A LITTLE ABOUT MAPP
What is M.A.P.P.?
The Melanoma Awareness and Prevention Program (M.A.P.P.) was created to spread awareness about Melanoma and educate others on skin cancer prevention. During the program, the audience will learn about Melanoma and other skin cancers, what to look for in identifying possibly cancerous spots of skin, what their skin type is, and ways to protect their skin against UV rays and hopefully prevent getting skin cancer. The program is presented to any group of people such as classrooms, organizations, and at social groups' meetings. Depending on the age of the group, will determine which MAPP presentation is given. There are ones for Pre-K to adult. To schedule Amber to present M.A.P.P. in your classroom, meeting, or function, click the Contact tab and fill in your information.
Classroom
Visits
"I choose to own my skin's natural glow!"
History Behind M.A.P.P.
Amber started M.A.P.P. after being diagnosed with Melanoma at only age twenty-two. She went to her family doctor for a sinus infection in June of 2012, but left being told a spot on her leg needed to be removed at the end of summer to be sent off for testing. Amber thought nothing of it because she always tanned out in the sun and was not the one to worry about being sunburned if she forgot her sunscreen.
Amber did not go back to her family doctor until August of 2013 after noticing the spot on her leg seemed to be getting darker and larger in size. The doctor sliced the part of her skin off where the spot was and sent it to the lab. In September 2013, Amber received the phone call to tell her she was going to need to go through another surgery because the skin sample came back as Melanoma that had started to penetrate into her second layer of skin, the papillary layer of the dermis. The second surgery to remove more skin was needed to ensure that all of the Melanoma was removed and had not spread when the initial sample of skin was cut and sent for testing.
October of 2013 was a month filled with several trips to different plastic surgeons to discuss the best way to remove more skin, how much to remove, and the best way to do it to leave as minimal as a scar as possible. Amber finally found the doctor she felt most confident in and comfortable with at the Vanderbilt Research Hospital in Nashville, Tennesee.
The second surgery occurred at the beginning of November 2013. Everything went smoothly and Amber was told her results should be back right before Thanksgiving. So on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Amber and her sister went to Nashville to find out the results and they were good. Amber was CLEAN of Melanoma, which is exactly what she wanted to hear.
Currently, Amber is doing great and goes to her dermatologist for a full body check yearly. She has had more spots of concern removed, but all have came back negative for any skin cancer present.
A little side note: Amber tanned in indoor tanning beds off and on from the time she fourteen. There is a very good chance that her Melanoma was enhanced/progressed faster due to this, if not caused by it. Please keep out of the tanning beds. CHOOSE TO OWN YOUR SKIN'S NATURAL GLOW!
