3 days ago
I'm a dermatologist - there's two little-known signs of skin cancer almost everyone misses
Don't ignore a patch of itchy skin that simply won't heal—it could be skin cancer.
It's one of two common niggles, along with a pimple that doesn't go away, that consultant dermatologist Dr Fatima Awdeh has identified as a possible sign of the disease, including deadly melanoma.
In a new video posted to the Instagram page of her dermatology clinic, Riverside Skin and Laser Clinic, the Essex-based medic outlined little-known skin problems that set off alarm bells.
Firstly, she revealed a new brown streak under a fingernail makes her worry about melanoma—which kills around 2,300 people in the UK every year.
This is a sign of a rare type of the disease called subungual melanoma, which presents as discoloration underneath the nail that looks like a bruise.
A second sign that patients are rarely aware of, she said, is a patch of eczema that does not heal.
This could be a sign of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), the second most common skin cancer, with more than 25,000 people in the UK diagnosed with the condition every year.
While it is highly survivable in early stages, when spotted late it can spread to other areas of the body, making it more difficult to treat.
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While many serious skin cancers begin in moles, experts have urged the public to look out for other changes that don't involve the traditional raised, coloured spot.
For instance, Dr Awdeh said an unhealed spot could be a basal cell carcinoma (BCC), a slow growing cancer that is the most common skin cancer in the UK.
While BCCs do not usually spread throughout the body, and are almost always cured, treating them can involve removing large chunks of skin, leaving patients with disfiguring scars.
Some of these growths appear as flat, red, scaly marks or have a pearl-like rim.
Many become ulcerated, while others are lumpy with shiny nodules.
In the caption, Dr Awdeh wrote: 'Signs of skin cancer can include new growths or changes in existing ones, such as moles or patches of skin, that are new, changing, or growing.
Melanoma is the UK's fifth most common cancer, as well as the deadliest type of skin cancer, resulting in 2,000 deaths a year.
The most common sign of this lethal type is a mole that grows, bleeds or changes colour.
In order to reduce the risk of all types of skin cancer, the NHS recommends that Britons wear sunscreen when spending time in the sun, regardless of the temperature.
Melanoma is caused by cellular damage from UV and UVB rays from the sun and tanning beds, but those with a family history of the disease are at greater risk.
Awareness of this type of cancer is increasing, partly spurred on by celebrities including Hugh Jackman, 56, Katherine Ryan, 41, Khloe Kardashian, 40, and Molly-Mae Hague, 25 openly sharing their diagnoses.
A common misconception is that melanoma solely affects the skin on the face, body, and limbs, but it can also develop on other areas vulnerable to sun damage — the mouth, scalp, nail beds, soles of the feet, palm of the hands and fingers.
The health service also recommends, during spring and summer, that people spend time in the shade between 11am and 3pm, when the sun is at its strongest.
