Skin Cancer is one the most common cancers in the UK, especially amongst younger people.
Skin cancer is the abnormal growth of skin cells that most often develops on skin exposed to the sun. However it can also occur on areas of your skin not ordinarily exposed to sunlight.
There are three major types of skin cancer — basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and melanoma.
You can reduce your risk of skin cancer by limiting or avoiding exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Checking your skin for suspicious changes can help detect skin cancer at its earliest stages. Early detection of skin cancer gives you the greatest chance for successful skin cancer treatment.
We offer mole checks to help with early detection of skin cancer and identifying those moles/lesions that need keeping a closer eye on.
As nurses and aesthetics nurses we are both passionate about taking care of your skin in the sun, it is your largest organ and is often neglected and taken for granted.
A great way of keeping an eye on your moles yourself is to do the following:
Take pictures of the areas of your body and moles on those areas to see if any changes are occurring. Don't forget those harder to see areas such as your back.
Use the ABCDE mantra to help you check...
A - Asymmetry - imagine if you were to fold the mole in half it doesn't look the same on both halves.
B - Border - irregular border to the mole, notched or blurred border.
C - Colour - the colour of the mole is not even, or it is several shaded or colours to it.
D - Diameter - changing diameter or more than 6mm.
E - Evolving - the mole is new or changing in size, shape or colour.
Also, we must not forget any pick lesions that look like spots that are ulcerating or just not going away - these can be the less serious form of skin cancer BCC.
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