Almost everyone has at least a few spots on their skin freckles, moles or, as you get older, age spots.
Watching for any changes in your spots and growths is a smart thing to do because skin cancer is really common.
In fact, 1 out of 3 cancers in the world is a skin cancer.
It can happen to anyone, anywhere.
So here's what to look for and where to look.
What means any spot that just isn't like the others because it looks, feels, or acts a little differently.
A mole or freckle that you've had for a long time that continues to look the same isn't usually something to worry about.
It's the ones that start changing in some way that you need to watch for like a spot that starts to hurt, itch, bleed, or crust.
Here are some other changes to watch for: One half of the spot starts to look different than the other half the edges seem jagged or blurry the spot is more than one color or the color is getting darker or maybe it's growing in size or is bigger than an eraser on the end of a pencil Those are all changes that should be checked out by your doctor.
So, where do you look?
Well, you'll want to look everywhere.
Start with your upper body your face, neck, and chest.
Use a mirror to check the back of your neck.
Then, lift your arms to see the sides of your body.
And bend your elbows to check your forearms and the back of your upper arms.
Use mirrors to see your back.
And then, check your palms and check your scalp by parting your hair in different places.
You can also use a mirror to check both the front and back of your legs.
Then, check your butt and believe it or not your genitals.
Finally, check your feet, including the bottoms and between your toes. Okay now you know a bit more about what and where to look for signs of possible skin cancer.
But the only way to know for sure if something odd is really cancer is to get it checked by your doctor.
Trust your gut if you notice something a little strange Don't wait or wonder.
So now that you know how to check your skin for possible skin cancer and how important it can be what do you think you'll do when it comes to checking your skin?
