CHECKING FOR SKIN CANCER, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ALREADY HAVE THE HISTORY

BY MATTHEW DAVID COLE MD

NON-MELANOMA SKIN -CANCER HAS BECOME ONE OF THE MOST COMMON TYPES OF CANCERS IN

THE UNITED STATES .

NOT ONLY ARE MILL IONS OF AMERICANS AT R ISK FOR THIS TYPE OF CANCER, BUT ALSO MANY INDIV IDUALS , ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO HAVE

HAD A PREVIOUS HISTORY WITH NON-MELANOMA SKIN -CANCER, ARE NOT UTIL IZ ING THE PREVENTATIVE MEASURES TO MAKE SURE THEY

ARE SAFE AND PROTECTED.

BEFORE I BEGIN , IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANT WARNING S IGNS FOR ANY TYPE OF SKIN CANCERS.

SKIN CANCERS, INCLUDING MELANOMA, BASAL CELL CARCINOMA, AND

SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA OFTEN STARTS WITH CHANGES TO YOUR SKIN .

THEY CAN BE NEW GROWTHS OR PRECANCEROUS LESIONS. WHATEVER IS THE CASE , IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU LEARN

TO SPOT THESE EARLY WARNING S IGNS. MUCH OF SKIN CANCER CAN BE CURED IF IT IS FOUND AND TREATED EARLY.

NOW, THIS TYPE OF EARLY DETECTION IS IMPORTANT AND CAN AT T IMES BE ULTIMATELY L IFE SAVING . S INCE T IMING IS SO CRUCIAL TO D IAGNOSING SKIN CANCER, YOU SHOULD FOLLOW A FEW S IMPLE STEPS TO LEARN HOW TO DETECT SKIN CANCER ON YOUR SKIN BEFORE YOU MEET WITH YOUR DERMATOLOGIST OR PHYSIC IAN.

TO START, BEGIN BY PERFORMING A SKIN SURVEY. ONE OF THE BEST WAYS TO

CHECK YOURSELF FOR SKIN CANCER IS TO DO A SELF -EXAMINATION.

NOW AS YOU ARE CHECKING YOUR SKIN , BE SURE TO EVALUATE EACH AND EVERY AREA. MAKE SURE YOU

LEAVE NO PART UNSEEN.

TAKE NOTE OF ANY BLEMISHES OR MARKINGS THAT MAY SEEM

UNORTHODOX.

FOR BASAL CELL CARCINOMA, THESE EROSIVE SKIN INVASIONS CAN USUALLY BE FOUND ON YOUR FACE ,

EARS , AND NECK. THE LESIONS ARE FLESHED COLORED, EASY TO BLEED, AND HAVE A TYPE OF HOLE IN THEM.

FOR MELANOMA, IT IS IMPORTANT TO DETECT THIS EARLY ON. CAUGHT IN THE EARLY STAGES CAN BE

L IFE SAYING . ANYTHING LATER CAN BE INCREDIBLY THREATENING .

• L O O K F O R A N Y ASYMMETRY W I T H I N T H E S K I N R E G I O N W H E R E O N E H A L F D O E S N O T M AT C H T H E O T H E R H A L F

• L O O K F O R A BORDER , C A N C E R O U S M O L E S T H AT H AV E I R R E G U L A R B O R D E R S T H AT A R E D I F F I C U LT T O D E F I N E

• L O O K AT T H E COLOR , B L U E , B L A C K , B R O W N , O R TA N O R A N U N E V E N D I S T R I B U T I O N O F C O L O R

• L O O K F O R T H E D IAMETER , W H E R E L E S I O N S T H AT A R E G R E AT E R T H A N S I X M I L L I M E T E R S

• L O O K F O R T H E EVOLUT ION O F Y O U R M O L E S A N D W H E T H E R O R N O T I T H A S U N D E R G O N E R E C E N T C H A N G E S I N C O L O R O R S I Z E S

TO CHECK YOURSELF, FOLLOW THE ABCDE SCHEME:

DURING YOUR SELF -EXAMINATION, CONTINUE LOOKING FOR ANY UNORTHODOX MARKS OR BLEMISHES . KEEP

TRACK OF THESE LESIONS AS YOU PERFORM YOUR BODY SEARCH. ANY SUSPIC IOUS LESIONS SHOULD BE

PHOTOGRAPHED AND DOCUMENTED.

TO HELP WITH YOUR CASE , TRY PERFORMING ANOTHER SELF -EXAMINATION IN A FEW

WEEKS OR IN A MONTH. LOOK FOR CHANGES OF THOSE SPOTS .

I F THERE ARE ANY CHANGES, EVEN SUBTLE ONES , FOLLOW UP WITH YOUR

DERMATOLOGIST AND BE SURE TO INFORM HIM OR HER OF EXACTLY WHAT IS GOING ON.

NOW, IF AFTER YOUR SEARCH YOU DO NOT F IND ANYTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY, MAKE SURE YOU CONTINUE TO PROTECT YOURSELF

AND YOUR SKIN . UT IL IZE SUNSCREEN AND AVOID STRONG SUN EXPOSURE.

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