Wearing sunscreen pays off! Besides keeping you safe from sun damage to your skin, it may get you one of these lovely trophies. Well, you do have to write about your journey with skin cancer, too, but a guy has to do what a guy has to do.

The story of writing about Melanoma goes back almost seven years. That’s when I found the mole on my back that led to the award. Since then I’ve had three of what would be considered minor surgeries, although I consider a surgical procedure minor only when it’s performed on someone else. The end goal of all the writing about Melanoma and other skin cancers is to raise awareness of the dangers of these diseases. If we can save even one life, it’s well worth the words.

Last Thursday, I attended the Melanoma Research Foundation annual gala. That’s where I picked up this beauty for being their local influencer of the year. A few other medical experts were also honored on Thursday. Hearing what they do every day makes you feel like a bit of a poser. They are the ones doing the really important work in the battle against this cancer. In the last two decades, they’ve helped to turn metastatic Melanoma from a death sentence to having multiple cures. It’s incredible the advances that have been made. What I do is little compared to those who have dedicated their lives to this.

However, every little bit does help. And there is nothing wrong with a little bit of self-promotion as long as you’re helping people. Just don’t overdo it.

So here’s a final piece of advice from Chicago’s Influencer of the Year….and the guy now staring a the shiny new trophy:

WEAR SUNSCREEN!!

Related Post: The irony of having skin cancer during skin cancer awareness month

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