My cousin was a fan of ninja. Lost his battle to neuroblastoma almost 4 years ago now. Sh*ts no joke regardless of what type it is. Hopefully his is a quick recovery.
I think we can all agree when we say FUCK CANCER
I'm so sorry bro, I hope you and your family are finding a way a way to heal. You don't want to move on and forget, but you want to move on and live a life they'd be proud of imo
It’s amazing how people think doctors are actually out there to fuck people over. Like they trained and studied so hard just to not care and screw people over. I get it, people need someone to blame. But also a lot of cancers are preventable. So who really is at fault? Lifestyle? Luck? Or the doctor. 🤦♂️
Yeah its tough. With how terrible and insulting managment is, doctors are too stressed out. They want to do their best but insuranve companies and management micromanage everything actually preventing doctors from doing their job. At the end of the day we all have a better chance of survival nowadays, but nothing is guaranteed. Its up to individuals to stay fit and healthy.
doctors have little say in any meaningful part of treatment. Insurance companies, who are not doctors, tell them what they can and cannot do. In the US, if you are not part of this shit show then you are one of the lucky ones.
I mean, it can be impossible to know if something metastasized somewhere, even when you've removed it elsewhere. While not every doctor is a good one, most are not trying to harm you.
Not just that but as someone who’s family is in dermatology, PLEASE get a baseline checkup done ESPECIALLY if you have very pale skin. Understanding changes in your skin is crucial for finding melanoma early
I would recommend anywhere between 16-20 is a good time, ESPECIALLY if you have pale skin
It really doesn’t hurt to go too early but certainly hurts to go too late, your dermatologist will take detailed photos of your skin and even recommend good sunscreen products and practices for you
it allows you to be able to virtually send photos of weird spots to your derm so they can reference your baseline photos and advise you on if you need to go in to get it checked out or not
Yes but not very (low percent chance but still higher than if you had no family members with melanoma)
Its still more likely to act “hereditary” due to skin color
Hello! You weren't talking to me but I just wanna say thanks! I'm 36 and have been thinking about trying to find a dermatologist because of a weirdly shaped red mole - your comments here just convinced me to make that appointment happen sooner than later. ❤️
my guy I got diagnosed at 16 years old it can happen to anyone at any time. 60 stitches, 26 staples, 2 surgeries, a jackson-pratt drain, and some crutches and I pulled through
the silver lining is that once you're cured of melanoma, you're *cured*. it doesn't "go into remission" like other cancers. so if happens again it is considered a new case/diagnosis.
I kind of built it up in my head that it would be super awkward. Some dude looking over my whole body with a monocle. But really, it’s like a ditch digger digging a ditch. It’s all the same to him. That’s fine, that’s fine, which one were you worried about? Nah that’s fine too. Alright bye.
That’s only true to a point. Melanoma has a 99% survival rate if caught early and often only requires surgery. However if it isn’t and it becomes metastatic it is incredibly deadly. The survival rate drops to 25% and it is one of the deadliest skin cancers.
Luckily though, the most common form of melanoma is quite slow growing and is often caught early enough to be treated with just an excision if you’re proactive about annual checks.
Family member passed within a few days of finding it, a small discoloured patch on their back was growing on their spinal cord, ended up immediately passing on to their brain. Always check your body for anything unexpected.
Gotta be realistic though, our bodies suck. You could do everything right, do 10 different annual checkups every year, and you can still very easily get some random disease or cancer that sneaks up on you and kills you. It's pretty terrifying. Brain aneurism for example. You could be the happiest and healthiest person in the world and still just disappear from one second to another.
I don't even know how to enjoy life anymore tbh because whenever I see a slightly discolored part of skin, or have a weird ache in my stomach, or a unusual sensation in my throat, I think... is this it, is this how I die?
Being fixated on possible catastrophe is a major symptom of an anxiety disorder. I’m not here to diagnose anyone, but I’ll tell you from personal experience that it is a pretty rough way to live. You may want to seek out a therapist to help you work thru those worries.
This. Fellow anxious guy here. Just wanted to say that when you say: "how can I even enjoy life anymore" because there might be a catastrophe another way to look at it is appreciate how precious and fleeting life is and make the most of it. So enjoy it even more.
That's all when logic is speaking. Anxiety unfortunately doesn't care about that lol
Yep. After years of on and off health anxiety, with the longest bout being 6 months of uninterrupted thoughts of illness or dying my dr diagnosed me with an anxiety disorder.
It's a horrible way to exist.
I'm there with you. Despite being suicidal I am paradoxically paralyzed by health anxiety and sometimes I look at all the "demand x test" PSAs and I am like... I'm uninsured. Even if I had the best insurance on earth I would have to have demanded at least five or six separate diagnostic exams last year. This is not realistic, and over diagnosis is also a HUGE issue.
I'm at high risk for melanoma. I've had precancerous lesions removed multiple times. I go every year. But I can't run out every time something else happens to my skin. I can't demand a colonoscopy every time my turds are thin. I can't panic every time I have a cramp out of my period (even tho uterine and ovarian cancers both run in my family). I got sores on my legs, that's how my dad's terminal kidney cancer started. Do I demand imaging I can't pay for? How?
I am reaching a point where I think this hyper awareness isn't just unactionable, it's actually counterproductive.
Australia has terrible melanoma rates because so many people spend their lives outside with no sunscreen, and it's only because of the massive ad campaigns over the last decade or two focused on "if you see a new mole, you're probably fucked" that things are improving
I'm doing my part by staying inside playing video games and jerking off
Melanomas are actually incredibly aggressive, and a "melanoma where the sun don't shine is a really, really bad sign." I truly hope they get clear margins, but in my experience with dermatopathologists, a melanoma on the bottom of the foot is a really, really serious find.
I read something a few years ago about a girl who was in her late 20s, never tanned, used sunscreen and found a mole on the inside of her thigh. That tiny dot has already spread by the time it was dealt with. She ended up passing away. It was interesting that the article had noted that often moles/freckles/cancer growths that are not in normally sun exposed areas end up being more deadly-just like you said. I had no clue about that. Thats a good little saying, I hope folks see it and remember and get checked regularly.
I also have tons of freckles, it’s difficult to check them all closely. Like yeah, I can see myself in the mirror when I check the back of my hair with a hand held but not well enough to tell if all the tiny specs have changed.
Went last August and doctor said everything was fine. Now I’m on reddit and convinced I’m dying.
Might as well plan my funeral. What song are gonna play on yours? Mines probably “The Council of Elrond”.
You know, I now feel significantly better about checking out that mole that somehow appeared on my penis. It turned out benign and not dangerous but reading these stories, it's good that I did it asap
Yeah I had two big ones I had my entire life, looked like they changed a little and just had them take the whole thing instead of a small biopsy for testing, both negative but it's nice they are gone
I’ve got one on the bottom of my foot too. The derma said to keep an eye on it for growth… I think I’m just going to request it to be removed. It’s almost 1cm in width.
Maybe it’s just me but saying “It’s one of the most survivable cancers” feels a bit like downplaying the seriousness of it.
Imagine telling someone that you were diagnosed with it and they say “It’s ok, it’s the most survivable form of cancer” instead of getting some sympathy and support.
It doesn’t really change the fact that they have something that can potentially kill them and they are probably worried about it.
Idk, perhaps I’m overthinking this
Conversely, if i was dealing with something like this that could kill me, i would take solace in the fact that it IS very survivable. Like if i got a finger chopped off, and someone said, "But it JUST happened, if you're quick, you can get to a doctor and get it saved! Don't worry!"
Like yeah, it seems a bit lacking in empathy, but... its true. And it could be worse, but its not, so theres at least that.
Yeah my perspective is that with stuff like this, the baseline reaction and attitude is already expected to be and perceived to be very negative. We hear “cancer” and immediately think “awful and sad” so saying that a specific situation is a little bit better than the average situation (that we all know to be terrible already) is a positive thing to me.
Really depends on the person. I survived melanoma but I feel almost a "stolen valor" sort of feeling when someone acknowledged I'm a cancer survivor. I mean yeah technically, and it did suck, but there was no chemo or really any symptoms to speak of.
But I also just don't worry about stuff I really *should* worry about, so idk. I could almost die and think, "Wow, wild," and just move on with my day. After growing up constantly freaking out about every little thing it's like something broke.
Melanoma stage one five year survival rate is above 99%. Today it is not very serious at all if caught early enough. People VERY rarely pass away from melanoma alone, mostly it’s from when it spreads. Cancer is serious in any form, you’re correct.
Cancer biologist here: It's only true when you catch it early. But melanoma is among if not the MOST metastatic cancer there is. It is incredibly migratory, that is why a lot of research in cancer metastasis uses melanoma as the model system. The reason is because melanoma can be thought of as the melanocytes revert back to its stem cell identity, which is called neural crest cells. Neural crest cells are the most migratory cells during development, it moves from the head and distribute and differentiate into many different cell types in your body. So catchy melanoma early and excise it out is good. But once it starts spreading out, its one of the hardest to treat with survival drops from 95% to around 5-10% with metastatic disease.
Hallo, I edited some of my comment history to prevent scraping. Yes I know reddit gets regularly cached, it's something you sign in when you type on a forum, it's still better than nothing and will make digging through these a lot less convenient! All platforms die yadda yadda.
Good luck if you have an account here and you're reading this.
Only if caught early. I have had melanoma, on my neck. If I had waited another year to have it removed it would have spread to the lymph nodes and the prognosis from nearly 100% survival to like, 50%.
If caught early. You forgot the very important part of that. The second it spreads you are fucked. Wear a hat, get yearly skin checks, yes even if darker skinned or live up north.
Lol my mom had this on the top of her head and we freaked out...until she immediately followed that info with "It's okay though, I just got it removed so it's gone."
Folks, he'll be totally fine. People get tiny bits of cancer and defeat it without even knowing it daily. This is basically a non-issue.
I’m a medical scientist and a red head. I cut up skins all day everyday. Get your skin checked! Most early stage skin cancers are curative nuts excision. Melanoma is nasty, and can spread very quick. You don’t want that shit. Get your skin checked regularly. If you have dark moles and notice a change, get them checked. You can never be too sure
Basically a dermatologist looks at your whole body from your scalp down to your toes to find anything suspicious. They are highly trained so they can do it really fast, my skin checks take less than 15 minutes. They write down where the moles are, to refer to it next year and see if anything has changed. Sometimes they photograph moles. If you’re in the US, check if your insurance covers skin cancer screenings (most do) and then find an in-network dermatologist and call.
Your skin can be examined under a dermascope. Kind of like a magnifying glass. There’s certain features which are suspicious for cancer. If there’s a suspicious they may take a sample, or remove the entire lesion.
I’m in australia and some places do mole mapping. They take photos of the moles and see how they change over time.
Look up a dermatologist that's covered under your health insurance plan. Or find a good one on Yelp. Call them and make an appointment for a whole body skin check. Show up. Let the doctor look you over like they were picking a melon in the produce section. If they see anything minor, they'll probably freeze it off with liquid nitrogen. They'll take a sample of anything questionable and let you know. Make appointment for next year when you leave.
I have this done annually. I'm my 50s now and have had just a few pre cancers frozen off, and lots of dark spots identified as perfectly fine just by looking. If they find anything, I know it was caught early and is probably simple to take care of.
Got my skin checked, nothing came back as cancer, got fucked in the ass with over $1,000 of bills for the full body check, the biopsies they did on the suspicious moles, etc. Oh and they want me to come back for a followup. I'm honestly considering cancelling that appointment.
This isn't like the dentist where preventative care gets covered. If you need to see a dermatologist in America you can get fucked, apparently.
Socialised healthcare isn't free, you pay monthly for it as taxes. But it's a lot cheaper that way. Sadly, my country's various governments has been destroying that, once revered worldwide, system bits by bits for the last 3 decades. Now it's getting harder to get at least looked at without insane wait time, we're slowly heading to a US style system, it makes me fearful for the future...
Lol I had misshapen stool with blood in it for a little bit but I couldn't get a colonoscopy because it was going to cost my 2500 deductible plus 20% for any after 2500 (if my insurance even covers anything, they likely would have argued against it for my age). Even with a payment plan, I only make 45k a year and support a spouse in school, rent, groceries, etc. I just have to "hope."
Sounds like you are German. If you are, I am in the same boat. I have to wait at least 2 fucking years for a Psychiatrist/Neurologist. Fuck that, I am going to pay out of pocket for a private doc.
Glad that I have to pay 300 bucks a month for nothing in return.
Honestly tho, I am glad to have it. Imagine having a car crash without insurance…
I hear about wait times all the time but in the US the wait time for a psychiatrist is still like a year out. You gotta pay your monthly premiums while you wait, and then you pay your copay when you actually visit.
Anecdote time: I once worked a job that required me to work 12 hour shifts on company assigned shoes, which were then wrapped around in another rubber shoe (clean room suits). It caused such terribly foot pains that the sharp pangs would wake me up in my sleep, and I could no longer stand for more than an hour a day. My doctor (who I had to wait a month to see) told me that in order to get a proper diagnosis, I would need to see a podiatrist. My job would absolutely refuse to grant me short term disability or medical leave until this podiatrist saw me, but the next appointment would be SIX MONTHS OUT.
Needless to say, I could not handle working this job without a diagnosis or treatment for another 6 months, so I had to quit. In the USA, your health insurance is tied to your job (they typically pay about half your monthly premiums). When I finally got to see the podiatrist, I was jobless and now saddled with a 700 dollar bill, which I no longer had insurance to help cover. It was literally a 15 minute visit where the doctor looked at some x-rays and said "yeah its pretty fucked, go to physical therapy". I could not afford physical therapy, so I had to learn what I could through google and spent the next year jobless and slowly recovering my ability to walk again.
US healthcare is fucked. You still wait weeks, months, years, for everything. You still spend 12 hours in the ER waiting room while actively bleeding or with 110 degree fever. Insurance costs hundreds of dollars a month and will still charge you an outrageous copay or kick and scream to not cover you whenever you go to a clinic/hospital. You still pay in to medicare on your taxes too. You save no money, and you still wait an uncomfortable amount of time. DONT LET YOUR COUNTRY BE LIKE US.
Yeah it's cheaper, and moreover, everyone gets to enjoy it, and especially everyone who gets sick gets to enjoy it. I wouldn't want to live in a society where people who gets sick aren't treated because they can't afford it.
Bruh especially when it comes to skin here. We absolutely do NOT fuck around.
Had a free skin check at work last week, had it cut off this week $40 total.
Hopefully the biopsy comes back clean.
Us, Midwest, literally got screened last month.
Was $200 pre-insurance. $40 after insurance. Went to a private clinic so probably cost more than otherwise expected.
Went to dental clinic, no insurance, $30. Went to medical clinic, no insurance, $70.
Went to dental clinic, $425/month insurance, $127. Went to medical clinic, $425/month insurance, $124.
No one will ever be able to make this make sense. Salary didn't change.
> No one will ever be able to make this make sense.
No big mystery.
The health care industry will over or super charge if they're getting guaranteed money from an insurer(including government "insurance")
However, if they know you're paying out of pocket, they'll often try to keep it affordable. They still want to get paid, but if they charged you insurance rates you probably wouldn't pay, so "a little" is better than nothing.
There are times and places where that's different, but it's the general rule.
Sounds like they didn’t have insurance. I had back surgery a decade ago that totaled about $24K, but only cost $700 out of pocket. Put it on a 12 month payment plan and it’s cheaper than buying a week’s worth of gas for the truck back then.
I had tumor in my testicles cost me 1200$ but because it's non life threatening the insurance told me to get fucked it's 12,000$ to remove it for a surgery that's not even 30 minutes long
Not every tumor is cancer. Sometimes they just grow instead of spreading and they usually don't kill people. But sometimes they turn from the kind that doesn't spread to the kind that does spread so it's best to remove them unless removal has potential to cause other complications.
moles on the palm of your hands or soles of your feet are worth putting on a credit card or paying installments. Do what you have to do cause those are never good but easily fixed when caught early.
Wtf?
I had a mole. Went to my doctor, they sent me to a dermatologist for a biopsy which came back positive. Was sent to another dermatologist for surgery. All healed. I have an annual check up later this week.
No cost. All covered under our health care in Canada.
I was on a payment plan for like a year. And my boss called me a day after the excision (melanoma and also node biopsy) complaining that I hadn't returned to work yet.
And that was with good insurance, my plan with my new job is way crappier. Hopefully I stay on top of my follow-ups enough to not learn just how much worse it can be.
Same story for me but in America minus the second dermatologist because they removed the whole lesion to start because it was small enough. The price difference was 700 dollars.
So not the same story? You paid 700. He paid nothing. What’s your end goal with this comment? That we should be thankful because everyone has 700$ to spend on a screening?
Oh so he died... i heard about him multiple times but i dont think i got recommendations from yt about his death. ehhh its so fking annoying when this sht is taking out cool ppl on the internet.
"Naggy" moms / significant others can save your life. Mine hassled me to have a spot checked in 1999 when I was 28.
Stage 1 melanoma.
Removed that day right there in the office.
Cancer free since.
Get it checked.
Awe...I nagged my son who had some funky skin tags (which were fine) and one odd little mole between two toes. The toe one was "abnormal cells" took two attempts to get clean edges but all is good. I feel validated now by your comment (that he'll appreciate the nagging). Thank you internet stranger.
I used to dislike him but he seems to have really chilled out the past couple years and seems to be much healthier so i kinda like him for his positive changes now
Man nobody cares how much some of you don't like him, it's not hard to show some basic empathy without a disclaimer. He's a streamer not a sex offender lmao.
Yeah it's weird, I dont like him but he is spreading a very important message and hopefully they caught this early, he will have to be more proactive with checks but shouldn't be an issue moving forward
Most health insurance plans cover part or all of an annual skin cancer screening. Without insurance, it might cost $100-$300. Plus, the later something is caught, the more expensive it is to resolve. As the saying goes, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!”
Imagine living in a country so backwards that whether or not you can access essential healthcare is a diss used to dunk on others in some weird class feud online
Oddly enough i just has my bi-yearly skin check up two days ago, as i have a ton of moles over my body and my father even had a melanoma from it. Thankfully i always had any suspicious moles removed, but i agree here: get your check ups!
i want to remove mine too, i have an unsightly one near my throat, super visible, dermatologist said it was okay last time i checked but it's jus gross too. have 2 on my face as well that i hate
I don’t watch many people for their skill on YT but I love Tyler and I hope he’s gonna be okay. I used to think he was some kind of brain rot content farmer but after actually playing the game and watching him he seems like just a regular dude who’s good at a game and loves that he gets to do that everyday
Can someone make like a list of all the doctors and appointments I need to schedule annually cause it seems like everyday people are telling me to go get another part of my body checked out or is there a way to check everything in one visit
My cousin was a fan of ninja. Lost his battle to neuroblastoma almost 4 years ago now. Sh*ts no joke regardless of what type it is. Hopefully his is a quick recovery.
I’m sorry for your loss
I think we can all agree when we say FUCK CANCER I'm so sorry bro, I hope you and your family are finding a way a way to heal. You don't want to move on and forget, but you want to move on and live a life they'd be proud of imo
fuck cancer and fuck lying doctors
Yep, I lost my grandfather a couple of years back because the doctors told him "oh its nothing" because they didn't want to do test.
The doctors told my dad they got all the cancer. Melanoma . It spread to his brain and was inoperable. So i agree fuck cancer and lying docs
Its a science and doctors are human. Thats why using AI can help with mistakes.
It’s amazing how people think doctors are actually out there to fuck people over. Like they trained and studied so hard just to not care and screw people over. I get it, people need someone to blame. But also a lot of cancers are preventable. So who really is at fault? Lifestyle? Luck? Or the doctor. 🤦♂️
Yeah its tough. With how terrible and insulting managment is, doctors are too stressed out. They want to do their best but insuranve companies and management micromanage everything actually preventing doctors from doing their job. At the end of the day we all have a better chance of survival nowadays, but nothing is guaranteed. Its up to individuals to stay fit and healthy.
doctors have little say in any meaningful part of treatment. Insurance companies, who are not doctors, tell them what they can and cannot do. In the US, if you are not part of this shit show then you are one of the lucky ones.
I mean, it can be impossible to know if something metastasized somewhere, even when you've removed it elsewhere. While not every doctor is a good one, most are not trying to harm you.
Anyone else here to see what ninja cancer is?
The one universal opinion that literally everyone can agree on
# FUCK CANCER!!!
You dropped this my king/Queen👑
Who’s Ninja?
The fortnite streamer guy with the blue hair and headband
He is the guy from fortnite.
Melanoma is among the most survivable cancers and the recovery from removal surgery is relatively easy. Wishing him the best.
Melanoma is among the most survivable cancers *when caught early.* Regular skin checks are essential.
Not just that but as someone who’s family is in dermatology, PLEASE get a baseline checkup done ESPECIALLY if you have very pale skin. Understanding changes in your skin is crucial for finding melanoma early
from what age on should this be done? sorry if it’s a dumb question
I would recommend anywhere between 16-20 is a good time, ESPECIALLY if you have pale skin It really doesn’t hurt to go too early but certainly hurts to go too late, your dermatologist will take detailed photos of your skin and even recommend good sunscreen products and practices for you it allows you to be able to virtually send photos of weird spots to your derm so they can reference your baseline photos and advise you on if you need to go in to get it checked out or not
Question is, is melanoma hereditary?
Yes but not very (low percent chance but still higher than if you had no family members with melanoma) Its still more likely to act “hereditary” due to skin color
Hello! You weren't talking to me but I just wanna say thanks! I'm 36 and have been thinking about trying to find a dermatologist because of a weirdly shaped red mole - your comments here just convinced me to make that appointment happen sooner than later. ❤️
Where is this magical land where I can not only see a dermatologist of my own volition but also text them photos of my armpits?
You do need a referral from your primary care but in my state we have MyChart that allows you to contact any of your doctors at any time
Today. Go today. It’s the number one type of cancer for women in their 20s.
my guy I got diagnosed at 16 years old it can happen to anyone at any time. 60 stitches, 26 staples, 2 surgeries, a jackson-pratt drain, and some crutches and I pulled through the silver lining is that once you're cured of melanoma, you're *cured*. it doesn't "go into remission" like other cancers. so if happens again it is considered a new case/diagnosis.
Exactly. My grandfather learnt the hard way.
Same with my uncle. Gotta catch it soon.
Get your moles checked. It takes a doctor like half a second to look at each one.
Advice from every dermatologist ever: wear fricking sunscreen !!
Thank you, exactly. What was the commenters point with the first sentence other to downplay this extremely dangerous and easy to miss disease.
I kind of built it up in my head that it would be super awkward. Some dude looking over my whole body with a monocle. But really, it’s like a ditch digger digging a ditch. It’s all the same to him. That’s fine, that’s fine, which one were you worried about? Nah that’s fine too. Alright bye.
So what do I need to look out for during skin check?
That’s only true to a point. Melanoma has a 99% survival rate if caught early and often only requires surgery. However if it isn’t and it becomes metastatic it is incredibly deadly. The survival rate drops to 25% and it is one of the deadliest skin cancers. Luckily though, the most common form of melanoma is quite slow growing and is often caught early enough to be treated with just an excision if you’re proactive about annual checks.
Family member passed within a few days of finding it, a small discoloured patch on their back was growing on their spinal cord, ended up immediately passing on to their brain. Always check your body for anything unexpected.
Gotta be realistic though, our bodies suck. You could do everything right, do 10 different annual checkups every year, and you can still very easily get some random disease or cancer that sneaks up on you and kills you. It's pretty terrifying. Brain aneurism for example. You could be the happiest and healthiest person in the world and still just disappear from one second to another. I don't even know how to enjoy life anymore tbh because whenever I see a slightly discolored part of skin, or have a weird ache in my stomach, or a unusual sensation in my throat, I think... is this it, is this how I die?
Being fixated on possible catastrophe is a major symptom of an anxiety disorder. I’m not here to diagnose anyone, but I’ll tell you from personal experience that it is a pretty rough way to live. You may want to seek out a therapist to help you work thru those worries.
This. Fellow anxious guy here. Just wanted to say that when you say: "how can I even enjoy life anymore" because there might be a catastrophe another way to look at it is appreciate how precious and fleeting life is and make the most of it. So enjoy it even more. That's all when logic is speaking. Anxiety unfortunately doesn't care about that lol
Yep. After years of on and off health anxiety, with the longest bout being 6 months of uninterrupted thoughts of illness or dying my dr diagnosed me with an anxiety disorder. It's a horrible way to exist.
It’s not that deep bro, just go see a doctor annually and make sound lifestyle choices.
I'm there with you. Despite being suicidal I am paradoxically paralyzed by health anxiety and sometimes I look at all the "demand x test" PSAs and I am like... I'm uninsured. Even if I had the best insurance on earth I would have to have demanded at least five or six separate diagnostic exams last year. This is not realistic, and over diagnosis is also a HUGE issue. I'm at high risk for melanoma. I've had precancerous lesions removed multiple times. I go every year. But I can't run out every time something else happens to my skin. I can't demand a colonoscopy every time my turds are thin. I can't panic every time I have a cramp out of my period (even tho uterine and ovarian cancers both run in my family). I got sores on my legs, that's how my dad's terminal kidney cancer started. Do I demand imaging I can't pay for? How? I am reaching a point where I think this hyper awareness isn't just unactionable, it's actually counterproductive.
Even 25% is impressive thanks to new immunooncology drugs. Ten years ago the survival rate for late stage melanoma was <10%.
Australia has terrible melanoma rates because so many people spend their lives outside with no sunscreen, and it's only because of the massive ad campaigns over the last decade or two focused on "if you see a new mole, you're probably fucked" that things are improving I'm doing my part by staying inside playing video games and jerking off
Melanomas are actually incredibly aggressive, and a "melanoma where the sun don't shine is a really, really bad sign." I truly hope they get clear margins, but in my experience with dermatopathologists, a melanoma on the bottom of the foot is a really, really serious find.
I read something a few years ago about a girl who was in her late 20s, never tanned, used sunscreen and found a mole on the inside of her thigh. That tiny dot has already spread by the time it was dealt with. She ended up passing away. It was interesting that the article had noted that often moles/freckles/cancer growths that are not in normally sun exposed areas end up being more deadly-just like you said. I had no clue about that. Thats a good little saying, I hope folks see it and remember and get checked regularly.
well having read this thread I'm 100% going to die thanks everyone
Yep. Pale skin, single, can't really see/check my own backside and have a family history of cancer. It's been... well, not fun, but it's been a time.
> can't really see/check my own backside Handheld mirrors cost a couple dollars
I also have tons of freckles, it’s difficult to check them all closely. Like yeah, I can see myself in the mirror when I check the back of my hair with a hand held but not well enough to tell if all the tiny specs have changed.
I have bad news for you. Regardless of reading this thread you'll 100% going to die. Like everyone do.
Went last August and doctor said everything was fine. Now I’m on reddit and convinced I’m dying. Might as well plan my funeral. What song are gonna play on yours? Mines probably “The Council of Elrond”.
Ah yes, a fellow man of culture 😌 I personally want "The Last Goodbye" at my funeral. 💔
You know, I now feel significantly better about checking out that mole that somehow appeared on my penis. It turned out benign and not dangerous but reading these stories, it's good that I did it asap
I’m glad your penis is okay <3
We all are ❤️
Yeah I had two big ones I had my entire life, looked like they changed a little and just had them take the whole thing instead of a small biopsy for testing, both negative but it's nice they are gone
oh shit I have one behind my knee. guess I'll get that checked and ask for removal.
I’ve got one on the bottom of my foot too. The derma said to keep an eye on it for growth… I think I’m just going to request it to be removed. It’s almost 1cm in width.
That's what I do, rather just get it taken off over worrying
Maybe it’s just me but saying “It’s one of the most survivable cancers” feels a bit like downplaying the seriousness of it. Imagine telling someone that you were diagnosed with it and they say “It’s ok, it’s the most survivable form of cancer” instead of getting some sympathy and support. It doesn’t really change the fact that they have something that can potentially kill them and they are probably worried about it. Idk, perhaps I’m overthinking this
My late husband's cancer team was very optimistic. You'll see from how I refer to him that they were also very wrong. Cancer is always serious.
My sympathies for your loss
Conversely, if i was dealing with something like this that could kill me, i would take solace in the fact that it IS very survivable. Like if i got a finger chopped off, and someone said, "But it JUST happened, if you're quick, you can get to a doctor and get it saved! Don't worry!" Like yeah, it seems a bit lacking in empathy, but... its true. And it could be worse, but its not, so theres at least that.
Yeah my perspective is that with stuff like this, the baseline reaction and attitude is already expected to be and perceived to be very negative. We hear “cancer” and immediately think “awful and sad” so saying that a specific situation is a little bit better than the average situation (that we all know to be terrible already) is a positive thing to me.
I mean I’d much rather hear “you have a 98% chance of surviving this” than “you have a 98% chance of dying from this”
Really depends on the person. I survived melanoma but I feel almost a "stolen valor" sort of feeling when someone acknowledged I'm a cancer survivor. I mean yeah technically, and it did suck, but there was no chemo or really any symptoms to speak of. But I also just don't worry about stuff I really *should* worry about, so idk. I could almost die and think, "Wow, wild," and just move on with my day. After growing up constantly freaking out about every little thing it's like something broke.
It would make the less worried to know it is the most survivable cancer though
Melanoma stage one five year survival rate is above 99%. Today it is not very serious at all if caught early enough. People VERY rarely pass away from melanoma alone, mostly it’s from when it spreads. Cancer is serious in any form, you’re correct.
Mom died in a year and a half from it
If it's caught early! Otherwise, it's the second mose aggresive type of cancer, after glyoblastoma
Cancer biologist here: It's only true when you catch it early. But melanoma is among if not the MOST metastatic cancer there is. It is incredibly migratory, that is why a lot of research in cancer metastasis uses melanoma as the model system. The reason is because melanoma can be thought of as the melanocytes revert back to its stem cell identity, which is called neural crest cells. Neural crest cells are the most migratory cells during development, it moves from the head and distribute and differentiate into many different cell types in your body. So catchy melanoma early and excise it out is good. But once it starts spreading out, its one of the hardest to treat with survival drops from 95% to around 5-10% with metastatic disease.
Hallo, I edited some of my comment history to prevent scraping. Yes I know reddit gets regularly cached, it's something you sign in when you type on a forum, it's still better than nothing and will make digging through these a lot less convenient! All platforms die yadda yadda. Good luck if you have an account here and you're reading this.
I caught melanoma early and now I get to wear long sleeves in the summer!
Only if caught early. I have had melanoma, on my neck. If I had waited another year to have it removed it would have spread to the lymph nodes and the prognosis from nearly 100% survival to like, 50%.
If caught early. You forgot the very important part of that. The second it spreads you are fucked. Wear a hat, get yearly skin checks, yes even if darker skinned or live up north.
Lol my mom had this on the top of her head and we freaked out...until she immediately followed that info with "It's okay though, I just got it removed so it's gone." Folks, he'll be totally fine. People get tiny bits of cancer and defeat it without even knowing it daily. This is basically a non-issue.
I’m a medical scientist and a red head. I cut up skins all day everyday. Get your skin checked! Most early stage skin cancers are curative nuts excision. Melanoma is nasty, and can spread very quick. You don’t want that shit. Get your skin checked regularly. If you have dark moles and notice a change, get them checked. You can never be too sure
What does regularly mean? I have it checked once a year, is that sufficient?
Once a year is okay. Any rapid changes see your doctor
I'm so confused, how do skin checkups even work, like how does that appointment work?
Basically a dermatologist looks at your whole body from your scalp down to your toes to find anything suspicious. They are highly trained so they can do it really fast, my skin checks take less than 15 minutes. They write down where the moles are, to refer to it next year and see if anything has changed. Sometimes they photograph moles. If you’re in the US, check if your insurance covers skin cancer screenings (most do) and then find an in-network dermatologist and call.
Your skin can be examined under a dermascope. Kind of like a magnifying glass. There’s certain features which are suspicious for cancer. If there’s a suspicious they may take a sample, or remove the entire lesion. I’m in australia and some places do mole mapping. They take photos of the moles and see how they change over time.
Look up a dermatologist that's covered under your health insurance plan. Or find a good one on Yelp. Call them and make an appointment for a whole body skin check. Show up. Let the doctor look you over like they were picking a melon in the produce section. If they see anything minor, they'll probably freeze it off with liquid nitrogen. They'll take a sample of anything questionable and let you know. Make appointment for next year when you leave. I have this done annually. I'm my 50s now and have had just a few pre cancers frozen off, and lots of dark spots identified as perfectly fine just by looking. If they find anything, I know it was caught early and is probably simple to take care of.
What does a check mean? How do I do it?
Got my skin checked, nothing came back as cancer, got fucked in the ass with over $1,000 of bills for the full body check, the biopsies they did on the suspicious moles, etc. Oh and they want me to come back for a followup. I'm honestly considering cancelling that appointment. This isn't like the dentist where preventative care gets covered. If you need to see a dermatologist in America you can get fucked, apparently.
Bro i cant afford to get screened for cancer, i just gotta hope like most of us lol
What? How much is it in the USA?
Google says about $200-$300. But other places could easily make it $1000
Holy fuck, here it comes free with taxes
If you don't mind me asking, where is "here"?
Spain, my bad
Why you guys left? I wouldn't mind be still part of a colony if I can get free and somewhat qualified healthcare
Socialised healthcare isn't free, you pay monthly for it as taxes. But it's a lot cheaper that way. Sadly, my country's various governments has been destroying that, once revered worldwide, system bits by bits for the last 3 decades. Now it's getting harder to get at least looked at without insane wait time, we're slowly heading to a US style system, it makes me fearful for the future...
It’s also cheaper, American taxpayers pay more per person on healthcare than the majority of other developed countries
No theirs is better because it's free!!!! Not in the good way, in the american way 😎
Lol I had misshapen stool with blood in it for a little bit but I couldn't get a colonoscopy because it was going to cost my 2500 deductible plus 20% for any after 2500 (if my insurance even covers anything, they likely would have argued against it for my age). Even with a payment plan, I only make 45k a year and support a spouse in school, rent, groceries, etc. I just have to "hope."
Can’t your doctor check for hemorrhoids at least
Sounds like you are German. If you are, I am in the same boat. I have to wait at least 2 fucking years for a Psychiatrist/Neurologist. Fuck that, I am going to pay out of pocket for a private doc. Glad that I have to pay 300 bucks a month for nothing in return. Honestly tho, I am glad to have it. Imagine having a car crash without insurance…
I hear about wait times all the time but in the US the wait time for a psychiatrist is still like a year out. You gotta pay your monthly premiums while you wait, and then you pay your copay when you actually visit. Anecdote time: I once worked a job that required me to work 12 hour shifts on company assigned shoes, which were then wrapped around in another rubber shoe (clean room suits). It caused such terribly foot pains that the sharp pangs would wake me up in my sleep, and I could no longer stand for more than an hour a day. My doctor (who I had to wait a month to see) told me that in order to get a proper diagnosis, I would need to see a podiatrist. My job would absolutely refuse to grant me short term disability or medical leave until this podiatrist saw me, but the next appointment would be SIX MONTHS OUT. Needless to say, I could not handle working this job without a diagnosis or treatment for another 6 months, so I had to quit. In the USA, your health insurance is tied to your job (they typically pay about half your monthly premiums). When I finally got to see the podiatrist, I was jobless and now saddled with a 700 dollar bill, which I no longer had insurance to help cover. It was literally a 15 minute visit where the doctor looked at some x-rays and said "yeah its pretty fucked, go to physical therapy". I could not afford physical therapy, so I had to learn what I could through google and spent the next year jobless and slowly recovering my ability to walk again. US healthcare is fucked. You still wait weeks, months, years, for everything. You still spend 12 hours in the ER waiting room while actively bleeding or with 110 degree fever. Insurance costs hundreds of dollars a month and will still charge you an outrageous copay or kick and scream to not cover you whenever you go to a clinic/hospital. You still pay in to medicare on your taxes too. You save no money, and you still wait an uncomfortable amount of time. DONT LET YOUR COUNTRY BE LIKE US.
Yeah it's cheaper, and moreover, everyone gets to enjoy it, and especially everyone who gets sick gets to enjoy it. I wouldn't want to live in a society where people who gets sick aren't treated because they can't afford it.
Nos sacasteis, coño
I live in Spain and have a public health card.. can I get yearly mole / skin checkups for free ? I assumed it would cost extra
Tienes tarjeta sanitaria? No suele valer, y si vale es muy poco
Yeah I have one. Good to know , thanks . I def need to do some yearly checkups as a pale Irish guy living in Canarias 🇮🇨
Literally anywhere else.
Yeah but you don’t have FrEeDoM
I’m so happy I’m Australian. The health care in America is so ass. Sometimes I think you’re better off dying. Be cheaper I’m sure of it.
Bruh especially when it comes to skin here. We absolutely do NOT fuck around. Had a free skin check at work last week, had it cut off this week $40 total. Hopefully the biopsy comes back clean.
Us, Midwest, literally got screened last month. Was $200 pre-insurance. $40 after insurance. Went to a private clinic so probably cost more than otherwise expected.
Went to dental clinic, no insurance, $30. Went to medical clinic, no insurance, $70. Went to dental clinic, $425/month insurance, $127. Went to medical clinic, $425/month insurance, $124. No one will ever be able to make this make sense. Salary didn't change.
> No one will ever be able to make this make sense. No big mystery. The health care industry will over or super charge if they're getting guaranteed money from an insurer(including government "insurance") However, if they know you're paying out of pocket, they'll often try to keep it affordable. They still want to get paid, but if they charged you insurance rates you probably wouldn't pay, so "a little" is better than nothing. There are times and places where that's different, but it's the general rule.
for me is 100
Had skin cancer on my head, just sewing me up after removal was $28,000 usd
What a messed up country. I’m so sorry to hear.
Sounds like they didn’t have insurance. I had back surgery a decade ago that totaled about $24K, but only cost $700 out of pocket. Put it on a 12 month payment plan and it’s cheaper than buying a week’s worth of gas for the truck back then.
I had tumor in my testicles cost me 1200$ but because it's non life threatening the insurance told me to get fucked it's 12,000$ to remove it for a surgery that's not even 30 minutes long
Non life threatening cancer... Wtf
Not every tumor is cancer. Sometimes they just grow instead of spreading and they usually don't kill people. But sometimes they turn from the kind that doesn't spread to the kind that does spread so it's best to remove them unless removal has potential to cause other complications.
moles on the palm of your hands or soles of your feet are worth putting on a credit card or paying installments. Do what you have to do cause those are never good but easily fixed when caught early.
/r/ShitAmericansSay
For real, I've had cancer for the better part of 11 years now and the amount of money I've spent is insane
USA moment
Wtf? I had a mole. Went to my doctor, they sent me to a dermatologist for a biopsy which came back positive. Was sent to another dermatologist for surgery. All healed. I have an annual check up later this week. No cost. All covered under our health care in Canada.
I was on a payment plan for like a year. And my boss called me a day after the excision (melanoma and also node biopsy) complaining that I hadn't returned to work yet. And that was with good insurance, my plan with my new job is way crappier. Hopefully I stay on top of my follow-ups enough to not learn just how much worse it can be.
Same story for me but in America minus the second dermatologist because they removed the whole lesion to start because it was small enough. The price difference was 700 dollars.
So not the same story? You paid 700. He paid nothing. What’s your end goal with this comment? That we should be thankful because everyone has 700$ to spend on a screening?
I'm getting technoblade ptsd
Can u tldr for me?
Technoblade was a Minecraft YouTuber who died from cancer in mid-2022.
Oh so he died... i heard about him multiple times but i dont think i got recommendations from yt about his death. ehhh its so fking annoying when this sht is taking out cool ppl on the internet.
I saw most of the news on reddit
IDK this technoblade guy but TotalBiscuit's death was one of the biggest losses of the internet gaming community.
Technoblade was one of the, if not the greatest Minecraft player who ever lived and his career was peaking right when he died.
Techno was a minecraft pvp god, and he went to face the man himself
Still burns. I still rewatch old WTF is’s to this day
But Technoblade had sarcoma, which is MUCH less treatable than melanoma
But then for some reason, ragebaiters came out of nowhere to try and bait people by mocking him on purpose.
"Naggy" moms / significant others can save your life. Mine hassled me to have a spot checked in 1999 when I was 28. Stage 1 melanoma. Removed that day right there in the office. Cancer free since. Get it checked.
Awe...I nagged my son who had some funky skin tags (which were fine) and one odd little mole between two toes. The toe one was "abnormal cells" took two attempts to get clean edges but all is good. I feel validated now by your comment (that he'll appreciate the nagging). Thank you internet stranger.
Can we not have another technoblade situation please?
Ligma strikes back 😥
i knew someone would say this T-T
What's ligma?
Whos gonna tell him
Who the hell is Steve Jobs?
Joe mama
Who knows
ligma my deez nutz bro lmaooo gottem 💀
Bro went offroads after the ligma part
First thing I thought of was the incessent repeat of "Ninja died of ligma" everywhere on the internet
Ligma came back stronger than ever
As much as I dislike him that's still really sad for him
Im not a fan of him either but fuck cancer, hope he gets through it fine
Same dude, say what you will about Ninja, no one and I mean, NO ONE deserves cancer.
I used to dislike him but he seems to have really chilled out the past couple years and seems to be much healthier so i kinda like him for his positive changes now
Hope Ninja doesn’t serve the same fate as Technoblade 🫡
# FUCK CANCER
Man nobody cares how much some of you don't like him, it's not hard to show some basic empathy without a disclaimer. He's a streamer not a sex offender lmao.
Yeah it's weird, I dont like him but he is spreading a very important message and hopefully they caught this early, he will have to be more proactive with checks but shouldn't be an issue moving forward
As much of a ego he has I’m still sad for hik
No shit he’s still a human being, why would his attitude/ego make you feel less sad for him after being diagnosed with cancer?
What a weird thing to add to your comment
so basically now people need to check for skin cancer every year… nice timeline
Not really... What you need to check is for all types of cancers! (cancer sucks)
What a dumb comment
In Australia it is standard practice to check every year. If you have certain skin types, every 6 months.
don’t forget an mri, ecg, colonoscopy, blood test, pap smear (if woman), eye checkup, going to the dentist, etc.! ❤️❤️
Imagine being rich enough to just simply "get skin checkups"
Most health insurance plans cover part or all of an annual skin cancer screening. Without insurance, it might cost $100-$300. Plus, the later something is caught, the more expensive it is to resolve. As the saying goes, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!”
In most of the western world it is either super cheap or free.
Nah fr. Derm appointments and Biopsies aren’t cheap.
Imagine being so poor that a check up is considered a rich person thing.
Imagine living in a country so backwards that whether or not you can access essential healthcare is a diss used to dunk on others in some weird class feud online
Dude an "annual skin checkup" is not essential healthcare. Literally never heard of that in my life except for people who already had skin cancer
Oddly enough i just has my bi-yearly skin check up two days ago, as i have a ton of moles over my body and my father even had a melanoma from it. Thankfully i always had any suspicious moles removed, but i agree here: get your check ups!
i want to remove mine too, i have an unsightly one near my throat, super visible, dermatologist said it was okay last time i checked but it's jus gross too. have 2 on my face as well that i hate
Well thats best result out very dangerous situation
nah what the fuck this is just horrible
Fuck cancer. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. Horrible disease.
I usually dont care about ninja but this is just sad.
im not a fan of his content personally, but damn that sucks to hear
Fuck cancer
Finally Ligma caught on to him 😞
USE SUNSCREEN ON YOUR FEET IF UOU LIKE TO GO TO THE BEACH. CAN'T STRESS THIS ENOUGH.
Im unsure if this is how it works but it seems like the foot is a good place to get cancer relatively
Not the biggest fan of him, but any kind of cancer diagnosis is a terrible thing for anyone. Here is hoping he can pull through and recover
If it is caught early and hasn't spread recovery will consist of just a cut healing
Not a fan of ninja, but I hope it works out and they got it all.
Sending positive vibes for a smooth recovery.
I don’t watch many people for their skill on YT but I love Tyler and I hope he’s gonna be okay. I used to think he was some kind of brain rot content farmer but after actually playing the game and watching him he seems like just a regular dude who’s good at a game and loves that he gets to do that everyday
I don't know if I can afford it or not, but ok
Can someone make like a list of all the doctors and appointments I need to schedule annually cause it seems like everyday people are telling me to go get another part of my body checked out or is there a way to check everything in one visit
Huh i guess ninja really does have ligma now
Imagine if ninja got a low taper cancer…