If you’re of the generation that remembers when an elixir of iodine and baby oil was your suntan lotion — then you should be thinking about skin cancer today.

Before Coppertone labels had the letters SPF printed on them, before people thought about being out in the sun as something dangerous, mothers would send their kids outside to play all day. I always felt fortunate to have grown up on the banks of the Potomac River where as kids we swam until the jellyfish came in then kicked around in the sand collecting shells.

Not so lucky today at 62, as I’ve  just had my 5th skin cancer sighting. Four have only been basal cells, one a more serious melanoma. In over a year I’ve yet to go 180 days without finding a piece of me to snip off and study.

If you haven’t been giving skin cancer a thought — please do. Go for an annual check-up and keep going as directed. I go every 90 days and will celebrate when I get a clean report twice in a row.