25-05-2025
Truth about the crusty brown skin patches you get after middle-age - and if you should be worried about cancer, revealed by DR ELLIE
I am 77 and have crusty patches on my breasts, back and stomach. Could they be cancerous?
Dr Ellie Cannon replies: It is unlikely. These sound like seborrhoeic keratoses – harmless skin growths that affect around three-quarters of people over 70 and often appear as rough, crusty patches in shades of tan, brown or black that can grow several centimetres wide.
