Skin cancer - I'm dreading this summer

[DangerousMouse]

I dont like hot weather anyway but really enjoy gardening and spending time with the kids in the park, but was diagnosed at the end of last summer.

I've had it removed but was told I need to avoid the sun totally due to fear of reaccurance.

The recent mild weather has left me wondering if I can ever enjoy summer again

Surely you don't have to stay indoors...do they not just mean wear sunscreen and be careful?

Of course you can enjoy summer - you just need to wear sun protective clothes. Theres a big range out there - I wear a rash vest with high neck, long arms from Lion in the Sun a lot, and sunsibility have a big range too.

I had melanoma 17 years ago with a poor prognosis but despite a few scares since have been OK. It is all about being sensible- plenty of sunscreen & sensible clothing.

If I garden I do it early in the day or in the early evening. I sit in the shade & wear sunscreen with linen shirts/trousers to keep cool.

It will soon become a way of life & you will manage.

I feel for you. I am a freckly redhead, and scared of taking risks when it comes to sun exposure for obvious reasons and unfortunately family history of skin cancer.

Then again, I live in the Middle East where it reaches 50 in the summer. However, I have never been sunburned out here and still go out and enjoy the sun. I wear long sleeves and trousers mostly, but in layers so I am never too hot. I keep sunblock in my bag, car, at home, at the office, have hats and wear long sleeved swimsuits and am planning on buying long swimming trousers too (great at hiding cellulite and not as bad as they sound actually). Oh and also- people buy really cute pretty parasols to shade themselves from the sun when walking between places.

In tune with what some of the other posters above have suggested, everyone here plans their activities around the time of day when the sun is least fierce, and the availability of shade. Why not stick one of those beach parasols in the boot of your car so even if you stop for a picnic at the park or an outdoors meet up at a friends' or something, you've always got shade ready. You very rarely see sunburned residents here - it's almost always the tourists who walk around with their bright pink (eeek) skin on show!