The grueling ten-month journey into Ontario’s healthcare bureaucracy to get a melanoma removed from a woman’s neck.

Epilogue

Photo by Richard Pietro

You can review the Timeline of Events here 

You can read Part 1: The Bump here

You can read Part 2: Collateral damage from the Coronavirus here

You can read Part 3: Delays, misunderstandings, and a lackadaisical attitude here

You can read Part 4: Bureaucracy run amok here

You can read Part 5: Plan B’-ing here

You can read Part 6: Heavenly Choir here

This story is not meant to be an indictment against the Canadian Healthcare System, nor is it a passive aggressive attempt at promoting a political ideology on how to administer healthcare (although I am sure many will view it that way).

This story is meant to do demonstrate how something as small as a two centimetre bump can turn a person’s life upside down.

Just like many other cancers, skin cancer sneaks up on you. You do not expect it. But, unlike other cancers, you can see cancerous skin tissue growing and changing. And, perhaps most importantly, you can take steps before it is too late.

I chose to pepper this article with facts, stats, and notes about the realities of skin cancer to impress upon you the prevalence and consequences of skin cancer. Simply said, skin cancer is no joke.

To further illustrate my point, the World Health Organization classified tanning beds in its Class 1 of cancer-causing agents, right next to cigarettes and plutonium. The United States Skin Cancer Foundation even states that more people will develop skin cancer because of indoor tanning than develop lung cancer because of smoking.

I want to thank Maria for allowing me, a stranger, to enter her life and publish a very sensitive story. I had to ask her many personal questions that required her to revisit tough times and tough decisions. Throughout the process she exemplified the bravery and tenacity that only comes from a cancer survivor.

She chose to share her story to the World as a cautionary tale about the very real dangers of skin cancer. Please heed her words wisely.

Thank you for reading. We kindly ask that you please share this story and help us raise awareness about skin cancer.

Visit www.getskinhelp.com/get-started today and have your suspicious moles or bumps checked virtually.