hey everybody Michael Batease from the elk calling Academy welcome to Wapiti
wednesday Q&A I I wasn't going to really film a Wapiti Wednesday Q&A this week
but after talking to my wife about kind of what I'm going through she said you
know maybe I should just come on and and share with you guys kind of what I'm
going through and maybe it will help some of you so the title of this is
protect yourself but really it should be protect your skin so for those of you
that don't know what I'm going through if you see this really red mark right
here and then right back here on the neck these are two spots of basal cell
carcinoma skin cancer that I've had removed off of my face last week and
this week right down here is a little scar where I had one removed two years
ago so protect your skin guys sunscreen you know I up I was outside all the time
as a kid playing baseball playing sports fishing
and the outdoors always out in the Sun and I never really worried about
sunscreen obviously I'm paying the price for it now I know as you know hunters we
talk about gear and calls and bows and and all this stuff but something as
simple as sunscreen can save your life I mean I'm pretty pretty lucky that these
you know three spots have just been basal cell carcinoma they could have
been definitely a lot worse than melanoma
you know melanoma skin cancer is very bad I did have a high school classmate
that did actually pass away from melanoma the basal cell was which I have
can kill people it's very unlikely but the thing is the surgery to remove these
it's called Mohs surgery they actually you know numb yeah they you know open
you up remove part of your skin they remove part of the tissue underneath
they look at it under a microscope to make sure they have all the fingers gone
and if they don't they have to keep cutting until it's gone so you know each
of these you know surgeries took two two and a half hours to remove it if it's a
really bad case you you could be sitting there for four or even six hours getting
it so you know like I said sunscreen is something that we don't think about when
we're out hunting or we're outdoors or this or that and I know I used to be
guilty of it as well when you know I was going hunting and and I'd be like oh I
don't need sunscreen I'm just gonna be in the shadows and you know that's
normally where I'm moving in the shadows and then the shade and this and that but
you know how many times do we go out and we have that mindset or thought of we're
just gonna be in the shadows but then we end up on an open-face behind our
binoculars glassing and that sun's beating down on the back of our neck or
you know we're we're hunting in areas that maybe there's not a bunch of trees
that you know you are out there in the Sun quite a bit now I I know scent
control is really really important when we're hunting and out there there are
sunscreens on the market that have no scent to them whatsoever you guys you
can even find some that have very mild scent you know a low scent because I
mean really you're never gonna be a hundred percent scent free while you're
out hunting if you if you play the wind and really you know keep the win in your
favor it doesn't matter if if you have a
lotion on that has has a scent but you know really after going through all of
this the last couple of years and these Mohs surgeries and haven't part of my
skin cut out and and the discomfort for days afterwards and then the scars and
you know really my mindset is quite a bit different
you know is not wearing sunscreen worth it you know not at all you know we all
have families we all have children it's it's kind of selfish of us to not
protect ourselves to not protect our skin so that we could be there for those
guys so so like I said I wasn't going to record I know this is a little different
than Wapiti Wednesday QA I I did upload a video earlier today from the hunt
expose an interview that we did with screen ear because that's all I was
planning on but then you know my wife like I said talking to her and if
sharing my story can just you know help anybody out there and protect or you
know if you think you have spots go get to a dermatologist get them checked
don't wait on it guys you're just asking for more trouble stay on top of it
protect yourself so anyways I just wanted to kind of share a little bit
about what I'm going through hopefully it can kind of you know help some of you
out there at least get to the dermatologist get checked on a regular
basis so um next week we will be back to our normal Wapiti Wednesday Q&A to where
we will be answering questions so you know I appreciate you guys that are
tuning in and watching this live those of you that watch it on the replay and
you know appreciate you you know to maybe even watch it as always we
appreciate your guys's support so you know as always keep practicing keep
calling most of all have fun and you know we'll see you guys back
next week on the normal Wapiti Wednesday QA alright guys see you next week