How to reduce the risk of skin cancer

Moles are common, small, often brown spots on your skin. Mostly, these are benign and nothing to worry about. However, exposure to harmful UV rays can cause changes in your skin, giving rise to melanoma (skin cancer). Dr Hélène Menagé, a leading dermatologist, explains why you need to check your moles regularly, and the importance of using sun protection.

Why is it important to have my moles checked?

It is important to check our moles because early detection of melanoma (skin cancer) can stop it spreading which can be lifesaving. However, mole checks do not, in most cases, have to be done by a health professional. The best person to check your moles is yourself, armed preferably with a partner who is going to be able to help you look at the bits you cannot easily look at yourself.

Although mole checks are not readily available on the NHS, privately you would be able to have an annual or bi-annual check, but unlikely any more than that. However, even if you have two checks per year, skin cancer can arise within that period. This is why you have to take responsibility for your own skin and learn what it is that you are looking out for. Ideally, you should check your skin every eight to twelve weeks.

What should you look out for?

What we are looking for is either a new or an old mole that changes. Skin cancer is usually silent. It probably won’t itch and it probably won’t bleed. Unfortunately, it probably won’t do anything until it is too late. Therefore, if you do not look, you won’t see it and if you don't know what you’re looking at, you won’t see that either.

What does a dodgy mole look like?

Well, first of all, it grows. It changes. It is cancer. It is moving, so it gets bigger. As it is cancer, it is disorganised and will tend not to grow in a regular way. That is what gives it the asymmetry and the irregular borders that we look out for. The disorganised growth also results in different colours.

Malignant melanomas often have many colours inside the mole. You can have a bit of pink, different shades of brown, deep brown, or black. If you think a mole is looking unusual or is looking different, then that is when you should seek medical assistance.

Why is sun cream so important for my skin?

Sun cream is important because it helps to protect us against the damaging UV rays that attack our DNA, but it is not a stand-alone. In addition to using sun cream, we should keep out of the sun, particularly between 11am and 3pm, and we should have hats and protective clothing because sun creams do not provide enough protection.

Sun cream still lets some ultraviolet through and in particular, it is not quite as good as protecting our skin’s UVA longer wavelength as it is against protecting us from UVB. UVA actually tans us before it burns us so there is a risk, but if you use your sun cream to stay out longer than you normally would without burning, you are actually increasing your exposure and therefore actually causing damage. Sun cream should be used to protect you when you are out, but not for staying out longer than you normally would.

If you are concerned about any changes in your skin and moles, make an appointment with an expert to have it assessed.