Rona’s blog last week inspired me to write this today. She spoke about getting checked up at her doctor for a skin issue that likely prevented something from getting worse. As I get older, I am very conscious of how the body becomes less resilient and more susceptible to the rigors of age and the environment we live in. I have been fighting blood pressure issues for longer than I can remember. I am pre-diabetic and could stand to lose some weight. I have been susceptible to kidney stones for many years, that I barely feel them anymore. None of these issues were in my life twenty or so years ago. In fact, I used to take weight gainer shakes i and was trying to gain muscle mass in my young adulthood. I could eat anything and any amount and all seemed good. Today, I am on various prescriptions and a regiment of supplements (including Juice Plus from our very own Shelley Simpson) to help with my odds of survival.

Within the three years of moving down south, I started noticing more skin changes. I walk about 45 minutes five days a week in the early morning, thinking I was doing good for my blood pressure and weight, but apparently not so good for my skin. Dark blotches and pigment changes on my arms and face started to catch my eye (Fred suggested raw potatoes to help on the skin, another past blog). I decided on my trip to NY last week, to look up my old skin doctor in Long Beach and thinking of Rona, scheduled a checkup, something I hadn’t done in five or so years. I was fortunate to find an opening first thing in the morning and off I went. After my full body check-up, my doctor wanted to take a biopsy on a spot on my face. I have not gotten the results as of this writing, but I believe whatever the outcome, I may have prevented something from worsening. I now have explicit instructions to use plenty of sunscreen, 50 SPH (he recommended Target’s own brand that he uses for his family), as well as several prescription creams to alleviate some of the blemishes I have gotten since moving down south. So, not to sound like a broken record, get your routine checkups. You just never know what might be found, better sooner than later.