Skin cancer is one of the most common cancers in the UK. Have you ever checked your skin for signs of it? Would you even know what you are looking for?
According to Cancer Research UK, there will be as many as 26,500 new cases of melanoma every year in the UK by 2040. Around 86 per cent of them will be preventable.
To help you spot potential signs and get the treatment you might need before it causes further harm, here’s our expert guide on how to check for skin cancer. Plus, the best resources you might need for further advice.
Why should you check for skin cancer?
Skin cancer is incredibly prevalent, but is also often overlooked, despite it being crucial to find melanoma at an early stage. It’s also important to note here that all skin tones can get skin cancer.
Early detection can vastly increase your chances of easy, complication-free removal and, however morbid it seems, increase your survival from a skin cancer diagnosis. That’s because early-stage skin cancer is highly treatable; such melanomas are usually smaller and have not spread. Checking your skin frequently and thoroughly is therefore really important to keep yourself protected.
Where to check for skin cancer?
For women, the most common location for skin cancer to occur is on the legs (for men it is on the stomach). But keep in mind, that melanomas can arise anywhere on the skin, even in areas where the sun doesn’t reach. That’s why it is so important to do a full body check regularly, from head-to-toe. This should include more concealed areas such as your scalp, hands and feet to ensure there aren’t any unusual moles or marks that need assessing.
How to avoid skin cancer
Before we move onto how to check your skin, it’s important to remember that the best defence against skin cancer is prevention. Being sun safe really is the best way to avoid melanoma.
In simple terms, that means using a broad-spectrum sunscreen with at least SPF 30 daily and reapplying it regularly, especially when you are active or swimming. You should also avoid sun exposure when UV rays are at their strongest, particularly either side of midday, and you should seek shade or wear protective clothing like a hat, sunglasses and t-shirt to make sure you don’t burn.
Sun beds have been linked to an increased risk of skin cancer, even if you try to cover moles or ‘only go once a year’ so avoid tanning beds at all times – however much you want a pre-holiday glow.
How to check for skin cancer?
Most moles and pigmentation on your skin are harmless, but you do want to look out for anything new, changing or unusual during a monthly skin check. Our advice: at the start of each month (and after your summer holiday) do a quick skin scan in the mirror, as you dry off post-shower. This way, it can fit more or less seamlessly into your routine.
To do this: use a mirror in a well-lit room and examine your entire body, including hard-to-see areas like the back, scalp, soles of feet, and between fingers and toes. If necessary, asked a loved-one to help you – and you can do the same in return. Children are much less at risk of skin cancer, but it is always worthwhile checking their skin every so often, and it’s never too early to teach them how to look after their own skin.
The ABCDEs
The best way to self-examine for skin cancer is to remember your ABCDEs – aka the simple guide to what you are looking for when examining spots and moles:
Asymmetry
Unlike moles, melanomas tend to be asymmetrical, which presents as one half not matching the other. The Skin Cancer Foundation recommends imagining you are drawing a line through the middle of the lesion. Then, notice whether it differs from the round or oval, symmetrical shape of a common mole.
Border
Are the edges of the mole irregular, ragged or blurred? Melanoma borders tend to be more uneven than regular moles or even notched at the edges.
Colour
Multiple colours within a single mole are a key warning sign for melanoma. Watch out for a growing mole that contains different shades of brown, tan or black. Shades of red, white or even blue may also be present.
Diameter
The larger the mole, the more of a concern it may be. Look out for ones that are larger than 6mm in diameter (about the size of a pencil eraser) and ones that are growing.
Evolving
New moles and those that are changing in size, shape or colour need to be investigated. Symptoms like itching or bleeding are also signs that should not be ignored.
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What should I do if I’m concerned?
If you spot something that doesn’t look quite right, firstly don’t panic. Equally, avoid brushing it away as ‘probably nothing’. Instead, circle and take photos of anything that is concerning you, so you can easily identify them in the future. Then, you want to show them to an expert for further analysis.
The simplest step is to book in for an appointment with your regular GP who can look at your area of concern and refer you to a specialist if necessary. Or, you can go straight to see a dermatologist or a skin expert at a skin cancer clinic for mole mapping and screening (this can be a quicker process but comes with a cost). A practitioner may then perform a biopsy – taking a small sample of skin for lab analysis – so they can identify if there’s anything to be concerned about.
This might sound scary, but it is much more important to know what you might be dealing with. As mentioned, if it does turn out to be melanoma, quick diagnosis and treatment can ensure you don’t have to undergo more gruelling cancer treatment due to it spreading, or side effects such as scarring when the melanoma is removed.
Further resources:
The NHS Melanoma Skin Cancer page.
Mole Checking at the Cadogan Clinic, London.
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