BRAVEday Blog

Is it a freckle, a mole - or something more sinister?

Written by Tania Young | Oct 30, 2014 11:00:00 AM

Summer is coming, fast! The warmer, summer months are just around the corner and for a lot of us it's about this time of year that we start replenishing our sun screen supplies and consider a skin check-up.

Protecting yourself from a potentially fatal melanoma diagnosis can be as easy as self- monitoring and regular skin cancer clinic check-ups.   Melanoma is the least common form of skin cancer but is the most dangerous and results in more than 250 deaths a year.

If you notice a new or changing spot it is very important to get this checked out.  Melanoma may look like a mole but it changes over a period of time in size, shape and colour.   The difficulty with melanoma is that is usually not symptomatic - that is it can be seen (if you are looking) but not usually felt.

The images below are all melanoma - however they all look distinctly different.

….if in doubt, get it checked out!

Your risk of Melanoma increases progressively with an increase in:

  • total number of moles e.g. >100
  • atypical moles
  • previous primary melanomas
  • family members with melanoma
  • severe sunburns and recreational sun exposure
  • non-melanoma skin cancers
  • skin types that tend to burn rather than tan