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Pharmacist
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n estimated 60 to 70% of skin cancer cases in Canada can be prevented with daily sun protection and monthly skin self-exams to detect cancers at their earliest and most treatable stage.
Although it can appear anywhere, the first sign of the deadliest skin cancer, Melanoma, is a flat brown freckle-like spot which mainly emerges on men’s upper back and on the back of women’s calf; especially on areas exposed to the sun.
ABCDE’s of detection
• Asymmetry: the shape of sides are mismatched
• Border: irregular, ragged, and imprecise edges
• Colour: varies within the mole (brown, black, red, grey, or white within lesion)
• Diameter: the diameter of the mole grows
• Evolution: the size, shape, symptoms (e.g., itching, tenderness), surface (especially bleeding), or colour change over time.
Skin self-exam steps
1 Know your skin. Watch for new spots and changes in existing ones, take photos.
2 Check your front and back, including legs. Raise your arms and check right and left sides. Examine hands, including palms.
3 Look between buttocks and around genital area.
4 Examine soles of feet and between toes.
5 Check face, neck and scalp. Use a comb or blow dryer to move hair for a better look. Report changes in the appearance of a birthmark or mole to a doctor.
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Ask your Rexall Pharmacist for the Rexall Resource: Stay Sun Safe, to learn more about sun safety for the whole family. H&L |
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