Skin Cancer
Skin cancer is a worry for many people as it is one of the most common forms of cancer and we know the risks are increased with sun only holidays having fair or white skin. Many people in the past did not take proper care in the sun and can remember times of sunburn.
There are three types of skin you should be aware of and they are:
-
melanoma- from the pigments cells so it is brown. This can be life-threatening in young people and is often seen as a brown mark on the skin looking like a mole or a new brown mark/mole. The longer a melanoma is left the more likely it is to have spread. they are curable if caught early.
-
- squamous cell carcinoma- which is more common and we can groin lump on the skin to the size of a grape over a six to eight week period
-
Basal cell carcinoma- which is the most common and does not spread takes a long while to grow and is usually a red mark or a small lump that can bleed often after washing or rubbing with the towel
Almost 85% of skin cancer on the head and neck.
Dermatologists have a great deal of expertise of looking at lesions on the skin and subtle signs seen by the expert eye can give clues to say if a lesion is harmless or suspicious of cancer.
Some people find a yearly skin cancer check by a dermatologist to be very reassuring
