Annual Skin Cancer Checks

Cancer Research UK’s explanation on how the sun affects our skin is helpful but exposure is still part of life.

Many of us enjoy our days in the sun but there can be a downside, almost all skin cancers are caused by exposure to the sun’s UV rays.

The condition is growing worldwide but medical science has progressed at an equal pace and skin cancer’s have a high cure rate, providing the condition is caught early. The importance of this can not be overstated.

At present, there is no national screening programme in the UK, partly due to there being no instant medical test. The only accurate way to test is a visual inspection of your skin by an experienced specialist.

At Skin Care Network, we believe annual screening is an examination every patient should have. Bespoke skin cancer screening is also available to high risk patients, who may be subject to the factors below.

Additional Considerations

Skin cancer is not discriminatory, so screening should not be but there are risk factors:

• You had a skin cancer at any time in the past.
• A family history involving skin cancer cases.
• An above average number of moles on your body.
• An organ transplant, or weakened immune sytem.

Personal, or family history of melanoma is significant, a potentially life threatening type of cancer. Age is a factor, due to accumulated UV exposure and disease development, the same for high exposure, such as in outdoor sports.

These aspects matter, although young people do get skin cancer and every type of the disease is best avoided. We and our patients believe all skin cancers and every person deserve screening, which is a safe, friendly procedure.

Your Skin Cancer Check

Your screening session should not interfere with your day too much, perhaps half an hour in total and no debilitating procedures.

Ample time for all your skin to be examined by a consultant dermatologist specialising in skin cancer. They may use a dermascope, a hand help microscope with a powerful light, able to capture images and video.

Your consultant can take images for future comparison and in a few cases, could choose a relatively painless biopsy, where tissue analysis will help. This is however becoming less likely, with the latest laser technology able to provide optical biopsies.

Other modern approaches can assist, such as electrical impedance spectroscopy, to measure subtle changes unseen cancer cells bring to your skin.

Above all, your consultant will talk to you, learn about your personal and family history, any concerns you have. Skin cancer screening is by nature an individual process, focused on your needs and the condition of your skin.

Skin cancers, from actinic keratoses, to carcinomas, to melanoma are our first concern, we know the importance of early detection. Being examined by an experienced consultant can however bring other conditions to light.

They will all benefit from early care and you could look on your visit as an annual MOT for your skin. In odd cases where a problem is identified, you can be sure that any needs, including skin cancer treatment will be met immediately.

Simply give us a call and a visit can be arranged to suit you. This helps us all, screening is the best way to reduce treatment.