan while on vacation. I went back and reread yesterday's before writing today's and that kind of leaped out at me.
Tanning is not considered a healthy activity. It might cause wrinkles and skin cancer decades later. I have never fake baked, use spray on tans or been to a tanning salon. But I like a little color on my pale, look like I live under a rock, natural skin pallor. I also burn quite easily.
The best tan I have ever had in my life was when I spent a week in the Bahamas, snorkeling, water skiing, and moving around constantly. I wore sunscreen every day and never sat in the sun and didn't burn at all. But I was an awesome light tan color by the time I left. I have never had such a good even tan in my life.
So now, I do not expect myself to be able to move around as constantly, I will wear sun screen and move around as much as I can so I can tan lightly. But I am more in wrinkle avoidance than skin cancer avoidance mode.
Cancer makes you ask 'how long will I live' and 'how important are those long term goals'. Retirement savings, and other goals, become less significant after a cancer diagnosis, but then as you feel better, time passes since diagnosis, and the medical bills subside, they then return to prominence in your life. Priorities change as we age and cope with the medical disasters thrown our way.
My one chemo summer regret is that I didn't work on my tan more to prevent that lovely 'chemo pallor'. If you are a stage IV cancer person, I encourage you to get a 'healthy' tan.
No comments:
Post a Comment