An article warning everyone about skin cancers.
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Second the motion. Everybody needs a regular inspection.
Particularly if you spent your youth on the beach or have (had) an outdoor job, including as a driver, get a full body inspection every year.
Little problems can be removed before they become big problems. Big problems can remove you.
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I was one never to have sun-baked regularly, yet I developed a lump on my ear lobe. Over the years my GP kept reassuring me it was only a lipoma (fatty lump) and it never changed in size nor texture nor colour. Finally, approximately 20 years later I insisted on a biopsy. The result was a âpre-cancerâ. Removed that day!
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I had a mole on my stomach that I was born with - the only mole on my whole body! I had never really sunbaked and am more of a bookworm than a sun lover. When I was 37 a girl I worked with had a melanoma scare so I went and had a skin check. I was told everything was fine. When I was 41 I was only a couple of months away from getting married and every now and then the mole on my stomach would get itchy. I put off doing anything about it as I was busy with wedding prep. Approx 6 months after I got married I booked in for another skin check. The doctor started at my feet but I mentioned that the mole on my stomach was the one I was worried about. As soon as she saw it she said that she wanted to take a biopsy straight away and cut it out, she didnât even finish checking the rest of me. That was a Friday afternoon. First thing Monday morning I received a phone call asking me if I could make it to her office that day - of course I did. It turned out the mole was a Melanoma. Luckily I had private health insurance as the doctor faxed off the paperwork to the specialist and the next morning I received a call from his office for an appointment the next day (Wednesday). He sent me straight for a blood test and CT scan and booked me in for surgery and a PET scan on the Friday. I had the operation to remove all of the melanoma along with a lymph node biopsy (to make sure the cancer hadnât spread) and then had an anxious wait until the following Wednesday. Luckily my results came back clear, the cancer hadnât spread, but the specialist said that if the mole had of been 1/2 mm deeper âwe would be having a different conversationâ (i.e. get your affairs in order!). Afterwards I had to have skin checks every 3 months for the first 18 months, and now it is every 6 months for the rest of my life. Unfortunately Melanoma is something that hangs over your head for the rest of your life as it can come back any time, anywhere and in any form (it could be the same spot or it could be in my lungs, my eyes or even my foot). It was a real wake up call. My biggest suggestion for people is to go to a Skin Cancer Clinic for a check rather than your GP. My friend and I were both told by a number of GPâs that our moles were fine but it was the clinics that picked up on the problems.
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Thanks for sharing this story @deonne_corney, and glad that you came through it okay. Hopefully it provides some encouragement for everyone to make time for a check-up.
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Coming into summer (in reality it should happen all year around in Australia), it is also a reminder to
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As the ad for Cancer Council says:
âThere is no such thing as a safe tanâ.
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Wonderful news. Now, how many Bulk-Billing doctors will have one or will it only be available for the wealthy? Medicare subsidy eventually?
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An article regarding a new smartphone app to check skin cancers.
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An article regarding researchers at UQ disconering that the common cold virus can treat BCC skin cancers.
A great news article regarding a new treatment for skin cancers.
And some advice from Paul Vautin.
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An article regarding using AI to diagnose skin cancers.
A couple of articles about a Melanoma survivor.
https://melanomapatients.org.au/survivor_stories/lucas-ridgway/
And the petition he has started on change.org
An article regarding a young Melbourne manâs horrifying skin cancer experience and his warning to others.
An article regarding a call to make hats mandatory for school kids.
The principal of the Cairns State High School between 1958 and 1970 had skin cancer on his face and he made wearing hats mandatory for all students way back then.
Are there any Choice reviews of skin/mole mapping services?
Not per se that I can find, probably because of the variability from individual practitioner to individual practitioner. This 2014 Choice article about what to look for in a clinic might be helpful.
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That article is definitely still relevant, in its advice. There are a lot more services around now, 8 or 9 years on, many of which donât need referrals from a GP.
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