The DERM Expert Podcast

From Routine Check to Cancer Diagnosis Bridget's Story

• Season 1 • Episode 3

Share episode

In this emotional and eye-opening episode of The DERM Expert, host Emily Brewer sits down with melanoma survivor and patient Bridget Huckabee to share her powerful journey, from a routine skin check to a life-altering diagnosis.

Bridget opens up about the mole she almost waited too long to check, the shock of hearing the word "melanoma," and the whirlwind of appointments, surgery, and treatment that followed. Together, they discuss the fear, the strength, and the importance of listening to your body, and acting on instinct.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone who’s ever second-guessed a skin concern or postponed that annual dermatology check. Bridget’s story is a reminder that early detection saves lives, and that intuition is often the first sign that something's not right.

Don’t wait. Schedule your skin check. It could save your life.

For more information, visit www.thedermcentertn.com or schedule an appointment here

For more information, visit www.thedermcentertn.com or schedule an appointment here

Bridget Huckabee:

I guess it was like the end of November. I always had this mole that probably had been checked for years because I was, I have to say, I'm pretty diligent about my skin appointments, my daughter's. It was kind of big and I had one on my face just like it.

Emily Brewer:

You heard the word melanoma. What was the first thing that went through your mind in that moment?

Bridget Huckabee:

That I'm

Emily Brewer:

going to die. As a clinician, we lose sleep over these skin lesions because this top, it's just a very normal looking type of skin lesion. If you could say one thing to the listeners

Bridget Huckabee:

right now, what would it be? It would just schedule that skin check. I mean, I have so many people that I say that to and they're like, oh, I don't have any problems, you know, or I go to the derm, but they don't go for skin checks. And that's the difference.

Emily Brewer:

Welcome back to the DermExpert podcast. Today's episode takes us beyond the exam room and into the lived experience of melanoma. My guest is Bridget Huckabee, one of my patients and a melanoma survivor who's here to share how one small skin lesion changed her life. So Bridget, welcome. Thank you. Thank you for coming on. Thank you for having me. Absolutely. So let's just jump right in. Let's rewind back to February of 2023. Yes. What brought you into my office that day?

Bridget Huckabee:

Okay. So I had seen you for a while and I knew you were opening your own practice. And I guess it was like the end of November. I always had this mole that it probably had been checked. for years because I was I have to say I'm pretty diligent about my skin appointments my daughters you know like we really didn't miss so it was it was kind of big and I had one on my face just like it light skin tone perfectly symmetrical but I think I subconsciously rubbed it often like just like because it was right there and it was kind of smooth and and one day I was like did this get bigger like I don't I don't know if it did or not but it just I don't know. Something said, I don't know if it was subconscious, whatever. But I said, OK, well, my appointment's not supposed to be till June. But I knew where you were originally. I wouldn't have been able to get in anyway. You know, the schedule was always so, so tight. Knew you were opening in January. So I said, OK, it's probably nothing, but I'll call. So in January, called you all to make the transition in anyway. And I think I did. well no no so and I was in what I think by mid-February yeah it was and so that was really four or five months earlier than my scheduled so I just said I don't know you know if if it has you know changed or anything but I don't know

Emily Brewer:

so it's interesting because thinking back on this place on your arm. It was really unique. This is one of those types of skin lesions that I talk about all the time that as a clinician, we lose sleep over these skin lesions because this top, it's just a very normal looking top of skin lesion. We went ahead and biopsied yours. And in going back in my mind, thinking about why did we biopsy it if it appeared to be benign? I think there were three things about yours that really kind of stood out to me when you came in number one it brought you in so what I have seen with patients clinically is if there's a concern or if there's a problem or something that they're noticing and they come in because of it even if I look at it and there's really nothing impressive about the way that it looks if there's something that has brought a patient in that's a significant finding for me so it was something that brought you in so that was sort of a concern but then also too it's not uncommon to develop new moles or new places that come up on our bodies especially certain parts of our bodies back abdomen face we see new spots that come up there all the time an elbow which was where yours was was also sort of unusual so you don't typically see moles on elbows so the location of yours also was unusual but then you I believe yours was, it was symptomatic. I think you were talking about, you know, maybe there was a different feel or there was something different

Bridget Huckabee:

that was happening with it. I thought maybe it had itched at one day, like literally for one day. Yes. But it had been there as long as I can remember. Right. And like I say, probably for 10 plus years, just it looked total, everything, the way it presented was different. This is benign. I have also I have a million moles. I had the one on my face. I have everywhere, you know. And so it wasn't new at all. And I couldn't really tell you what like if it had gotten bigger. You know, it

Emily Brewer:

was interesting that it

Bridget Huckabee:

was

Emily Brewer:

getting your attention all of a sudden. Yeah. And that is interesting. so important for patients to know that, that one piece, because even despite the fact that it had been there, it wasn't, you know, there wasn't anything visually necessarily changing with it. There was something that was getting your attention. And that is, that's the key. That

Bridget Huckabee:

is so critical. Acting on that. Yes. Acting on that. Because I know a lot of people that just go like, oh, yeah, I've had this forever. And yeah, my knee hurts. And they go three years without doing anything about it. But why do you think that is? I don't know, because it makes zero sense to me. You know, I mean, people kind of laugh at how much I will. I'm not a hypochondriac, but I will react, you know. And and so I I don't know. I don't I don't know why you would not want the like the relief of knowing something is OK, because most of the time it is OK, right? That is true. Yeah, most of the time. The odds are it's going to be okay. But if it's not, wouldn't you want to know that?

Emily Brewer:

So it's interesting. I see this all the time with patients. And I think that, you know, there are really kind of two reasons why patients maybe don't come in or why they, you know, hesitate to make the appointment. And I think fear and anxiety really drive a lot of that decision. I think there's obviously the fear and anxiety around just the procedure of a biopsy, not really knowing– What's that like? What's going to happen? Is it going to hurt? I think there's that level of fear and anxiety. But I think the whole period of time after a biopsy, that waiting period, what's the result going to be? Is it going to be good? Is it going to be bad? What if it's bad? And I think that's what... deters a lot of people from coming in. What did that period of time look like for

Bridget Huckabee:

you, that waiting period? I'm going to be honest with you because it looked like it was nothing. I used to have a cockiness that everything's going to be fine. I'm going to get it taken care of, but I, you know, I'm healthy. You know, I know And and things work out for me or whatever, you know, just like it's going to be fine. So when I got that call and I just will never forget you literally like rubbing that mole and going, this totally looks benign. But if you think something has changed, let's do it. And really, honestly, I almost think that saved my life because a lot of doctors are the wait and see, but they're not going to kind of factor in that. Yeah. Sorry. It's okay. That instinct, they kind of might dismiss that, that that intuition might be kicking off, you know? Yeah. And so, golly, I can't believe this. It's okay. But thank God you did it. I mean, thank God you just said, you know, according to criteria, this looks like nothing, but wasn't the case.

Emily Brewer:

Going off of patient... intuition for me is also a really big part of practice because while you know we have 10-15 minutes together in an exam room that's such a small amount of time to really sometimes put all the pieces together. And as a patient, I mean, you see your skin daily. Yeah,

Bridget Huckabee:

and you have to advocate for yourself. You do.

Emily Brewer:

Being a patient, advocating for yourself, that is super important. And that's what you were doing there that day.

Bridget Huckabee:

Yeah, I do think, yeah. But thank goodness that there are a lot of medical practitioners and that they would just... They don't, they don't factor that in. And that's what I think was the difference here, you know, because, and then I really was like, okay, you took care of business. They took it and, you know, la-di-da-da. And then I got that call. I was driving to Atlanta and I knew from the tone of, it wasn't Mallory. I can't remember who called, but, and I was like, no, I can handle it. You have to tell me. I can't not hear, you know, like, and, and then, so you called me right back and you said, yeah. It is melanoma and it had some bad numbers associated with it.

Emily Brewer:

It's interesting because in 18 years of seeing patients and having experiences where we deliver news that's not pleasant.

Bridget Huckabee:

Mm-hmm.

Emily Brewer:

as a clinician that never ever gets easier it doesn't and the reason why I mean obviously it's heavy information that you're you're telling someone but also it's such a wild card moment because on the receiving end as a patient I never really know what the response is going to be because there are patients where they hear this news and I mean it's devastation it devastates them yeah they react and there's that that that scenario but then they there are patients that you tell them the news and they you know it hits them and they ask questions and it's now what's the next step and it's a good sense of communication

Bridget Huckabee:

yeah

Emily Brewer:

and then true story you actually have a moment where you tell a patient this information and the first question is so where do we stand on tanning yeah

Bridget Huckabee:

where do we stand on the tanning bed don't even get me started yeah

Emily Brewer:

so it's always sort of a sense of unpredictability with a patient yeah you know we're gonna we're gonna have this conversation but I I don't always really know how a patient is going to receive that information. So that's always sort of a sense of anxiety, too, as a provider, not really knowing what to expect there.

Bridget Huckabee:

Yeah. And also just what it means. Like, suddenly you have a part-time job, you know, in addition to life to take care of this. That's right. And you know that. And also, you want reassurances. And, I mean, as a professional, you can't say, like, I just wanted someone to say, you're not going to die. Right. Y'all can't because you don't know the surgery hasn't happened. You know, you don't. I mean, like I said, you know, the numbers that came back weren't what they were worrisome. And so you just want all that reassurance. But you can't someone can't get it. So you can't get it like you just like, all right, time to plow through this and see where it takes, you know, takes us. So

Emily Brewer:

I think it's very hard to hear. You have cancer. Yes. But to your point, you don't really know anything else other than just that.

Bridget Huckabee:

Yes, exactly.

Emily Brewer:

So when we had that conversation, when we talked and you heard the word melanoma, what was the first thing that went through your mind in that moment?

Bridget Huckabee:

That I'm going to die. Because melanoma, you know, they have made great strides, you know, and treatments are much more successful. But For my age people, anytime you heard someone had melanoma, you thought they were going to die. There is definitely that sense of unknown. But like I said, great strides have been made. That's why you have to be diligent. You can't put those things off if they worry you. you know, buck up, get in there. Biopsies don't hurt. Right. And like I said, most of the time things are fine. So just go get it done because if they're not, if I had waited till June, I don't know, it would be, it would be a totally different story. I don't know where if it, you know, if it would be, I mean, maybe I would have be, be fine, but, I don't know that. But maybe not. I know. I mean, there is that

Emily Brewer:

unknown.

Bridget Huckabee:

Yeah. Because this one, I mean, everyone, every doctor you talk to about melanoma, like, I mean, they basically say, you know, we're not going to, I mean, I've had one of them just flat out say, we're not going to F around with this. Like, this is not something to be trifled with. Months matter. Months matter. With a diagnosis like melanoma. And so, yeah. And since mine had spread, and that was another thing. So first of all, you sent me to Dr. Vallier. Talk a little bit about what your treatment, what the process was. My king. So he is amazing. So the process was first surgery. You know, they took a big chunk out of my arm. And then, of course, lymph nodes to see what had happened there. And so... What did they find with your lymph nodes? That it had spread. Now, it was a very little bit to only one lymph node. So, like, literally the clock was ticking. You know, I mean, literally. Yeah. So, but since it was like 0.02, you know, I guess millimeter or whatever of cells or something. Anyway, very little amount.

Unknown:

Right.

Bridget Huckabee:

But the problem with melanoma, which is another just kind of like pam to the face, is that if it spreads at all, they stage you stage four. So suddenly you're looking at a sheet of paper that says stage four melanoma. Well... That's not the same as stage four breast cancer or stage four pancreatic. But when you've lived your life again, hearing words stage four kind of means someone, there's a good chance they're going to die. It just felt like it was like, someone tell me I'm going to be okay. And I'd get another thing that would say, well, we don't know. But he, I mean, between you and him, And my lack of patience, like we got in quickly within, I think it was on March 1st, I got my diagnosis. And then by April, I think it was April 10th or April 5th. I can't believe I can't remember. I had had 13 doctor's appointments and a surgery. And so that was all the scans. I mean, PET, brain, um, Everything. They scan everything. The surgery. What else? Just oncologists. I mean, it was just boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. I mean, that's all I did for that month of March and into April was... new doctor's appointments, this, that. And I mean, so it's like, cause I wasn't, it wasn't going to be, well, you know, he can see you, you know, may I like, I could just can't do that. Yes. I don't

Emily Brewer:

know. My

Bridget Huckabee:

patients

Emily Brewer:

become a priority. And I think I saw that. Yeah. So, which speaks to the whole concept of time is of the essence with this diagnosis. Exactly. And, and

Bridget Huckabee:

you felt that, which then also is very scary. For sure. So, so we, got the surgery he did it he's amazing and then he just he is so thorough and and Honest but comforting at the same time, you know. And so he, I remember post-surgery, we were in there and he was so funny and he was like, so I just went to this conference and this is the future. And he had this circulating DNA pamphlet. And he said, but the good news is, is that the future is here. And so he wanted me to do this circulating DNA because they also needed data. Talk a little bit about what the circulating DNA test, talk about that. I mean, this is incredible. And it's getting more and more, you know, known. But basically what they did was they were able to take the tumor and send it to San Francisco. And then the lab there designs a DNA-based test on the tumor, all the markers that were cancerous and, you know, all of those things. things that made that tumor melanoma. Then for really literally the rest of my life, they can come and draw blood, they come to your house, and they can compare your blood to that test that they've created. And so it will tell you on a cellular level before it would show up in any scans if this tumor is coming back.

Emily Brewer:

That's remarkable.

Bridget Huckabee:

It is remarkable. And so it's crazy, really. And so I've had three and they're all negative. So that and I've had treatment. So, you know, chances are good that that tumor is not coming back.

Speaker 00:

Yes. And

Bridget Huckabee:

so now, you know, I don't I don't– never say never. I mean, I don't want to jinx myself. But now, so it's the diligence of if anything else pops up. A new tumor. It wouldn't be necessarily that one popping up somewhere else. I guess it could be, but we just have to make sure. anything that looks funny goes which you do absolutely we see a lot of each other how many I've said what about this one let's do it you know and take it off they took in the surgery they took the one off my face which I'd had my whole life and and but they said it looked so similar to the one on my arm and that you know was benign thank goodness but that like a plastic surgeon had to come in and remove that sew it up but um So, you know, that meant, you know, the diligence. It's the diligence after. And this is what's so weird about melanoma. Well, then I'll back up a little bit. Then Dr. Vallier sent me to Dr. Holland because once it spread, they said, we advise you get a year of Keytruda, which is kind of like a super antibiotic drug. And, you know, you might tolerate it, you might not. I had really good luck with that. It wasn't until the last few treatments that I did kind of just feel ragged out and kind of messed with my taste, and it did fry my thyroid, which I don't think that's going to come back. But it's nothing. I mean, you know, it's not a big deal. So you go every three weeks for a year to– to the same place where people are getting chemo, which I know everyone's lives have been touched by cancer, but that is not fun, you know, because you almost feel guilty because you feel like you're probably going to be okay. You at least for that year are healthy sitting there. It's

Emily Brewer:

interesting that you had a sense of guilt in that moment.

Bridget Huckabee:

Yeah, every time, you know, because it's like you literally would look around and just go like,

Emily Brewer:

Thank goodness. I'm,

Bridget Huckabee:

I'm grateful. I'm healthy, but a lot of these people aren't gonna, aren't gonna make it. That is not fun to do, you know, every three weeks for a year. So, but it does give you a lot of gratitude. I mean, really over and over and over. So got through that pretty good, pretty well. Um, And that was a year. But the bummer is they won't count your five years until you've finished that. So I know like

Emily Brewer:

six

Bridget Huckabee:

years. Exactly. So but but that's OK. And then Dr. Holland and Maria, they they handled that part of things and they're great as well. And they watch you close, you know, and you just go in every time and they make sure everything's responding well and you're not having any severe reactions. And that's only when the thyroid level would show up. But there were really no symptoms from that. So if that's the worst of it, that's okay. So your

Emily Brewer:

team included a surgical oncologist doing your surgery, medical oncologist managing your Keytruda. So you definitely had a

Bridget Huckabee:

team around you. You, you know, still coming to you every three months. Yeah. So, and then that doesn't include that, like, Every six months, brain MRI, full MRI, or a CT scan. With melanoma, you have to tell your dentist to check your mouth because it can show up there. You have to tell your gynecologist that, you know, you have had melanoma. You have to tell, if you go to an ENT, they have to check your ears. Like, the weird thing is, and that's why you get the brain MRI, because, you know, it's... sneaky sneaky sneaky and it can show up anywhere you're

Emily Brewer:

exactly right

Bridget Huckabee:

and that's the thing that I mean I'm fine I'm healthy there are some I don't know pluses that come with something like this you do get healthier you do have more gratitude all of those things but you do also you know live with a low-grade terror but that keeps you motivated yeah you know it keeps you motivated but you do you know Three or four times a day, probably go, oh, you know, like, oh, please don't come back. You know, but again, I'm very lucky.

Emily Brewer:

It's interesting. I think that two types of patient can come out of a scenario like what you went through. One type of patient, I think, comes out and they become very diligent, very patient. proactive. They're very vigilant about their skin checks, their follow-ups. They are very involved in their health decisions. And I think that's a very positive thing that can come out of it. But then you can also have a scenario, I think, where patients, it becomes a point of fixation and an obsession and patients come in and literally they will say, any mole, take it off,

Speaker 00:

take them all off. And

Emily Brewer:

I mean, obviously the ones that look abnormal, we do. But, you know, there gets to be a point where it's like, okay, it's not practical to cut off every single mole. But, you know, where do you feel like you fell on that spectrum?

Bridget Huckabee:

I think I felt more on the just let's be diligent, you know. I agree. But, you know, like I say, it does pop into your head, you know, or if you do see something, you know, just– You know, you're just like, OK, I just keep it in notes.

Emily Brewer:

Just keep my list. I love that you come in. You come in with a list. It's

Bridget Huckabee:

great because you forget. You totally forget. And then you just like and then it's so it'll say, you know, as of April 13th, 2025, these are the ones. And a lot of times they're repeats. But oh, well, it's OK. Yeah. You know

Emily Brewer:

what I mean? It's OK. I say every time come up, come in, bring that list. Yeah. And let's hit the list and make sure we cover those things very carefully because those are the things on your list. most likely that you're noticing. Yes, exactly. It's like what brought you in to begin with.

Bridget Huckabee:

Yeah. And so far, you know, we've done probably, I don't know, maybe three to five biopsies and they've all been fine you know

Emily Brewer:

which I tell patients when you have a history of melanoma

Bridget Huckabee:

yeah

Emily Brewer:

you're going to be biopsied

Bridget Huckabee:

a lot you know because I'm all about it

Emily Brewer:

right same you know it gives the patients a peace of mind it gives me a peace of mind of knowing that we're not missing anything

Bridget Huckabee:

it's

Emily Brewer:

better to over biopsy at that point I think so too just

Bridget Huckabee:

being

Emily Brewer:

cautious

Bridget Huckabee:

you

Emily Brewer:

know

Bridget Huckabee:

it just it's I mean who would have thought this one was and I do have one funny it's not funny but it's kind of funny So that night when I found out, I couldn't sleep. And I was like, I had one daughter at college. I was like, I'm just going to go up in her room because I know I'm going to be on my phone for a little bit because I just couldn't sleep. And I was on Instagram and I was scrolling and suddenly a post popped up. And it said, because I always say it wrong, but it's amelanotic. Amelanotic. Melanoma. Melanoma. Yes. Which basically means it's not going to present the ABCD that's right E or whatever that we always learn it's completely outside of that yeah it looks like nothing right you know and so I'm laying there and suddenly it said I can't remember what it said but like Melon, you know, watch out. It discussed that. And I was like, oh, she might be up too. I was. And it was just so weird. It was like this, like, you know, the universe connecting us. We were on the same wavelength. And I don't know that I ever told you that, but it may be. I mean, it was funny too, you know, especially now because, you know, things do look positive. But at that time, I was like, I gasped. You were definitely on my mind. I'll tell you that. So I've always thought that was pretty funny. Just like, you know, the connection in the ethers.

Emily Brewer:

Right. So after your diagnosis, what did your support system look like? Did you find that you turned to a group to find that support? Or did you find more strength in just sort of navigating it privately? What did that

Bridget Huckabee:

look like? So, well, I have a great husband who would have been there at every single appointment that I had. But there's also a little bit. And then I also, you know, had to just. I didn't want to scare my kids because there was I mean, things look promising. And so, you know, hey, this is just what we have to do, you know, and didn't want to because they were, I think, more afraid than they let on. Yeah. But, you know. But they're kids. I mean, they're teenagers, one in college, one was starting college. Like you didn't want to be their preoccupation. They needed to launch and go, you know, do their thing. Excuse me.

Emily Brewer:

That's such a mother. I think that.

Bridget Huckabee:

Yes, exactly. And so basically, in order to not have it dominate for that year, I feel like. I just have the ability to like do it. And it already does. I mean, it sounds crazy, but it takes up so much time. I mean, really does. Like, you know, every three weeks that was going to be two or three hours to go sit and get the treatment, doctor's appointments, you know, just scans. It's a lot of time. So I thought. I'm I'm more of a solo operator in those ways. I have the support if I want it a thousand percent. But he also then kind of knows me to not like, you know, it almost seemed more maudlin to have someone there with you. I don't know if that makes sense. You know, it kind of makes it feel bigger. Yeah. So I just did it. More solo because that's my preference. You know, that is just like there's literally nothing he can do but sit here with me. So why am I going to make him have this equal time, you know, usage? You know, when if I needed it, I would have done it. I would have had if I were like, this is so scary. This is terrible. You know, be here with me. I would have done it that way. But it didn't feel that way. It felt more like. go get it done yeah fight yes exactly so and then you know just like they it's just like the last one you know they made me ring the bell and I was just like oh I just felt so horrible doing it wow just the guilt again you know just like also to kind of downplay it and the guilt and you know because I'm like a lot of the people in this room They're not going to ring it, you know. And then it was sort of like, I think the nurses like to hear it, you know. So I did it. And it was a great feeling, but it was, you know, more emotional than I thought it would be. Interesting.

Emily Brewer:

I mean, going through this whole process, going through the surgeries, the treatments, the imaging, all of the things that go with it, obviously there's a very physical recovery process that goes with surgery. There's also this mental health, emotional healing that goes with a diagnosis like what you received. What did that look like for you?

Bridget Huckabee:

Well, I think... It almost produced adrenaline. Like, you know, like you said, you got to fight, you know. So it did that. And by going, you know, every three weeks to the oncologist and then every three months to the surgical oncologist and getting good reports, you know, it helped kind of. Boost. Boost. Yeah. And, I mean, I'll never be as confident as I was before this that I'll be okay, you know, just because it does zap that confidence. You know, like I'll have people that will say, you know, like, oh, no, I just– I know I'll never get it. I'm like, do not say that. Do you think I didn't think that? Yes. And so– excuse me. So– It was a weird mix of like, okay, this is kind of like things will work out, but don't get cocky. You know, it's like that. It's a very humbling experience. Very humbling. I mean, I cannot tell you. And it's still, you know, like I just finished a round of, you know, MRIs and brain scans and all of that. And like I say, I do feel pretty confident the results are going to be, you know, positive, but... There's still that lingering pit I would think of, but what if it's not? Exactly. But again, that can be motivating. So it's sort of a little bit of a cycle.

Emily Brewer:

That's exactly what I meant when I was saying how this kind of instance can really mold a patient into being very vigilant and being very proactive and keeping patients on their schedule. And I think That's a way to take something good from something that can be very devastating.

Bridget Huckabee:

Yes. And, I mean, there is something to, you know, I'm looked at well. You are. Yeah. So what if some other weird thing pops up? You know, like, you know, and that'll go on for a while. Yeah. You know, I have to get all those scans and everything for a few more years. Yeah. But I'm okay with that. If it keeps everything at bay.

Emily Brewer:

So how has this diagnosis, how has it changed you? Personally, how has it changed relationships, the way you look at things? Has it changed you?

Bridget Huckabee:

I think it has. I would say it has. And it definitely can crystallize. Like, you know, that doesn't really make sense. But, like, when you start feeling that stress or anxiety over stupid things, I do feel like I have a stop point or a stop sign in my emotions that makes me go, all right, calm down. You know, this is really nothing, you know. And that's not terrible. You know, it kind of gives you a better perspective. I mean, that definitely does happen. Like, you're just like. Seriously, this is a big deal, you know. So, I mean, that's a gift, you know. So, I don't know. I try to focus on the good things it gave me and not get too worried about, you know. But it is a low-grade worry. What about

Emily Brewer:

your family, your daughters? Has it changed them in any way? Well...

Bridget Huckabee:

Because you, you know, I kind of just kept going, but I think, so they definitely were dialed into it, but I feel good that we kept it to where it didn't. dominate them

Emily Brewer:

for

Bridget Huckabee:

sure you know I do think my younger one it did you know cause some anxiety because she was just like coming out of the pandemic graduating from high school you know but and my older one she I mean I guess what here's what it is like they kind of can appear to not have It being very impacted by it, which is was my goal. But then you can tell at times when you go like, oh, I've got some like I always have to say, oh, it's just an appointment. It's not it's just a checkup because and then you can hear them go, oh, OK, good. Like, I do think it seeps in.

Emily Brewer:

Yeah.

Bridget Huckabee:

You know, a little. How can it not?

Emily Brewer:

I think that's something to, you know, when when patients are going through, you know, a cancer diagnosis, it's easy to, you know, really focus in on the patient. And I mean, you should. But I mean, a cancer diagnosis, it can affect the whole family. Yeah, it can affect everyone. So I was curious to sort of get a feel for that. You know, has it helped them to see the importance of the diligence of skin exams? Oh, yes. To be cautious with their sunscreen? Yes. Has it helped to improve how they take care of their own skin? A

Bridget Huckabee:

thousand percent. And they have... And they've gone since they can remember. You know, like I've brought them in every year because that's on the rise with young people. Without question. Yes. So... But I don't know if you'll remember this, but my oldest came in last summer because she had a mole she was worried about. she was very nervous. It was benign. Y'all took it because of my history and it was benign, but I could tell it was kind of flipping her out and rightfully so, you know, to, I mean, in other words, not rightfully so, but like, of course it did. Yeah. So I think while there can be a perception of, I think it can be more subconscious with them, but I think it definitely has imprinted on them. Like, you know, sunscreen and, you know, all of it. And, uh, and you know, they come in every year now. Yeah. I mean, they always have, but like they take it very serious. So it's, you know, you feel kind of bad about that, but if it sets them up for good skin health, you know,

Emily Brewer:

totally. That was what I was hoping you were going to say because it, you know, as a patient, obviously you're more diligent, but them seeing you go through what you've been through, it does change them. And it can be in a positive way in the sense of having them be more routine with their skin exams, having them check their own moles routinely, being careful to put the sunscreen on, reapplying it routinely, staying out of the tanning bed because that's a big one in the younger age group. Yes. We know that causes cancer.

Bridget Huckabee:

A 10 to 15 percent increase for like, I mean, it doesn't take much in that tanning bed.

Emily Brewer:

It doesn't.

Bridget Huckabee:

And I grew up in South Louisiana and I'm of the age where it was the baby oil and the, you know, we didn't know Now, I do feel lucky that I think I went in a tanning bed once or twice, and I forbid it for my girls, you know. And I probably stopped laying out at 30. Like, I haven't even been in the sun. I mean, I've been hats and sleeves and everything for 30 years, and it's still.

Emily Brewer:

Which makes your case even more.

Unknown:

.