Do you love to get yourself a tan the natural way? Watch out for over exposure to the sun since sunburn can increase your chances of developing skin cancer. Anyone can develop skin cancer, especially if you are light-skinned or light haired. If you are above the age of fifty or have a family member with a history of this disease, get a body check done regularly. A body check done by a practitioner allows for early diagnosis in case of the presence of the disease.

Mole characteristics – normal

Normal moles may or may not be upraised from the skin, have a firm feel and definitely shaped borders. They tend to be small and appear in childhood and even into adulthood. Normal moles have a diameter within 6 millimetres. These moles by themselves do not show a tendency to skin cancer. If your body check brings out the presence of a scaly or bleeding mole, you must get immediate medical attention.

Personal habit check

You are a light skinned adult who loves tanning the entire body or love the outdoors. Whether your skin is exposed to UV under natural sunlight or in a tanning salon, the fact of exposure predisposes you to skin cancer. A regular body check will help assuage your doubts about developing the disease. If you love the outdoors say swimming, sailing, surfing and the like, whereby your skin undergoes long term UV exposure without adequate cloth cover and sun-block to screen out the rays, you are putting yourself to risk for skin cancer. Regardless of your habits, it is advisable to conduct a regular body check to discount the arrival of the ailment.

Personal body check

Check your body for any lesions, moles or changes in colour to rule out the possibility of skin cancer. Note the shape of the mole to rule out skin cancer. Stand in front of the mirror and do a body check of your extremities for any abnormal discolorations suggestive of skin cancer. Once you have completed, move to your torso and check the surface, move any layer of fat and look beneath it. If you want to carry out a routine body check before taking professional help, take stock of the number of discolorations that exist across the span of your skin. The discoloured patches that have been there since your childhood are not a sign of skin cancer, however, if they change in shape size or location after adulthood, do not ignore it. Your sun tanning habits may be a cause for concern regarding skin cancer, opt for a medical opinion and a body check.

How to check

A body check done by a dermatologist can help determine whether the moles appearing on the body are pre-cancerous or harmless. Skin cancer does not provide symptomatic pain or physical irritation so the body check must cover difficult to see areas. A cancerous mole may have unevenly distributed colour and misshapen borders, and your body check will help the doctor determine whether you are developing signs that require further tests.

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