Ask the Addict: Dry Lips… or Cancer?

Leanne P. wrote:

I have used lip balm several times a day for years  – it just seemed to me that my lips were a little dry and a little lined compared to models and I wanted them to look plump and smooth. I figured make-up manufacturers add powder to lipstick to get it to stay on, which dries my lips out, and the pictures of models lips were air-brushed, so I was never concerned about it.  I saw your website and thought it was interesting, but since I had reasons for my lips being dry and wanted them to look nice under my lipstick, again, I was not concerned.

I went to the doctor yesterday for a one year follow up appointment and skin check after having a little basal cell carcinoma (skin cancer) last year. She asked if my lips were dry a lot and I told her that they were. She took a closer look and said that my entire lower lip appeared to have sun damage and pre-cancerous activity. She said it needed to be treated aggressively because pre-cancerous activity in the lip area can turn into cancer quickly. She prescribed a medication that I am using now to treat this condition. It will be interesting to see what my lips are like afterward.

I don’t want to scare any one, but I thought about your website and whether there might be others who, like me, thought they just had dry lips, when it could actually be something else and thought I would just pass the word along. I had the same dry lips a year ago when I was diagnosed with the basal cell carcinoma, but that doctor apparently didn’t notice the lips, and I had no idea that dry lips could be a symptom of a pre-cancerous condition.

This is a great example of what we’ve always said, which is to see a doctor rather than “self medicating” with Chap Stick or even “medicated” lip balms. In these cases, the doctor may prescribe a lip balm to reduce the dryness of the lips. If so, that’s fine… but once your lips are moist then it’s time to cut back on the balm!