To regret my sunbathing in early life

[Stripyseagulls]

I sunbathed a lot in my 20’s. I lived abroad for a year & was really irresponsible and I have skin damage on my shoulders.

I try to avoid too much sun these days & use high factors all the time. I know I can’t go back but I regret it so much & worry about skin cancer etc. I wish I had been more sensible.

Aibu and what else can I do to mitigate early damage (if anything) - i’m 45 now

Does regret achieve anything?

Listen I'm 47 and didn't sunbathe a lot in my 20s but I have had 2 operations to remove skin cancer twice last year.
I have good skin and never burn and wear factor 30.
Doctors told me you only have to burn once as a small child to get cancer later in life.
I would just live your life and be careful from now on

Im not sure regret changes anything

The way I see it is that people used to lather up in bronzing oil to get a tan by lying in the sun for hours. Now we know more about skin damage so people have changed their habits.
We used to see smoking as a harmless recreational activity so many people did It, but now we know more, actions and attitudes change.

There'll be things current 21 year olds are doing that by their 40s they'll wish they hadn't. You're better off making the beta choices you can now with the information you have and not beating yourself up over it.

If it's any consolation there's some scientific evidence that sun exposure lowers other health risks including cardiovascular disease. I know it sounds like heresy, but a paper (I think it was Danish) recently showed that people diagnosed with skin carcinomas in fact live longer than average.

I see a dermatologist once a year. She does a total check of my skin from head to toe.
Could you maybe do that ? At least that way any problems will be detected early

Just keep an eye on skin changes, be sensible in the sun and get on with your life.

I'm a similar age and had lots of sun as a child and burnt badly as a teen and my dad died of melanoma.

I know it sounds like heresy, but a paper (I think it was Danish) recently showed that people diagnosed with skin carcinomas in fact live longer than average.

You do know that malignant melanoma is one of the hardest cancers to cure?

@wildorchildz do you do that privately?

Carry on being safe in the sun and enjoy being out in it!
BUT just keep an eye on your skin and if anything changes, see your GP.
I'm wondering how old you are because my generation had no idea about sun safety at all.
I'm now very aware because I have a child who may be prone to skin cancer, and I'm the only one of my siblings who haven't had to have a skin cancer removed. (Dsis had an area just under her armpit removed, and Dbro had an area on his face removed - quite deep, and very likely due to lots of skiing without adequate protection.)

You can’t go back, you can’t change the past so a bit pointless to be regretful tbh. Achieves nothing.

P.S. Remember the bits other people tend to forget - the top of your ears, and the back of your hands. (Sorry if I'm preaching to the converted.)

soontobe60
That may be true of advanced melanoma cancers but it’s got the highest 5 year survival rate (97%) or similar in general.
And since for most examples there is an obvious external sign it’s quite easy to detect early in most cases.

@Stripyseagulls
Yes I do.

I have sun damage from my childhood, but look at it as something I can't control, so just use it as a reminder to keep on top of my own DC.

It's not something you'd ever wish for, but it's also not something I can change so life has to go on. Taking good care of our skin now is more important than regretting what we did years ago.

Yes, which is why I wrote carcinoma not melanoma.

When you say you have sun damage, what exactly do you mean?
Asking because I am older than you and I don't know what I would look for.

Why don't you just see a dermatologist for a full mole check? I see one every six months (privately. Costs £120 each time in Scotland) I've had photos taken and he compares each mole every time I see him. Certainly puts my mind at rest a little.

You could spend your whole life in the shade and then get breast cancer or something.

It’s not a case of ‘if you do this, you’ll get cancer’, it’s about risk factors. Some activities increase your risk of certain cancers so we should be mindful of these and act accordingly but there’s also a big genetic influence and a large element of luck. So don’t give yourself a hard time.

sun damage = liver spots? freckles?

I have lots of wrinkles which I blame on sun exposure. Don't bother me, though.