Meet May Ambassador, Hailey!
We are thrilled to welcome Hailey Crider, our May ambassador today on the Sun Safety Blog. Find out more about Hailey’s story below.
About Hailey
Our May ambassador Hailey spent many of her early years constantly outdoors at swim practice or swim competitions. She currently resides in Phoenix, Arizona where she has a full-time career in the digital marketing space. Hailey has a wonderful, lighthearted sense of humor which she believes is the key to her success throughout her battles in life. Additionally, she has her own blog called Have a Sense of Tumor which truly encompasses her personality.
Hailey’s Story
Hailey was diagnosed at age 24 with stage 2A Melanoma. It all started in 2013 when Hailey’s mom pointed out a suspicious mole on her back that showed warning signs of skin cancer. Although at first Hailey thought nothing of it, she eventually gave in to her mom’s wishes and made an appointment to get a skin check from a Board Certified Dermatology. She was shocked by the news that a mole she’d had her entire life was actually melanoma.
Flash forward five years, Hailey is seen again at her Oncologist for a checkup.
“I showed her a lump I had found under my skin near my groin area, and she immediately became concerned. Turns out, the Melanoma that they thought they got 5 years ago had spread to my brain, lungs, heart, shoulder, and a couple of spots in my legs.”
It is important to have an advocate and support system while undergoing cancer treatment. Hailey’s father has served in that support role and has gone to every appointment with Hailey to this day. Hailey states, “having an advocate like that during a time where I had so many questions and so many worries, it really helped me with the whole processing portion of it.”
During that time of her life, Hailey saw that many of her friends were at different points in their lives, having babies and getting married, and it led her to feel very isolated and even alienated. Hailey wants to help educate others and show that there is a community for people like her. She says that her main goal is to “be the person for other people who feel alone during this whole process because I understand the feeling.”
Why is Skin Cancer Education so Important?
“Greater education on how [skin cancer] can metastasize is important, education about the trauma that comes with dealing with something like that is really needed too.”
Hailey also wanted to take the time to debunk the commonly heard “it’s just skin cancer” myth. “It’s not just the skin,” she says, “the survivorship and the whole process afterward is a very long journey until you as a person feel like you are back to ‘normal.’”
Hailey describes it as a pie chart: “Initially, cancer takes up the whole chart; once you finish treatment, it is still a large part of your life, from the checkups you have to go to periodically, to the dealing with the traumatic experience you just went through.” She explained the difficulties of recalibrating how much she should focus on the whole experience, while not losing sight of the life she is still lucky to live.
Hailey’s final remarks
“Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen! It can happen to you, so take care of yourself!”
Hailey also stated that “it shouldn’t be a choice” when trying to find clothes that are fashionable AND NOT outdated. “That is why I was so excited when I discovered your brand,” Hailey said while talking about L.U.V.’s UPF 50+ garments.
Thank for joining us this month, we appreciate you, and we hope to see you next time. Stay healthy, stay safe and #outshineskincancer!