I have exciting news! You can read all about Rhonda Sparks, the Founder of UV Skinz, in the December issue of All You Magazine. She is featured in a full-page article sharing her life before UV Skinz and how she turned a tragedy into an inspiration. The admiration that I have for Rhonda is huge. No matter what, I have noticed how she always puts her family first! Her kind heart, courage, and entrepreneurial spirit makes her such an awesome person. Rhonda deserves this and much more!!
The most important factor in protecting ourselves from skin damage and possible skin cancer is wearing an SPF sunscreen daily. Using a good sunscreen is only the beginning, but to find a good sunscreen that is actually good for you is the key.
I have found a sunscreen that is 100% good for you, contains no artificial chemicals and can be used on your whole family.The Miessence Organics Reflect Outdoor Balm comes in SPF 15 and is USDA Certified Organic. My family and I have been using the sunscreen for about two weeks now and I really love it. I was really skeptical when I first saw the color of the sunscreen which is a silver gray color. One reason I never wore sunscreen growing up was because the only sunscreens available would turn my brown skin almost chalky white. I didn’t like the fact that you could actually see I was wearing sunscreen because it didn’t blend in. Unlike sunscreens of my childhood, the Misessence Reflect Outdoor Balm goes on so smooth and blends into your skin with a soft powdery feel and then disappears!
It contains all natural minerals and organic olive oil to keep your skin soft and supple. One-hundred percent of thier ingredients are beneficial. The Miessence Reflect Balm contains “natural Vitamin E, beta carotene and polygonum extract to protect the skin from premature ageing and prevent damage caused by the elements.”
I love the fact that when I read the label I was able to actually read and understand in plain English what the sunscreen is made of. I understand the words; olive, coconut, shea butter, beeswax, oat, vitamin E, rosemary and (the most important one) organic. You can see a full list of ingredients here on the Miessence website.
Miessense is 100% organic and we all know using organics supports the farmers who don’t pollute our environment with artificial fertilizers and pesticides. It has a pleasant smell which isn’t overpowering in any way.
Miessence has a broad range of facial care, body care, hair care, oral care, and baby care products.
We had the chance to review one of their baby products, The Baby Bottom Mist. Which is officially a new hit in our household! It comes in a 1 oz spray bottle that fits perfectly in your hand. Just a couple sprays of the mist delivers a soothing and calming nappy are salve (for the diaper area). This is great for keeping those diaper rash areas soothed and with the mist there is no need to touch! I really wish I knew of this when my 2-year-old, Faith, was a baby. It was always messy dealing with those creams and I’m sure so uncomfortable for her. The Baby Bottom Mist is not only hygienic, but also very convenient. It is “beneficial for itches, rashes, nicks, scrapes and cuts, sunburn, windburn and other skin irritations. Helps to restore skin to its natural healthy softness.”
The Baby Bottom Mist is a must-have and so is the Reflect Outdoor Balm!! Thanks to Miessence Organics you can WIN a Baby Bottom Mist and Reflect Outdoor Balm of your own! (Value: $44)
(You MUST complete the first entry to qualify for the additional entries)
Entry #1 : Visit the Miessence website, browse around and leave a comment answering this question; If you had a $25 gift certificate to spend at Miessence, what would you buy and why?
Extra Entries – #1 must be done first.
****(Leave a comment for each)****
*Follow UV Skinz through RSS (1 entry)
*Follow UV Skinz on Twitter and post on Twitter about the contest (up to 2 entries accepted daily)
*Spreading the word about this giveaway through any other social media outlets (Facebook, forums, online communities, etc.) will be accepted. Please leave each in a seperate comment. (up to 3 entries accepted daily)
*Sign-up for the UV Skinz newsletter (5 entries).
*Blog about Miessence and this giveway. You can use the text below. Leave a comment with the direct link to your post (10 entries).
Discover the benefits of organic skin care through Miessence Organics. Miessence uses 100% beneficial and all natural USDA Certified Organic ingredients. Read about the experience mom blogger Kalisha at UV Skinz had with the Miessence Reflect Outdoor Balm and Baby Bottom Mist and enter the giveaway to WIN each of them for yourself! Giveaway ends June 21st.
One winner will be chosen!
*I will be using a random number generator (random.org) to select the winner. The winner will be emailed and also announced on here on Monday June 22, 2009.
I am so honored to have another touching skin cancer survivor story to share with you. I met Clare of Clare’s Clique, blog surfing and when I came across her story I knew that it deserved to be shared with all of the UV Skinz readers! I have to add that the feedback we received from last week’s Photo Story Friday was amazing–Thank You!
So, let’s get to know Clare and her Clique!…
1. How long have you been blogging? and why did you start?
Here is my cancer story:This May is the two year anniversary when I was diagnosed with malignant Melanoma. May also happens to be National Skin Cancer Awareness Month. So I thought it would be fitting to dedicate a post to this cause. Most of my close friends and family know my story. It is not something I necessarily want to re-live on the post, but considering the outcome has been positive thus far (with a few bumps along the way so to speak) I will keep it simple and as understated as it deserves to be.
When I was pregnant with Quinn I noticed a new mole on my leg. When you are as fair-skinned as I am it is easy to spot new moles. After I had Quinn I noticed the mole was extremely dark and asymmetrical. I was fortunate that I was well aware of the ABCD signs of moles: asymmetry, border, color, and diameter. But I had a newborn and honestly I didn’t have the time to worry about me. Then one morning I was watching the Today show, as I always do. They had a piece on skin cancer. It alarmed me enough to find a dermatologist and make an appointment. I was lucky enough to get in in a couple weeks as most appointments were booked several months out.
So, I trekked to the doctor with a three year old and nearly four-month old in tow along with diaper bags and all the necessities to keep the kids occupied while I had a biopsy on my questionable mole. I wasn’t nervous when the doctor mentioned taking a biopsy. Having had many moles checked over in my lifetime, I have had many moles biopsied and all the results came back normal.
We left the doctor and I was convinced I would receive a postcard in the mail indicating the results were normal and recommending a skin check in another year. You can imagine my complete shock and surprise when my doctor called me later that week. I remember checking my caller ID and seeing my doctor’s name and phone number, but again I wasn’t even remotely alarmed. Maybe he just wanted to call and let me know the results were fine. Then I checked my voice mail messages and listened to him tell me to call his cell phone when I got the message. I remember it being hard to breathe and my heart racing. What doctor gives you his personal cell phone number? I dialed carefully praying the kids would stay quiet and waited til he answered the phone. And in that moment my world came crashing down around me. I barely heard anything, but the words “malignant melanoma” and “surgery” and felt like I would dissolve on the floor right then and there. The doctor kept repeating that this was a malignancy and then he used the word “cancer”. Nothing seemed real for me at that moment.
All I knew was that I had cancer.
My body had betrayed me.
I had no idea if the cancer had metastasized and tried to think if I had any other symptoms. It was just a stupid mole. How could that little mole give me cancer? Well to make a long story even longer, I had surgery and had the tissue removed from my leg. I went back in for regular skin checks and to have the doctor assess any abnormalities in my lymph nodes every three months. Then after my year anniversary of the diagnosis I was able to go in for skin checks every six months and blood tests every year. I am healthy; I am happy. And I wanted to share my experience to make others aware of the dangers of sun exposure. I wore sunscreen quite regularly. I did not sunbathe or go to tanning salons. I was aware of the dangers of sunburns. Yet, I still became one of 62,000 people diagnosed every year with the most dangerous form of skin cancer, malignant melanoma. But I am here, I am fine and I hope other people will heed my warning. Use sunscreen regularly, watch your sun exposure even when using sunscreen, and use the ABCD guide when looking at moles. And if you have any question at all, make an appointment with a dermatologist. Don’t wait until it is too late. I caught my melanoma in the earliest stages and though there is always a possibility the melanoma could return, I am diligent in knowing what to look for.
Blogging for UV Skinz has really been such a great adventure and learning experience for me. I have been able to find some amazing people during my time here. As apart of Skin Cancer Awareness Month I wanted to bring you real stories of people who have been affected or diagnosed with skin cancer. The first is a Mom, Wife, Blogger and Survivor of Stage 3 Melanoma. You can join Kerri on her journey as a Mom and cancer survivor at her blog, Life’s A Beach.
I wanted to get to know Kerri a little more, so I asked her a few questions…
How long have you been blogging? and why did you start?
I began blogging in April of 2008, one year after my diagnosis. I had just shaved my head because I was losing so much of it from the Interferon. I really wanted to share my story with others in hopes to save someone else from going through this horrible disease.
I have always loved the beach. It gives me a certain sense of calm and peace. But, really in my point of view, life is a beach. There are periods of my life that have been calm and smooth and then parts where it seemed the waves were 10 feet high and showing no signs of stopping. I know that eventually those storms will pass and the ocean will be smooth again, just like events in my life.
I have two quotes that I love. “Know thyself” has been a favorite of mine since high school. I think it is so important to realize who you are as a person and never lose your sense of self. The second quote that has become very inspirational to me is “Love the life you live and live the life you love.” After my diagnosis, I had read this quote on a necklace and just had to have it. I wear it everyday. For me, I have to remind myself that I have to make the most of the life I have because in an instant it could change.
Read my blog and read stories of other people diagnosed with melanoma. It can happen to you – it can happen to anyone. Melanoma does not discriminate!
I just want to Thank Kerri so much for sharing her personal story with us. Please read on and as always, you are more than welcome to comment or ask questions.
Here is her story:
I always had two major fears in my life – dying in a car wreck and being diagnosed with cancer. Unfortunately, in 2007, one of those fears came true and I was diagnosed with Stage III Malignant Melanoma. I had went to the dermatologist to get a ”cyst” removed just under my skin on my upper right arm. It had been there for years, but during my pregnancy I got a blue tint on the top of my skin where the cyst was located. Three weeks later I got a call from the doctor wanting to see me immediately. He believed I had melanoma, but the pathology wasn’t completely able to diagnose that for sure. He referred me to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and 10 days later I was seeing one of the best melanoma surgeons in the country. My doctors at MD Anderson did their own biopsy and came up with the same conclusion. It could be melanoma or maybe not. To be on the safe side, since I did have a 9 month old and a 3 year old at the time, we decided to do a wide local excision and a sentinel node biopsy. Once the results came back, the diagnosis was definite for melanoma and it had spread to one lymph node in my neck and one in my axilla. Not only had it spread, but it was very thick – 11 mm. So, I had a second surgery to remove more tissue where the melanoma was and to remove all the lymph nodes in my neck and axilla on the right side. I had more than 50 nodes removed and luckily they were all clear for melanoma. I then began what was supposed to be a year long treatment of Interferon. I made it through nine months of horrible side effects before my body just started rejecting it. June 29, 2009 will mark my two-year anniversary of being NED (no evidence of disease). For now, I must have skin checks every three months and CT and MRI scans every 6 months. It has been such a long road, but I am by no means out of the woods.
Before my diagnosis, I was a healthy 29-year-old. I had gotten really bad sunburns as a child and teenager and also was a frequent user of tanning beds. I never really thought I would get skin cancer, much less melanoma. I have to say that being diagnosed at such an early age really gave me a new perspective on life. I don’t sweat the small the stuff. I appreciate my husband, my children and my life in a way I never had before. I am now a stay-at-home mom, because I want to be and also because I am unable to work right now. I have lingering effects from the Interferon and effects from the two surgeries that impair the use of my right arm if I do too much. Most melanomas can be prevented. Just stay out of the sun and wear sunscreen and never use tanning beds. It’s that easy. Those measures can save your life.
You shouldn’t count on sunscreen to provide complete sun protection. Infants, children and adults should try to wear a wide-brimmed hat while outdoors to protect the face, neck and ears from sunburn and potential skin cancer. There is always a constant battle to get my 2 and 3-year-old to wear their hats. So, after much trial and error I am going to share some ways that I get my kids to wear their hats and I hope they work for you too! (Below is a pic of Rhonda’s youngest son)
If you have any suggestions or tips that you use then let me know in the comment section. I always love to learn new tricks!
