Skin Cancer Screenings

Scott and I both spent over 30 years of our lives in the sunny Phoenix, AZ area and have experienced overexposure to the sun on many occasions. Scott has such fair skin he burns all the time. He burns doing yard work, going on hikes, swimming, pretty much any time he is in the sun for over an hour (he always forgets sunblock and I always get mad). Sometimes I chase him down and practically beg him to put sunscreen on and he refuses or conveniently forgets. Fortunately we do our daily walks in the late afternoon or early evening. Now we live in Colorado were it is almost as sunny as Arizona only we are closer to the sun! Scott, I and our children all have sunspots and moles and I am concerned one of us may develop skin cancer.

Did you know skin cancer like most forms of cancer is almost 100% curable if caught in the early stages? Unfortunately, it is also almost 100% deadly if caught in the late stages. None of us have ever had a skin cancer screening and I thought this is a new check up I am adding to our yearly routine exams. I called a dermatologist and scheduled for Scott, Sean and I to have a screening next week. For anyone who is reading this I expect you to stop what you are doing right now and call to make an appointment if you have not had a screening in the past year. Especially my friends and family in Arizona and here in Colorado!

Some of the early signs of skin cancer to watch out for when looking at a skin growth or mole: (According to the Web MD Website this is the ABCDE rule)

• A is for asymmetry. One half of the mole or skin growth doesn't match the other half.
• B is for border irregularity. The edges are ragged, notched, or blurred.
• C is for color. The pigmentation is not uniform. Shades of tan, brown, and black are present. Dashes of red, white, and blue add to the mottled appearance. Changes in color distribution, especially the spread of color from the edge of a mole into the surrounding skin, also are an early sign of melanoma.
• D is for diameter. The mole or skin growth is larger than 6mm or about the size of a pencil eraser. Any growth of a mole should be of concern.
• E is for evolution. There is a change in the size, shape, symptoms (such as itching or tenderness), surface (especially bleeding), or color of a mole.