Allen School of Health Sciences July Institution for Hope cause is Skin Cancer Awareness. According to
www.skincancer.org “skin cancer is the most common of all cancers, each year in the U.S. over 5.4 million cases of non-melanoma skin cancer are treated in more than 3.3 million people.” We will be sharing tips on how to spot the warning signs to help with prevention and early detection. Please, make sure to do occasional self-exams about once a month or more often per your physician’s advisement. If you have a suspicious growth or abnormalities make sure to contact your physician immediately for medical attention.
Spot the Warning Signs
If you have a beauty mark, birthmark, brown spot or mole that:
- has an irregular outline
- appears beyond age 21
- has texture change
- has thickness and/or size increase
- is larger than 6mm or 1/4” (similar in size to a pencil eraser)
- has color change
Other warning signs
- Sore or spot that continuously erodes, itches, hurts, bleeds, crust or scabs
- If it has been three weeks’ time and an open sore has not healed
Allen School Medical Assistants and Nursing Assistants make sure to keep all these warning signs in mind while doing self-exams. Self-exams should not be more than 10 minutes. Being proactive can help save you from being another skin cancer statistic and possibly save your life. Another preventative measure to take would be to wear sunscreen. Read our
Sunny Summer: Wear Sunscreen blog to learn more.
