Beloved beach has a risky side

Dr. Stephen M. Picca, an internist and anesthesiologist, lives in Massapequa.

With all due respect to Hamlet and his problems, the real issue is: "To beach, or not to beach? That is the question."

I have always loved Jones Beach. As a child growing up in the Bronx, having someone take us to "Jones," as we always called it, was everyone's idea of a perfect day. It's no accident that when I grew up I ended up living only 10 minutes away from the beach.

From my house in Massapequa, it's a quick turn off Merrick Road to the Jones Beach Causeway. Riding down the causeway always makes me feel a little bit like Dorothy on the Yellow Brick Road: I am going someplace wonderful and even the road taking me there is enchanting.

The last time I was there I went with a good friend of mine, who happens to be a pediatric dentist. He insisted a mole on my neck had increased in size since the last time we went to the beach together and he told me in no uncertain terms to get it checked out. I thanked him for his concern, but suggested he stay focused on children's teeth and stop looking at people's moles. When I left the beach, I totally forgot about what he had said. But good friend that he is, he kept hounding me until I finally went to see a dermatologist.

But even the dermatologist was not impressed. The mole lacked the characteristics usually associated with a skin cancer. Still, since my friend had observed it increasing in size, the dermatologist did a biopsy. I eagerly awaited the results; I couldn't wait to call my friend and tell him how wrong he was.

Only, he was right -- I had a malignant melanoma, a type of skin cancer that kills thousands of people each year. The good news was that it was in situ, medical jargon that means it had not spread. All I needed was a trip to a dermatologic surgeon to remove the entire tumor and its margins, and then for a plastic surgeon to close the wound without leaving me looking like a Frankenstein knockoff.

As a doctor myself, I wasn't surprised about my problem: After all those years at Jones Beach without using any sunscreen -- something I would never advise my patients to do -- it was no shock that I had developed skin cancer. But I always figured it was the patients, not the doctors, who got sick. Sunscreen was for others, not for me.

I am not sure what happens next. Yes, I've started buying sunscreen by the gallon. But I also know that it must be applied and reapplied liberally -- and even then doesn't guarantee full protection.

So there's my dilemma. I love the beach too much to give it up, melanoma or not. So do I at least follow medical advice by limiting my trips, and when there continuously smother myself with sunscreen, wear a hat and shirt, avoid the midday sun, and use an umbrella? Or do I allow myself to enjoy one of life's great pleasures and just throw on a bathing suit and visit the beach whenever the mood strikes, as if nothing has changed?

I'm not sure what I will do. If you want to help me decide, I'll be down at Field 6 most days thinking things over.