Northern Ireland may not be renowned for its sweltering temperatures but with Melanoma the seventh most common form of cancer, South Eastern Trust, Consultant Dermatologist Dr David Alderdice, has urged the public to look out for the signs and how prevention is key.
Sun Awareness Week is an annual campaign to highlight the importance of skin cancer prevention and early detection.
Dr Alderdice explained how there are several different types of skin cancer with, “Melanoma the main one.” “Classically you get a mile that starts to change colour. It becomes irregular and becomes multicoloured. It can start to itch.”
“Northern Ireland is not a hot country but there is UV light, even when cloudy and this is the thing that causes skin cancer. Our message is to check skin properly, take some baseline photographs if you are concerned, keep them on your phone and check your mole or moles every month for any changes.”
Dr Alderdice added how we can all reduce our risk to sun exposure by avoiding direct sunlight and the use of UVA and UVB sun protection cream with an SPF 30 plus with five stars. “We talk about the ‘Slip, Slap, Slop’ routine when it comes to staying safe in the sun, in that we encourage slipping on a long-sleeved top to protect the skin, slap on a wide brimmed hat and slop on the sun cream as we start to approach the summer months.”