KNOW THE SIGNS
Early warning signs of skin cancer you should never ignore as Katherine Ryan announces shock diagnosis
Use the ABCDE rule when examining moles
COMEDIAN Katherine Ryan has revealed she has been diagnosed with skin cancer for the second time.
The mum-of-three, 41, has early stage melanoma - the symptoms of which include a dodgy mole.
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Katherine said she felt uneasy about a on her arm but was initially given the all-clear, before follow-up checks confirmed she has early stage melanoma.
Speaking on her podcast Telling Everybody Everything, Katherine said: "I think it’s really easy to take a diagnosis of ‘you’re healthy’ and walk away.
"But the mole kept changing, and I know a lot about melanoma.
"I had it as a very young woman - aged 21 - on my leg, I’ve spoken about that before.
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"It was flat, it wasn’t that big, but it was melanoma. It is a deadly form of skin cancer and it does spread quickly.
"Even when the doctor looked at it, he was like, 'It's not melanoma, it's totally fine,' but he phoned me today and it did come back as melanoma. The doctor was shocked.
"It just feels crazy to me, what could have happened if I hadn't been my own advocate?"
She urged anyone concerned about about early signs of skin cancer to get them checked early - and keep pushing for answers.
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Her words echo those of Danielle Lloyd, who last month revealed she too had been diagnosed with skin cancer.
The model, also 41, said: "I don't really know how to say this and I didn't know whether to come on and say it but I feel like I have to raise awareness of this.
Danielle Lloyd breaks down in tears in heartbreaking post as she reveals skin cancer diagnosis
"Today I have been diagnosed with a form of skin cancer.
"Anyone who thinks they've got something funny on their body - please go to your doctor. You just never know."
There are more than 17,500 new cases of melanoma skin cancer every year in the UK, and around 2,300 deaths.
About 87 per cent of people survive 10 or more years after being diagnosed, but the earlier it's caught, the better.
Cancer Research UK has warned skin cancer rates are predicted to rise this summer, with nearly 21,000 cases.
Separate figures show melanoma diagnoses have increased by almost a third in a decade.
It's never been more important to recognise the signs.
The ABCDE rule
Dermatologist Dr Nayoung Lee says you can use the ABCDE rule to help identify skin cancer.
The expert, from NYU Langone Health, that people need to think about the following when examining moles, lumps or changes in the skin:
- Asymmetry
- Border
- Colour
- Diameter
- Evolving
Melanoma usually appears as an uneven shaped mole, but can look like brown or tan spots on the skin.
Here's how to use the ABCDE rule...
Asymmetry
"If you can’t fold the mole in half, if edges don’t line up, that could be melanoma," the dermatologist said.
Meanwhile The Skin Cancer Foundation urges people to watch for "ugly ducklings", meaning moles that look very different from the rest of your regular ones.
"This recognition strategy is based on the concept that most normal moles on your body resemble one another, while melanomas stand out like ugly ducklings in comparison," the charity said.
Border
If the border is irregular - for example ragged or blurred - this may indicate an issue.
Normal moles are uniform and have smooth, well-defined borders.
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Colour
Another symptom is colour related. While normal moles will usually remain one colour, dangerous ones gradually change.
Healthy moles can range in shades from dark or light brown, to light pinkish.
Warning colours usually include different shades of brown and black in a single mole, or if there are spots of red and purple.
If you have a mole that's evolving in that it's growing, it's getting darker, it's elevated, that's really, really key for melanoma
Dr Zaineb Makhzoumi
Dermatologist Dr Zaineb Makhzoumi added: "Once you start to get two, three, four colours fused within one mole, that should be a warning sign and you should have that mole evaluated by a board-certified dermatologist."
Diameter
Dr Makhzoumi, who specialises in removing cancerous moles, also said size is an indicator.
Dermatologists tend to work on the basis that melanomas present as anything larger than six millimetres - but this is not always the case.
It is especially concerning if it appears alongside the other symptoms, such as shape and colour.
Evolving
Meanwhile the E, stands for evolve, how it changes over time.
Any bleeding, itching or crusting is another symptom that needs checked out.
Dr Makhzoumi added: "If you have a mole that's evolving in that it's growing, it's getting darker, it's elevated, that's really, really key for melanoma."
Catch it early
It's worth noting that cancer can form in previously normal moles and they can appear on healthy skin in up to 80 per cent of cases.
Catching melanoma as it first develops is the best way to prevent further risk, with 99 per cent of patiently surviving five years or more after early diagnosis.
Dr Makhzoumi explained how melanomas grow in two phases - and it's important to catch them in the first one.
They first spread horizontally but then develop vertically, which will present as a lump on the mole.
Once this process is in motion, the cancer increases rapidly, eventually reaching lymph nodes and organs which can be fatal.
What is melanoma, what are the symptoms and how can you prevent it?
Melanoma is the most serious type of skin cancer that has a tendency to spread around the body.
It is diagnosed 16,000 times per year, and tragically takes the lives of 2,340 people per year.
The number of people being diagnosed with melanoma is increasing, and it is the 5th most common cancer in the UK.
But it is also one of the most preventable cancers, with 86 per cent of cases in the UK avoidable.
The best way to protect yourself from melanoma is to be sun safe - wear SPF every day, wear a hat and sunglasses and keep out of the sun in the hottest hours. It is also advised to avoid sunbeds.
People who are fair-skinned, have blue or green eyes, blonde or red hair and a large number of freckles or moles are more likely to get skin cancer.
Surgery is the main treatment for melanoma, particularly if it is found early. This will involve removing the affected tissue in the skin.
Radiotherapy, medicines and chemotherapy are also sometimes used to try and stop the cancer from growing. Treatment depends on the severity of the disease.
What are the symptoms?
The key thing to look out for are changes to an existing mole, or a new mole on your skin.
Most experts recommend using the simple “ABCDE” rule to look for symptoms of melanoma skin cancer, which can appear anywhere on the body.
There are five letters/words to remember:
- Asymmetrical – melanomas usually have two very different halves and are an irregular shape
- Border – melanomas usually have a notched or ragged border
- Colours – melanomas will usually be a mix of two or more colours
- Diameter – most melanomas are usually larger than 6mm in diameter
- Enlargement or elevation – a mole that changes size over time is more likely to be a melanoma
A mole that changes size, shape or colour may be a melanoma.
But other signs to look out for include moles that are:
- Swollen and sore
- Bleeding
- Itchy
- Crusty
How deadly is it?
Melanoma is a deadly form of skin cancer.
The outlook of a person’s disease depends on the stage of the cancer when it was diagnosed.
Survival is better for women than it is for men.
“We don't know exactly why this is. It may be because women are more likely to see a doctor about their melanoma at an earlier stage,” says Cancer Research UK.
The charity says that generally, statistics show that in England, more than 85 out of every 100 people (more than 85 per cent) will survive their melanoma for 10 years or more after they are diagnosed.
- Around 100 per cent in England diagnosed with melanoma at stage 1 - when the cancer cells are only in the top layer of skin - will survive for five years or more after diagnosis.This drops to 80 per cent for stage 2.
- Some 70 per cent live for a further five years when they are diagnosed in stage 3, which is when the cancer has started to spread to nearby lymph nodes.
- At stage 4, when the melanoma has spread elsewhere in the body, almost 30 per cent survive their cancer for 5 years or more.
Cancer Research says the stage 4 data does not account for age differences. Age can affect outlook and younger people have a better prognosis than older people.
Age can affect outlook and younger people have a better prognosis than older people.
What is melanoma?
Melanocytes are cells in the skin that give us the colour of our skin because they produce a pigment, known as melanin.
When you sit in the sun, melanocytes produce more pigment (a sun tan), which spreads to other skin cells to protect them from the sun’s rays.
But melanocytes are also where cancer starts.
Too much UV causes sunburn, and this is a sign of damage to the skin’s DNA.
The UV triggers changes in the melanocytes, which makes the genetic material become faulty and cause abnormal cell growth.
People who burn easily are more at risk of skin cancer because their cells do not produce as much pigment to protect their skin.
Those with albinism are at the most risk because their skin produces no pigment at all.
Other forms of skin cancer
Another form of skin cancer, precancerous squamous cell carcinoma, looks different.
It will often lead to rough scaly patches of skin which can start to bleed.
Dr Lee said due to their texture you "feel them more than see them".
Heavy sun exposure and a history of sunburn is more likely to lead to this type of skin cancer.
Those who have paler skin and lighter coloured eyes are also more susceptible to this condition.
The survival rate is 98 per cent if caught early.
A third type of skin cancer called basal cell carcinoma can be found deeper in muscle and bone.
Or, it can present as a waxy lump, or look like a small, smooth, paler scar.
Dr Makhzoumi said: "You really want to look for a basal cell skin cancer, one of the really specific signs is that when you stretch the edges, it looks pearly.
"There's an opalescence to it, there's an opalescence to basal cells, they do really look like shiny or pearl-like."
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But this also has a high survival rate if caught in the first stages.
It is both the most common type of cancer and the most common type of skin cancer.
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