Now that the festive season is behind us and we’ve all had our fun in the sun, don’t let all the measures you’ve taken towards sun safety go to waste.
Peter Jordan, principal officer of Fedhealth, says you should examine your skin head to toe once a month, looking for any suspicious lesions.
“Self-exams can help you detect potential skin cancers early enough to be completely cured. If melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is recognised and treated early, it is almost always curable, but if it is not, the cancer can advance and spread to other parts of the body where it becomes hard to treat and can be fatal.”
A good strategy is to look for the ABCDE signs of melanoma. If you see one or more of these signs, make an appointment with a physician immediately.
A is for asymmetry. If you draw a line through the mole, the two halves should match. If not, check it out.
B is for borders. The borders of an early melanoma tend to be uneven.
C is for colour. Having a variety of colours is another warning signal. A number of different shades of brown, tan or black could appear in one, or also become red, blue or some other colour.
D is for diameter. Melanomas are usually larger in diameter than the size of a pencil’s eraser (6mm), but they may sometimes be smaller when first detected.
E is for evolving. Any change in size, shape, colour, elevation or another trait, or any new symptom such as bleeding, itching or crusting, points to danger.
“As a general rule, to spot either melanomas or non-melanoma skin cancers, take note of any new moles or growths, and any existing growths that begin to grow or change significantly in anyway. Lesions that change, itch, bleed or don’t heal are also alarm signals.”
Yet even if you check your skin regularly, sun protection remains essential to skin cancer prevention as about 90 percent of non-melanoma skin cancers and 65 percent of melanomas are associated with exposure to UV radiation from the sun. “Always protect yourself and stay safe.”
