MINI: Britt chats about the importance of getting your skin checked regularly

Britt has shared her experience getting treatment for solar keratosis over the last couple of years and the importance of getting regular skin checks. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:10):
My heart podcasts, hear more Kiss podcast playlist, and listen
live on the free iHeart app.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Hey, I have a bit of an update for you
on well.

Speaker 3 (00:20):
I don't want to say a health condition, but I
guess it is in a way a health condition. But
I think it's a really important PSA for literally everybody
listening right now. Like if you guys have been following
along with me personally or the radio show or the podcast,
you know, I would have spoken about it. But a
few years ago, I basically like I had to burn
my whole face off with this topical chemotherapy for a

(00:41):
pre skin cancer.

Speaker 2 (00:42):
So I went to the doctor.

Speaker 3 (00:44):
About these like tiny little spots on my face, Like
there were just two that I thought were funny. They
wouldn't go away. One was on my lip and one
was on my forehead. I'm talking like just.

Speaker 2 (00:54):
A bit of discoloration really, but it.

Speaker 3 (00:57):
Was also quite dry, and I just thought, just weird,
it's not going like I was doing all the moisturizer
and whatever else. And I went to my skin doctor
and I ended up going through some testing, but I
got diagnosed with something called solar keratosis, which a lot
of you might have heard.

Speaker 2 (01:12):
About it's essentially called pre skin cancer.

Speaker 3 (01:14):
So if left can and probably will turn into a
skin cancer.

Speaker 1 (01:19):
How do they have any idea of how long it
takes to transition or is it just one of those
things where you're like, it's some people, it could be years.
For other people, it could just be like unlucky and.

Speaker 3 (01:27):
Well, yeah, depends how long it's been there for. So
it essentially will transition, So you need to deal with
it basically, And I guess this is why it's so
important to get an early diagnosis before something can spread
or turn into something nasty. And so the treatment for
that is what I just said. It's a topical chemotherapy.
So it's this like it's so cytotoxic. You have to
put gloves on, you have to specially order it, and

(01:49):
you cover your face in it, and your whole face
is like the most red, raw, burnt scab, Like it's
so painful.

Speaker 2 (01:58):
Your whole face is basically is being killed, I guess
for want of a better word.

Speaker 3 (02:03):
And essentially it takes a couple of weeks, it scabs over,
peels off, and the idea is the bad part to
go and you regenerate with nice skin again.

Speaker 1 (02:11):
Yeah, I mean, I remember when you did it because
we were on radio at the time and you were
a bit like turn the cameras off, and I mean,
I don't I want to be careful with because I
think even the way you explained it then could scare
people away from doing it, like it was nowhere near
as bad as you probably felt like it was.

Speaker 3 (02:27):
Well, my update is I went back for It's been
two years actually, which is probably too long.

Speaker 2 (02:32):
It definitely is too long. I just sort of put
it off.

Speaker 3 (02:35):
I went back on the weekend and I have to
do it again, so I have two spots again, and
I have to do this whole treatment again where I
have to burn my face off with this chemotherapy. So
I'm I mean, we joke about me saying turn the
cameras off last time, but I still went to work,
I still put on my socials. I wanted to advocate
for it, but I think I'm going to do it
even more so this time because it's really scary and

(02:58):
like two in three Australians are going to get skin
cancer in their life.

Speaker 2 (03:02):
That's the stat Yeah, the stats so crazy.

Speaker 1 (03:04):
But also I mean, I feel like if you've grown
up in Australia, if you spent anytime out in the sun,
just remember to go and get checked, because like you
can go and do your mole mapping these days, you
can go. And it's the consistency because unless you know
what's changed half.

Speaker 2 (03:17):
The time, you don't actually know what's wrong.

Speaker 1 (03:19):
And I mean, I think I grew up really just
thinking that having things burn off you was pretty normal.
Like my mom, my grandparents, everyone has had different skin
things burn off them over the years. It's funny now
looking back because it's so not normal, but it's just
such a condition of being in Australia and the fact
that for so long we had such a crazy tanning
culture and I know some people still still subscribe to it.

(03:41):
But we were kids of the eighties and the nineties,
like we were outside hardly any sunscreen, sun baking all
the time. And now it's really come out, like just
how damaging that's really is for you.

Speaker 3 (03:52):
Part of me is like, oh my god, I can't
be any to do this again, But the other part
of me really wants to advocate for you to go.

Speaker 2 (03:58):
And get a skin check.

Speaker 3 (03:59):
Like if this is your reminder right now, if you're
in the car and you're like, oh my god, I've
been putting that off for so long. Do not put
it off. Go and book your appointment now. When you
pull over your car, go and call. Remember to keep
an eye on everything on your body. If it's changed,
if it's gotten darker or drier, if it's a regular
you need to go and get a check.

Speaker 2 (04:17):
No, I know, Bri.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
And that also is like the reminder I need because
it's been a couple of years since I've been. And
it's one of those things where you're like, ah, I'll
go where it happened to me.

Speaker 3 (04:24):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (04:24):
Yeah, well, I mean two and three probably means there's
a likelihood it will happen.

Speaker 2 (04:27):
To you anyway.

Speaker 3 (04:28):
You're going to see it all play out because unfortunately
we do film everything.

Speaker 1 (04:32):
So yeah, all right, guys, Well that is it from
us today.