This is my friend Jim. 

Jim runs the coffee shop where I go just about every morning. Over the last five years, I’ve probably seen Jim more than I’ve seen anyone else in the world not named Furuness. 

A few months back, he showed up with a pressure bandage on his head. When I asked him what happened, he told me he’d just had an operation to take care of some skin cancer. “There was this spot that just wouldn’t heal,” he said, “so I finally went in and they said, ‘Yep. Cancer.’ They were able to get it all, though, so that’s good." 

"That’s good,” I echoed, trying not to show that I was freaking out. See, I had a little spot near my eye that hadn’t healed for a couple of years. A part of me knew this was a problem, but another part of me was like SHUT UP EVERYTHING’S FINE JUST DON’T THINK ABOUT IT. 

After talking with Jim, though, I set up an appointment with the dermatologist. Yep, cancer. And yep, yesterday I had the same operation. And yep, they got it all.

This morning I showed Jim my bandage and my swollen pig-eye, and I thanked him. That’s when he told me that his story was similar to mine—he had gone to the dermo because a guy he knew had been diagnosed with skin cancer, making Jim think, Maybe I better get this spot looked at … 

Which makes me think I should pass this on. Maybe I can be the warning-signal guy for you. Maybe you have a spot you’re ignoring, or maybe you’ve been meaning to go to the dermo just to get a baseline check. Stop waiting. Make the call. Save your own skin, then pass it on and save a friend’s skin. 

Thanks, Jim.