SAN ANTONIO – Virtually any picture of Dawn Krauskopf over the last few decades looks like a page out of Outdoor Living magazine, with her in bikinis, tank tops, and sunshine.
All that came to a screeching halt when she noticed a small spot on her back while getting ready for an evening out.
"I noticed I had a very dark spot on my back, which is abnormal for my skin tone," Krauskopf said.
She soon learned that not only was it melanoma, but it was very serious and needed immediate care.
At the Start Center for Cancer Care, Dr. Steven P. Kalter took over her case.
She ended up on the table while the surgeon performed four-and-a-half hours of surgery, taking her little dark spot out, but also many other tentacles of the cancer that had already reached her lymph nodes.
"It was more than we expected. We didn't think it was going to be such a radical surgery," she said.
In fact, she was told had she waited even one month more, the cancer would have spread into her body and her case would have been terminal.
Her two children refer to the episode and the huge scar that resulted as "when Mommy got a shark bite."
The experience spurred Krauskopf to start a first-of-its-kind Facebook group that serves as a skin cancer support group. It's full of advice and stories from others who either had a brush with death and the disease, or memories of those who did not survive.
It's called Melanoma-Pale is the New Tan.
All that Krauskopf has learned about the disease is there, including why sunscreen is not to prevent wrinkles.
"I've kind of become the nerdy sunscreener. I like finding the best sunscreen. I kind of like to review everything. I'll say I found some great self-tanners if anybody wants to have a little color to their skin. I kind of mastered the science of which ones to use," she said.
She said she also has tested just about every sunscreen on the market and recommends a big jar called "Super Goop" that's made in San Antonio and sold at Nordstrom's Department Store. It's 50 SPF and doesn't leave you sticky.
She also has detailed information on how to check your moles and spots to determine if they're normal or not.
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