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"  Gina Otts, 35, Richardson, TX Growing up in Iowa, Gina Otts didn&amp;#039;t think she needed sunscreen. &amp;quot;No one felt like the sun there was strong enough to be dangerous,&amp;quot; the engineer says. In warm weather, she played sports outdoors and laid out at the beaches along the Mississippi River. She&amp;#039;d hit tanning salons, but only before big events like her prom and her wedding.  In March 2007, nine months after giving birth to her daughter, Madison, Gina noticed that a small, dark, slightly raised mole on her lower back \u2014 one of more than 100 on her body \u2014 had become oddly itchy. Around this time, she saw a physician for back pain. He saw the mole and, concerned that its center was lighter in color than the rest, told Gina to see a dermatologist right away. She made an appointment for the next day. As the doctor examined Gina&amp;#039;s mole, then took a biopsy, she calmly noted, &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;ve seen worse-looking ones that have come back okay.&amp;quot; So Gina was shocked to hear, 10 days later, that she had melanoma. &amp;quot;I thought about all the things I might not see Madison do, like walk and learn to read,&amp;quot; she says.  The news became worse: Her melanoma was Stage III, meaning it had spread to her lymph nodes. Gina endured two surgeries to remove infected lymph nodes from her stomach and arm and tissue surrounding the mole. Then she began a treacherous yearlong course of the drug interferon \u2014 the only treatment FDA-approved to fight recurrence of Stage III melanoma. Interferon, Gina was told, might reduce the chances of a relapse by a meager 10 percent. Injected into her leg three times a week, the drug made her weak, made her hair fall out, and impaired her thyroid function, causing a 20-pound weight loss in seven days. With her husband traveling often for work, Gina struggled to gather the strength to work full time and be a mom. &amp;quot;I could barely lift Madison into her car seat,&amp;quot; she says. Treatment ended in May 2008, and within three months Gina regained her energy (though her thick, curly hair took far longer to return). To celebrate her new beginning, Gina and her husband went on a 40-mile trek through the Andes Mountains. &amp;quot;The chance that I&amp;#039;ll get melanoma again is greater than 50 percent, so I&amp;#039;m determined to take care of myself to help avoid recurrence,&amp;quot; says Gina, who runs three miles a day and eats a diet packed with fruits and vegetables. Every six months, she gets scanned for signs of cancer; waiting for the results is always agonizing, she says. Looking back on her difficult year of treatment, Gina says, &amp;quot;I never knew what the next day would bring, and I didn&amp;#039;t want to miss anything that a mother shares with her child during their first year together.&amp;quot; Two years later, she&amp;#039;s just as committed to making every day with her daughter count.  FACT: For 20 years following a melanoma diagnosis, survivors face an increased risk for more melanoma \u2014 as well as other cancers. More on Skin Cancer &amp;amp;amp; Sun Care:  Is that Mole Skin Cancer? Spot the Signs. From Sunburn to Skin Cancer Skin Cancer During Pregnancy Sunscreen 101: What SPF Really Means 5 Scary Facts About Tanning Beds "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.redbookmag.com/body/health-fitness/advice/a6254/melanoma-treatment/>