Barbara Dymond - “Always with Sun Protection”

Barbara Dymond, Sanford, NC

Barbara Dymond of Sanford noticed a skin cancer poster at the gym where she and her kids went to swim every Sunday. The poster showed the warning signs of skin cancer. After her father was diagnosed with melanoma in December 2004, she grew concerned about an unusual mole on her arm.

She came to UNC where she saw UNC Melanoma Program dermatologist Dr. Nancy Thomas who removed the mole for biopsy. When the biopsy results determined that the lesion was melanoma program leader Dr. David Ollila performed a surgical excision and sentinel lymph node biopsy to determine if the cancer had spread. After five anxious days, she learned it had not. “I cried with joy & celebrated life for days, but then I realized that my survival was not over.  I had to be careful forever…for me and my children due to their genetics. I prayed hard for that news and I promised myself that I could help to educate others and save their lives too.”

She then urged other family members, especially her 23 year old niece, Lara Hooks, a student at UNC Wilmington, to get examined, and a year later, Lara came to UNC where doctors found melanoma.  Even at the age of 23, Lara’s tumor was actually the deepest of all. “My father and the gym’s awareness campaign saved my life and Lara’s too by just raising awareness.”

“When they told me I had melanoma, I thought I could never go out in the sun again, but then I realized that I had to find a way to get back to enjoying the hobbies I love in life, water skiing and jet skiing with my kids.”

Dymond is now vigilant about sun protection for herself and her family. “My whole family has UV protective swimwear, including my husband, Brett. My daughter, Alex, and my son, Christopher, prefer their UV swimwear to their usual swimsuits,” she says. “We ski, swim, and play outside, but always with sun protection. We didn’t have to give up our outdoor activities; we just have to be smarter about how we go about it.”

She wants children and their parents to learn early, “starting with increasing prevention awareness in pediatricians’ offices, daycare centers and in school educational programs. Sun protection is critical and can save lives. Wearing sunscreen should be as routine a safety measure as seatbelts.” 

Dymond admits that she is always a little nervous before her UNC appointments, and credits Drs. Ollila and Thomas for “giving me the confidence that I need to aim for the five-year survivor mark.”

Watch a video interview of Barbara Dymond