One Sunday about 2 years ago, I started working in our yard--I think I was going to just fix a few of the rocks I had used as edging along the side curb. I'm pretty sure I wasn't wearing a hat, and it was hot and sunny. I didn't plan to do much. But I got carried away, and ended up digging up and resetting every rock along the side (several yards). I've done the same with weeding--pulled up a weed with my bare hands, because I saw it as I was walking or looking and couldn't resist. But then I would keep at it--weeding without gloves--and more than once discovered too late that poison ivy was growing under the weeds. I'm horribly allergic to poison ivy, but that's a different story. And I've never seen any poison ivy at our new house.
I believe I spent several hours in the sun, redoing the rock edging. I noticed soon after that I had developed grooves at the left corner of my lips--and they have gotten deeper since. Not very far from where the melanoma developed. So I'm thinking I may have done enough damage to the left side of my face that day to hasten the aging of my lips and cause the melanoma.
Maybe I'm lucky with my bout of melanoma in situ--now I can't do my spur of the moment yard work, as much as I enjoy it. I'll have to prepare and cover up each time I go out--and consider the appropriate time of day (early morning is preferable). But then I had already become more careful about pruning, to avoid further straining hands already taxed by my flute playing.
I don't like having to be cautious and careful--but at least I still have that option.
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