Straight Skinny
Let me see if I can conjure an image for you: Five gorgeous, muscularly athletic men stand laughing, holding strategically placed boxes in front of their naked bodies. The tagline below reads: "Protect your largest organ."
Naturally you thought of your skin, didn't you? I knew you would!
An average person's skin weighs about 9 pounds and covers about 20 square feet, overwhelming all other organs in size (this recent New York Times article has a good discussion on skin). Yet most of us don't think of our skin as an organ, or in fact hardly think of our skin at all. Despite best efforts by dermatologists and physicians, there seem to be so many intent in their youth on getting that perfect tan, that "healthy glow," that sadly deteriorates into an old age resembling an alligator handbag.
I spent my share of time in the sun when I was growing up; I tanned easily and was fortunate to have inherited my mother's complexion - smooth, elastic skin with a slightly olive cast. As work interfered with life I spent less and less time outdoors, thereby likely saving myself from the "aged suitcase" look.
I find now that my skin has aged prematurely - it's fragile and I'm likely to bleed profusely from the slightest little bump. My hands are a curious mix; plump flesh underneath, with the "soap bubble" wrinkles of the elderly on the surface. I'll gladly acknowledge that being 55 carries some aging with it, but my skin texture has definitely changed since I started on Nexavar. I'm curious to know if other patients see the same results; am I just getting old and blaming my medication?
I will definitely be watching things even more closely now. Last week I had a small bump removed from my right cheek. I got the pathology report this morning when I had the stitches out: keratoacanthoma, a generally benign form of skin cancer caused by sun exposure. Oh boy, another thing to look out for!!
[P.S. If your imagination really isn't very good, here's the image referred to above. Thank you, Ella Bache cosmetics, for the wonderful ad!]
Naturally you thought of your skin, didn't you? I knew you would!
An average person's skin weighs about 9 pounds and covers about 20 square feet, overwhelming all other organs in size (this recent New York Times article has a good discussion on skin). Yet most of us don't think of our skin as an organ, or in fact hardly think of our skin at all. Despite best efforts by dermatologists and physicians, there seem to be so many intent in their youth on getting that perfect tan, that "healthy glow," that sadly deteriorates into an old age resembling an alligator handbag.
I spent my share of time in the sun when I was growing up; I tanned easily and was fortunate to have inherited my mother's complexion - smooth, elastic skin with a slightly olive cast. As work interfered with life I spent less and less time outdoors, thereby likely saving myself from the "aged suitcase" look.
I find now that my skin has aged prematurely - it's fragile and I'm likely to bleed profusely from the slightest little bump. My hands are a curious mix; plump flesh underneath, with the "soap bubble" wrinkles of the elderly on the surface. I'll gladly acknowledge that being 55 carries some aging with it, but my skin texture has definitely changed since I started on Nexavar. I'm curious to know if other patients see the same results; am I just getting old and blaming my medication?
I will definitely be watching things even more closely now. Last week I had a small bump removed from my right cheek. I got the pathology report this morning when I had the stitches out: keratoacanthoma, a generally benign form of skin cancer caused by sun exposure. Oh boy, another thing to look out for!!
[P.S. If your imagination really isn't very good, here's the image referred to above. Thank you, Ella Bache cosmetics, for the wonderful ad!]
Labels: side effects
posted by rcclive at
12:47 PM
1 Comments:
Sadly only one of the boys is still playing for us. Not good things about your skin. Mine is all wrinkled and saggy from losing weight and I've grown a lot of wrinkles in the past 2 months. My face is pretty healthy but I did a lot of the blister burn cycles in my youth when we thought that was just normal. My back and shoulders have been blistered too many times. Now it's sunscreen every day here.
By
Swanknitter, at 8:45 AM
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