Dr Hoover's Skin Cancer Story!

I have what? Skin Cancer!

Last September I was diagnosed with Melanoma, the worst type of skin cancer!As you can imagine, when I got the call from my doctor and he told me that I had Melanoma and we needed to act fast, I was in a state of shock. I work with clients with all types of cancers everyday, and have for nearly two decades. Now I know what it is like to be on the same side of the desk with them. It was last January when I noticed a very small spot on my upper thigh. It looked like a funny colored freckle, but I knew it just looked a little weird. I had not had a good skin checkup for several years so I called and booked a visit with my wife's dermatologist. I could not get in until June, but I wasn't too concerned. During my exam, the doctor recommended that we biopsy five areas, including the one on my thigh. The biopsies were taken and he said to call back in a week for the results. It was three days later, I was with a client in my office, when I got a knock on my door. My receptionist told me that my doctor was on the phone and needed to speak to me right away! I remember him rattling off a bunch of stuff and all I heard was Melanoma. Everything else seemed a blur. I got off the phone, composed myself, and went back to work. All I kept thinking about was, "How could this have happened to me? Here I am the Natural Health Doctor and I end up with cancer. I truly practice what I preach and this happens. I eat well, exercise, get enough sleep, etc. and I get cancer." It was recommened that I have surgery to remove the lesion on my upper thigh. All the other areas were melanomas as well, but he felt he got them all with the biopsy.

The lesion on my leg was 1/2 the size of a pencil eraser and nothing that looked that odd. During the surgery, they took out a 6 inch by 1 inch section of my thigh, which left a nasty looking scar. The good news is they got all of it with the surgery and were very surprised how minimally invasive the lesion was. Well, I have to give credit to "practicing what I preach"! I was doing everything I could to take care of the inside of my body but was totally abusing the outside. I grew up near the beach, played competitive sports most of my life, play golf, grew up boating, and basically live at Table Rock Lake during the summer on the weekends. Needless to say, way too much exposure to the sun!What surprised me was the location of the main lesion. It was on my "extreme" upper thigh, my shorts and swimsuit surely covered this area. So, how could this have developed if my skin was covered there all the time? Well, UV rays penetrate our clothing and I never put sunscreen under my shorts or swimsuit. This left that area exposed. Since my diagnosis, I have learned a lot about the sun and how important it is to protect our body when we are out in the sun. Even when we are clothed, we are exposed!Since last September I have been changing my lifestyle, when it comes to sun exposure. We need some exposure to the sun to help our body make vitamin D which can actually help protect us from cancer, but too much sun obviously can cause problems, even in the healthiest people! My doctor basically told me to stay out of the sun from 10am-4pm and cover my body completely when I am in the sun. I found this pretty extreme! But will do what I have to to protect myself. I started to look into sun protective clothing and basically all I could find was stuff that you would wear at a pro fishing tournament. Nothing wrong if you like to look like a pro fisherman! Anyway, everything seemed ugly, heavy, uncomfortable and the price was outrageous! A teeshirt, $80.00, pants $125.00, and a very limited variety.

Well I had the good fortune of finding an on line store, the SPFstore, and found that they have a great selection of nice looking sun protective clothing at a great price and wanted to share this with everyone. I say everyone, because, we all need to be aware of the dangers of the damaging UV rays the sun produces! Don't wait until it's too late and you get the same call I did. Make sure you get your skin checked every year by a qualified dermatologist. Do self checks regularly and protect yourself when you are in the sun. Again, if I can get skin cancer, anyone can! Please click on the banner below to check out the SPFstore. Dr. Stuart HooverCancer Survivor

The SPFstore:
Since 1989, The Solar Protective Factory has pioneered the sun protection fabric and garment business. The founders, one of whom is a skin cancer victim, started testing fabrics and discovered that the sun's dangerous ultraviolet rays penetrated an alarming number of fabrics. After years of research, they developed top-UV rated sun-protective fabrics that are comfortable, breathable, easy care and affordable. Over the years, SPF® fabrics along with colorful and informative SPF® hangtags have been on clothing and headwear for companies such as Liz Claiborne, Nike, Reebok, Disney, L.L. Bean and many others. SPF® have become the world's best selling brand of sun-protective fabrics.

In 2005, The Solar Protective Factory created the SPF® T-Shirt. Our intention was to create an affordable alternative to the other available expensive sun-protection apparel without sacrificing anything in the way of blocking the sun's dangerous UV rays.
Our mission is to try to provide sun-protective clothing to any and every one who wants its -- and make it AFFORDABLE. We are skin cancers survivors. And we see the same startling data on the skin cancer epidemic as well. So we decided to try to do something about it. Not by making expensive apparel that only a few could afford (or want to wear), but by taking the most basic garment in most peoples dresser, making it into a coat of armor against the sun's UV rays and most importantly, making it affordable for everyone.

GO TO SPF STORE HERE!