Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Clare Byrne Show on Newstalk. With Aviva Insurance. Now, it is Skin Care Awareness Month starting on Friday. So what are some of the signs to look out for? What should you do if you're concerned? To discuss this, I'm joined by consultant dermatologist at the Black Rock Clinic, Dr. Rosemary Coleman. Hello. Good morning, Clare.
You want us to take all of our clothes off and stand in front of a mirror and look at ourselves.
Chapter 2: What are the signs of skin cancer to look out for?
That's me. That's exactly right.
No. But we do find that when the weather gets nicer...
Chapter 3: What should I do if I'm concerned about my skin?
people start to take their clothes off so they start to see their skin. So more people will present with lesions because I'm even in short sleeves now looking at my arm saying, was that there before? So people become more aware.
But what you're encouraging people to do is actually to not just wait till you get your T-shirt on. It's just to take everything off and have a good look.
Well, that's pretty frightening for all of us. But yes, get somebody to have a look at your back. Ask your hairdresser if they've noticed anything new in your scalp. Glance at the soles of your feet. The groin has to be examined.
Chapter 4: How can I effectively check my skin for abnormalities?
People think that skin cancer is just on sun damaged areas like the face and hands. And the vast majority of people are getting better and better with sunblock. But they're putting it, I see a lot with the women, they put it down to say their mid neck area. And their face is lovely and protected and their body is absolutely exposed. I had a lady recently whose arms were mahogany.
Her face was lovely and protected. And when I asked her if she didn't mind getting skin cancer on her body, she looked at me quite shocked and said her mother had died from a melanoma on her arm. Yet this woman hadn't picked up the message that she was at risk.
So we're doing what we think is right, but actually we're not, you know, we're not really covering the bits.
I think we know it's not right, but we're trying to get away with it.
I suppose. So listen, when you say things like check the groin, check the soles of your feet, what are we looking for?
OK, great question. Skin cancer can look like absolutely anything. It can be a little red nodule. It can be a flat brown mark. It can be an ulcerated area, a little area where you think, I must have scratched myself that hasn't healed. It can be a flat white mark that looks like a scar. That's quite a nasty one on the face. So if you think, oh, I don't remember injuring myself there.
Why have I got a white scar on my face? Get that checked out. So it can look like anything and it can appear anywhere. But it can also be a very common one, Clare, is a red scaly patch, particularly on the back or the lower legs. Like dry? Dry red scaly patch that looks like a patch of eczema. But the secret is it doesn't go. So benign things come and go. Skin cancer comes and stays.
If you have something on your skin for more than four to six weeks, do not ignore it. And don't tell me that you couldn't get to see a dermatologist. There are a lot more of us out there. Go straight to your GP. And if your GP is not happy to reassure you, they will refer you.
OK, so check everywhere. And this is looking for things that are unusual. But ultimately, what you want us to do is to prevent and protect ourselves. And that starts with sunscreen, doesn't it? Yes, but it's not even looking unusual.
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Chapter 5: What areas of my body should I pay attention to for skin cancer?
But yes, Clare, of course, it starts with protect your skin with clothing, avoid the midday sun.
use a hat a floppy hat use shade and of course sun protection applied on the skin and reapplied i think this is a really dangerous time of the year for this it is it's not really warm enough it doesn't feel like we need sunscreen but like you're going your sun exposure if you're out in that for an hour now on a good sunny day you're going to do damage you're speaking my language
That's exactly right.
Don't be looking at UV indices. Just assume that when you go out and there's daylight, there is UV, you can get damaged.
A listener asks, how do you distinguish a new age spot from a problematic mole? See, this goes back to, I'm not sure that we know what we're looking for. You need a dermatologist to tell you.
That's what we spend five to seven years studying, how to distinguish. And When we're happy to reassure, we'll use special magnifying glasses and dermoscopes to look at the pigment pattern. The big thing, the difference between a dermatologist and a lot of other doctors is we try to preserve skin. We try to not take things off that are totally harmless and to not create scars and anxiety.
So our aim is tissue preservation. So the important thing there is if that patient person thinks that they have a new anything, a new age spot, With all due respect, they're not qualified to diagnose that any more than I'm qualified to work in their area. So they need to go to the GP. And if the GP feels it's atypical or they're not sure, they will refer them.
OK, but age spots are a thing that you will see as you get older.
I don't know.
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Chapter 6: What are the best practices for applying sunscreen?
That is Rosemary Coleman, consultant dermatologist. The Clare Byrne Show. With Aviva Insurance. Weekday mornings at 9 on Newstalk. Conversation that counts.