How do you know if this new stain on your skin is normal? It is sometimes difficult to find one’s way, especially with age, when the tasks of old age invite themselves. According to Public Health France, each year, 80,000 skin cancers are detected in France. But a nurse oncologist, Mark Brown, gives advice on how to find your way around, in an interview with Yahoo! news.
He begins by recalling what an age spot looks like. First, it is often located on the parts of the body most exposed to the sun: hands, feet, face, forearms… They are well defined (their edges are not blurred)they are often small, flat and can be brown or darker.
Tasks that evolve and others that don’t
The more worrying spots, which could indicate melanoma, do not have the same shape. They are irregular, with asymmetrical thicknesses, variations of colors, but also of texture. Unlike benign spots, malignancies can bleed, be painful, scratch… In a few weeks or months, these evolve. Unlike age spots which tend to be stable once they appear.
Even if it is advisable to use sunscreen to protect yourself from developing skin cancer, be aware that the latter does not necessarily develop in a place that is regularly exposed… A suspicious stain can appear anywhereeven in the mouth or on the genitals, reminds the health professional.
In addition to the sun protection to be renewed every two hours when you are exposed to the sun, consider consulting a dermatologist (free of charge) to check your moles, once a year. The earlier the detection, the better the chances of curing the disease, he recalls.
Sources: Public Health France, Yahoo! news
