If there’s one type of cancer that’s hard to spot and identify, it’s melanoma. This describes cancer of the skin, and while cancerous moles are usually asymmetrical in shape and non-uniform, they can be small and hard to spot due to their location on the body.
Some one-in-36 males and 1-in-47 females will be diagnosed with melanoma during their lifetime, although an estimated 98.2% of people who incur the condition will survive for at least one year or more.
Still, it’s crucial that you strive to stay safe in the sun, even if you live in a seemingly perpetual winter wonderland like the UK! Here are some proactive steps to help you on your way!
Understand What to look For
Let’s start with the basics; as some people’s risk of contracting skin cancer is higher than others, so you’ll need to be aware of your risk and take steps to mitigate this.
Transform hospital group have some helpful resources on how to stay safe and what you should be looking out for to detect early signs of skin cancer.
It’s as simple as ABCDE.
Asymmetry – A melanoma can be described as asymmetrical, which means it will look slightly different to a normal non-cancerous mole.
Border – Non cancerous moles tend to have smooth well defined borders, however a melanoma will have border that aren’t defined and are irregular in shape.
Colour – Melanoma lesions are often more than one colour or shade. Benign moles are typically one colour.
Diameter – Melanoma growths are usually larger than 6mm in diameter, which is about the diameter of a standard pencil.
Evolution – Melanoma will often change characteristics, such as size, shape, or colour. Unlike most benign moles, melanoma tends to change over time.
Wear Suitable Sunscreen
In terms of protection, it’s imperative that you consistently wear sunscreen when you spend time out of the house in the sun.
This applies even if there’s a breeze, while you should focus on applying sunscreen to any exposed areas of the body or those that are under non-reflective clothing.
Similarly, we’d recommend using sunscreen with a minimum factor of 50, as this provides extensive protection that will keep you safe from harmful rays on the hottest of days.
Wear a Hat
It may seem counterintuitive to wear a hat during a blazing hot summer’s day, but we’re definitely not advocating wearing a woolen beanie hat here.
Instead, consider a looser and lighter head garment like a baseball cap, which can be used to cover the scalp and provide an additional layer of coverage to an area of your body that’s often overlooked when it comes to skin protection.
Of course, this is particularly important if you’re bald, as you won’t be able to rely on hair to layer your head and keep out the rays of the sun.
