How can I
self examine myself for skin cancer check?
An important
part of skin cancer detection is a person’s self examination. Many individuals believe that they cannot
identify an abnormal mole. This
is not necessarily so. Many patients, if
they can see an abnormal mole often pick it themselves. This is not to say that every mole that an
individual believes is abnormal is so.
However it merely means that a check by a medical professional should
then be undertaken.
There are
some parts of the body where an individual cannot see on their skin, such as
the backs of the legs, the back, back of the neck and some areas of the
scalp. If this is the case another
individual can intermittently check these areas.
With modern
phones that have excellent cameras, it is quite reasonable for an individual to
take a photograph of their own moles with a date attached and then look at it
at a later date. It is difficult to
remember what a mole may have looked like.
Many
patients bring before and after shots of the mole for the doctor to examine and
these are very helpful. The doctor may
also take photographs of a particular mole.
I believe
examination of individual moles that look suspicious is the most appropriate
form of examination and that total body scans are not as useful.
What are skin
cancer - symptoms I should be watchful of while examining myself?
The warning
signs, that indicate a mole is abnormal is firstly its appearance, moles that
are irritable and stay so for more than three to four weeks for no particular
reason such as local rubbing, bleeding, change in colour or a change in shape.
Individuals,
who have a family history of skin cancer, that burn easily or have had a lot of
sun exposure or tanning exposure, should have a one to two yearly examination
by a medical professional. Some
individuals that have none of these risk factors only need to be seen
occasionally.
What is malignant
melanomas?
Malignant
melanomas are potentially a very dangerous form of skin cancer. This is so because melanoma cells in the skin
do not stick together and tend to spread to other parts of the body
easily. The aggressiveness of a melanoma
is often determined by its depth. This
is measured very carefully by the pathologist and in fact, the type of
treatment that is given will depend on how deeply a melanoma has penetrated
into the skin.
Some
melanomas may be very large and be quite obvious but this is not necessarily
the most important factor in determining their seriousness. Removal and having the mole examined by a
pathologist is the best test of how serious a melanoma may be.
The stages
of melanoma are determined by the depth into the skin. A very early stage melanoma just stays within
the surface skin cells but more aggressive melanomas go deeper into the skin. Some deeper melanomas can spread to other
parts of the body.
How are
malignant melanomas treated?
The
treatment for melanoma is always, in the first instance, excision. Whether further investigation is needed
depends on its depth.
If a
melanoma goes below a certain depth, it is advisable that local lymph nodes be
taken out and examined.
In deeper
melanomas, x-rays, CAT scans PET scans can be carried out to determine if the
melanoma has spread elsewhere.
Until
recently surgical excision was the most effective treatment. Over recent years, a number of very
successful drug treatments have been discovered, some of which attack the
melanoma cells themselves and others which stimulate the immune system to
attack the melanoma.
In some
advanced melanomas these treatments have proved very successful however
continued vigilance is always necessary.
In
individuals who have a suppressed immune system such as a blood condition such
as lymphoma or leukaemia are more prone to develop melanoma.These Individuals
may have had sunlight in the past, but as the immune system is diminished, the
body’s ability to removal abnormal cells is also diminished.
Individuals
that are on immune suppressant drugs for conditions such as transplants are
also at increased risk and need to be followed very carefully.