Most of our articles here on CollegeCandy tend to focus on the lighter aspects of college: the hook ups, partying down, partying up, beer, and, of course, actually attending classes (which we all somehow manage to do…it’s a miracle).

But the truth is our writers and readers have dealt with some very serious stuff throughout their college careers. The kind of stuff that’s not always easy to talk about, but necessary to talk about. From serious health issues to unfortunately common personal issues, they’ve shared their stories with all of us so that we could relate, connect and learn some important life lessons.

And that’s why we’re sharing them again. You know, for the ladies who missed them the first time around, or the girls who just missed the lessons within them. Read More »

With summer coming, I’ve been quite focused on pumping you all with information about practicing safe sun. Well, get excited, because I have some more!  A lot of you love tanning, I get it, but there’s a way to do it safely. If you’re gonna be soaking up the rays, you should make sure you do everything in your power to protect yourself from skin cancer. (No matter how young we are, we’re not invincible!)  I’m not trying to lecture (okay, just a smidge) but I care about my viewers, and I don’t want anything to happen to you!

If you’re not clued in on the ABCDEs of moles, I’m here to tell you what they are and why they’re important!  I’ve had a mole removed, and it is not fun.  In fact, it’s scary and it hurts. Obviously, your best bet is to take care of your skin to prevent moles, but if you do get them, it’s important to know how to handle them. Let’s get to it: Read More »

23 is a young age for a lot of things.  It is a young age to be a mother, to be on your own, to lose a friend, or to have cancer.  Yet, all of these things and more happen to young people every day.

It was a cold day in November when I got the phone call from the dermatologist telling me my results were back and I needed to come into the office the same day.  As I put down the phone, I looked at my boyfriend and nervously laughed and said, “Well that can’t be good.”  Since I am a full time student, I had to go to class before I could even think about heading to a doctor.  I sat through the hour and fifteen minute class thinking that maybe I was being silly and everything was going to be fine.  Surely a girl who is 23 years old, outgoing, determined, and full of life could not have cancer.  It had to be something else.

The drive to the office took too long and I called my mom on the way to deter some thoughts.  She immediately went into full panic mode and I couldn’t understand why.  By the time I arrived at the doctor, she had called five times to find out what was wrong but they wouldn’t tell her because I am an adult.  I sat alone in the room and waited for the nurse practitioner.  She was the only that would see me that day because the doctor was too busy.  She sat down and said, “Katie, you have level four Melanoma and the next step is for you to go see a surgeon in St. Louis to have the tumor removed.”

It’s hard to explain what I was feeling at the moment I was processing everything she was saying.  I don’t really know if I was feeling anything but disbelief.  I’m not sure that I was even processing it.  I just shook my head like I was some kind of bobble head so she knew I was still listening.  The strangest thing, after looking back on it all, is the feeling that I just wanted to please her or that I couldn’t cry because I needed to be strong.  I asked her different questions about what the biopsy meant and she couldn’t tell me.  At this point the hardest thing was that she didn’t know the details or the main question everyone wanted to know:

Was I going to die? Read More »

I am pale.  White, pasty, corpse-like, albino, pallid- that’s me.  It wasn’t always me, mind you.  See, once upon a time I sought solitude and relaxation in the warm bluish-white glow of the tanning bed.  Those of you who tan, you know what I’m talking about.  You get out of class completely drained (because the Sudoku was really tough today) and head to your car.  Maybe it’s raining, maybe it’s not.  Maybe it’s the middle of December, or maybe Spring Break is a week away.  It doesn’t matter.  The light at the end of your tunnel is florescent and comes with the scent of coconut oil.

I’ve been there.  Chasing happiness through monthly memberships and bonus lotion deals, fighting hangovers as you listen to the best of the 80s, 90s, and today, as you fake-bake your way to sun kissed bliss. You know tanning is bad for you (the warnings are everywhere), but you don’t care. You don’t do it that much. You won’t get cancer. And you look so much better tan!

So you keep on keepin’ on.

Well, what if I showed you what tanning does to those precious looks to hold so dearly? Would that change your mind?  Looks like it. Read More »

Let's all take a moment of silence for Snookie's skin tone.

As you may or may not know, there’s a lot going down in Washington right now in regards to our health and bodies. Not only is there major debate about Obama’s health care plan, but Capitol Hill has been buzzin’ about Botox. Namely, the idea to put a tax (nicknamed “Bo-tax”) on it and other cosmetic surgeries.

That has since been vetoed (probably after all 4 casts of The Real Housewives/Joan Rivers threatened a sit-in at the White House) in favor of a new idea: adding a 10% tax to indoor tanning.

The main idea behind the new plan is for the government to make it more difficult for you to feed your potentially cancerous addictions (much like cigarettes) by doing what the government does best: taxing.

Needless to say, orange people nationwide are up in (leathery) arms! Read More »

Moles helped make celebs like Marilyn Monroe and Cindy Crawford famous.  Their moles were sexy little perfectly-shaped beauty marks that everyone wanted to have.  And did by picking up the press-on variety at the neighborhood beauty supply store.

Unfortunately, though, a mole isn’t just another beauty accessory; it can also be the sign of skin cancer.

One of my best friends has been having trouble with her moles for years, constantly getting them removed. After hearing about her latest round of whack-a-mole, I began to panic; I had never even thought to have my moles looked at! What if they were dangerous? What if I only had days left to live?!

Shaking, I dialed my dermatologist and made an appointment to get everything checked out.  And good thing I did! I thought I only had a couple of moles but it turns out I was wrong.  Unbeknownst to me, moles aren’t only the raised brown marks on your skin – they can also look just like freckles.

In fact, moles can be raised, flat, large, small, dark, or light, and you may not even know that you have some.  And all of them – even those moles that have never seen the sun (yes, like that one on your booty) – can be cancerous, so it’s important to get them checked out  by a professional.  My dermatologist recommended that everyone performs a monthly mole self-check. This will not only allow you to discover any new moles that may be popping up, but to follow the ones you already have. When moles start changing in any way, it could be a sign of a problem. Read More »

I was born with a skin-tone that falls somewhere between “fresh milk” and “blank paper.” I’ve heard every “where are the Seven Dwarves?” and “Ah! You’re blinding me!” joke in existence, replacing my joyful anticipation of summer with an ominous dread. As girls with non-glow-in-the-dark skin flounce down the street in their shorts and minis, my legs have been relegated to hot, dark jeans.

In years past, in order to reach the deep, savage “normal-people” color I have so longed for, I have resorted to the religious application of self-tanners, which, while making me darker, have also made me smellier. And we all know nothing is more appealing to a man than a girl who smells like chemicals and has weird, orange-streaked sheets. And to top it all off, after my daily self-tanning regimen, there would almost inevitably come the cruel mockery of the phrase “you’re so light!”

Sigh. Read More »

Back in the day when Speedo one-pieces were cool, I had no interest in tanning. Although I fought through “sunscreen smear down” sessions with my mom, my skin was still, for the most part, shielded from the sun all summer long. It wasn’t until my friends started wearing bikinis and lots of Hawaiian tropic, that my Irish complexion got it’s first taste of sunburn. I quickly realized that getting the perfect tan wasn’t really in the cards for me…well unless I wanted to look like a leather handbag years later.

It’s scary how many times my skin has peeled, even blistered. I’ve accumulated many freckles, and one of them could easily be cancerous. At least that’s what I hear. Freckles appearing after a sunburn have been associated with an increased risk of melanoma skin cancer – the fatal kind. And even worse, it’s been estimated that nearly half of all Americans who live to age 65 will develop skin cancer at least once, according to MedicineNet.com.

Clearly we are all guilty of neglecting our skin for vanity’s sake. I mean, who doesn’t enjoy that bronzed glow? But ten, fifteen years from now, we’ll be kicking ourselves when the wrinkles, blotchy sun spots or melanoma develop.

So what can we do now to prevent further sun damage? Read More »

It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt. And in the game of Bad Habits, you will always come out a loser. As I laid in a tanning bed, I thought about how this bad habit was going to affect me in the long run. Even though I love the immediate benefits of this vice (golden, sun-kissed skin!), I can’t help but worry about my future as a leather-skinned freak. Is the bronze skin of today worth the skin cancer of tomorrow? Let’s examine the dangerous games we play and weigh whether the consequences are worth the benefits:

Tanning

Why We Do It: I am addicted to the healthy glow I get from taking a 20 minute nap in my favorite tanning bed! I feel more relaxed, have less acne, and generally feel less self-conscious. When I’m feeling confident, I can stand up straighter, smile bigger, and show off my legs without feeling embarrassed. I feel like confidence enhances my life and I don’t want to go through my heyday without it. Read More »

I have a confession to make now that summer is upon us and the sun is shining every day: When I am really tan, I feel a) skinnier b) more attractive and c) happier.

It’s true. And I’m sure that some of you girls will agree with me.

I have always known that it is not healthy to fake bake or lie out without sunscreen, but it’s just so hard to avoid the desire to be tan at this age.

With new studies coming out regularly on skin cancer risks and stories of girls our age contracting skin cancer (Britney Lietz, Miss Maryland 2006, who was diagnosed with melanoma at 20), I have really been forced to reconsider my tanning habits.

It also caused me to wonder about our parents who grew up in a time when the risks were generally unknown? Well, an article on msnbc.com describes some of the absurd lengths that people went to for a bronzed body that now basically seems like skin suicide. Read More »