See Your Dermatologist

Mark Rubin

I fell off the “every six-months dermatology appointments schedule” in the spring of 2018. My dermatologist and I can’t figure out what happened. Regardless, she and I did not meet up for about 18 months.

I’d been a faithful patient for years. I’ve lived in Tucson since 1961, spent my formative summers burning and peeling in pools and on tennis courts, and I have had at least a half-dozen dysplastic nevi removed. ‘Tis a race, between me and the melanoma, and this month I almost lost the race.

I get an annual physical. Lots of old-fashioned stuff like touching toes. Can’t. The reflex hammer. I wish I knew good from bad, when it comes