A few days ago, the man took behind «Maskorama»the costumes and «Exit»the outfits, Kjell Nordström (59), to Facebook to share an important message: Do not wait to go to the doctor if you get changes in the skin.
Cancer patient Elin: – It’s my way
The costume designer speaks from experience. After a trip to Australia 20 years ago, the Swede had been sunburned on his ears and small wounds had appeared.
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After a check-up with the doctor, he was told that he had skin cancer, he tells Dagbladet today.
– Only the word “cancer” means that we often panic a little, but there is a difference between malignant and “benign” cancer, says Nordström.
Reveals cancer: – Absolutely cruel
When the doctor explained to the “Maskorama” costume designer that the cancer was not of the violent kind, the fear quickly subsided.
– So it is clear that I was shocked, but then she said to me: “If you come to me regularly to check this, you will not die of skin cancer, but with skin cancer.”
The 59-year-old has the type of cancer basal cell carcinoma. It is the most common form of skin cancer and is often referred to as the kind, as it has a very good prognosis, according to Lommelegen.
It is a cancer that does not spread to other parts of the body, but still needs to be treated as it will continue to grow and cause damage locally to the skin.
– Like going to the dentist
Since the 59-year-old received the message, he has gone to the dermatologist regularly – almost every year. The Swede says that skin cancer can come in several variants, from moles that change, to wounds that do not heal. Yet it is not always easy to discover it for yourself.
– And that is why it is so important that you do it (go to the doctor, journ.anm.). There are many who go with things for far too long. Two years ago I went with something a little too long and then it was surgery twice – and it’s not fun.
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Thus, it is extra important to check the skin often, he believes.
– It’s a bit like going to the dentist, you should go once a year and check if you have holes. Sometimes you have zero holes, and other times you have things that need fixing. The skin is a bit the same, you have to check it all the time. This is a very common form of cancer, he says.
Therefore, he has been banned from training
Nordström emphasizes that the form of cancer he has is the most harmless form of skin cancer, and often the doctor does not find anything wrong when he checks. Still, there are certain things the costume designer needs to pay extra attention to.
– Today it is the case that instead of sunbathing a lot, I use self-tanning cream if I want to have a little color, lubricate myself and go with caps.
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But it is not always as easy, the 59-year-old admits.
– We have a sailboat, me and my husband, and it is not so easy to always protect themselves, but I try as best I can, then. It is sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen, protect yourself and avoid getting burned in the sun which is the absolute most important.
Reveals diagnosis
But skin cancer does not stop the Swede from enjoying holiday trips to warmer regions, for example to Mykonos in Greece.
– I’m 60 years old, I’m done with the days where I’m scattering around on the beach and looking like crap. I lie down in a corner where the other pale ones lie, I live just fine with that, he laughs.
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Annual reminder
As he himself has learned the importance of sunblock and sunscreen, Nordström publishes a status on Facebook every year. In it, he encourages others to both check and take care of their skin.
Broke the competitor
– It is a reminder to people that when you have moles and other things, you have to go to a dermatologist and check it, he explains.
– I belong to the generation that has been very much sunburned as a child, and not always used sunscreen. That price is paid in the end by the skin taking the blow.
