9 hours ago
Man, 26, reveals the symptoms of skin cancer he overlooked
A young man has shared the incredibly subtle sign that he had skin cancer — which he ignored for months before having to get a 'chunk' of flesh taken out of his forehead.
When Sam Tee, 26, noticed a pink dot on his forehead several months ago, he didn't think much of it.
Tee was an occasional user of tanning beds, despite knowing that the tanning devices can significantly increase the risk of skin cancer by up to 75 per cent.
But after friends flagged the importance of keeping tabs on any changes to his skin, the weight loss influencer booked an appointment with his GP.
In a TikTok video that has been viewed over 218,00 times, he said: 'I had a pink dot on my forehead and for ages I just left it.
'Everyone was telling me to go and get it checked.
'I ended up going to the doctors and he said I think it's a BCC — a basal cell carcinoma.'
Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) is a slow growing cancer that is the most common skin cancer in Sam's native UK.
While BCCs do not usually spread throughout the body, and are almost always treatable, treating them can involve removing large chunks of skin, leaving patients with disfiguring scars.
Surgeons will also often have to cut out healthy skin to make sure the cancer doesn't spread.
Sam continued: 'In the meantime, I went private to get another opinion and they said "you're young, it's a mole, don't worry about it and go back to the NHS where they'll be able to get it removed"'.
Sam then went back to his GP, where he had the mole removed, biopsied and sent off for tests — which doctors suspect will confirm basal cell carcinoma.
'What they're going to do now is send that off for testing and, in the meantime, book me in with a plastic surgeon to close up my forehead.
'The message is just be careful.
'I was doing sunbeds. I wasn't abusing them, but I was doing them and obviously it's not great.
He urged his followers: 'Just keep it in mind. If you've had something over two weeks, go and get it checked,.'
BCC is one of the two main types of non-melanoma skin cancer that starts in the top layer of skin.
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.
Some BCCs appear as flat, red, scaly marks or have a pear-like rim.
Many become ulcerated, while others are lumpy with shiny nodules.
