I'm going to hit you with some facts and they're shit but they're important. 2 in 3 Australians will be diagnosed with Skin Cancer before they are 70. Around 2,000 Aussies die from Skin Cancer each year, compared to the 12,000+ that are diagnosed with it.
The condition can be painful and stressful, especially in the later stages. Whilst the cancer is often treated by topical ointments, surgery, or radiotherapy, many Aussies look to other means to manage their late-stage symptoms as well. Medicinal marijuana (which can be consumed as an oil or an
Area 52 vape), strong pain medication, and anti-depressants are often prescribed to cancer sufferers looking for relief. For such a tiny thing it can be, cancer can quickly grow out of control and cause ripple effects in your life.
Fortunately there are measures you can take to prevent yourself from skin cancers or at least catch it early enough. I'm writing this post because at the beginning of February I found a obscure looking mole on the inside of my big toe.
How the sun even gets right in between my toes is a mystery to me, but there it was. A regular mole or freckle should be light to medium in colour and a perfect little circle.
So there was the mole on the inside of my toe, almost black in colour, and the shape of a teardrop.
I knew immediately that it looked irregular, but I was about to go on my cruise so I booked in an appointment at a Skin Doctor in my town for when I returned.
After having to reschedule the first appointment due to being very sick. I finally made it into see the doc. Having your skin checked might seem a bit daunting but it's really not.
I brought my mum with me when I went, and I've been with my partner when he's gone another time, so if you're feeling uneasy about getting your skin checked, bring a friend with you and they can sit in on the appointment.
I took of my shirt and shoes and stood in my bra and shorts. The skin doctor then looks over your skin with a little torch. Starting at your face, then back, arms and legs. Then any problem areas you might have or want to get specifically looked at. It's very casual and non invasive, and I didn't feel uncomfortable at all with my male doctor. Which as a female is very important in my opinion.
When he finally looked at the mole on my toe he got out a hand held microscope to get a closer look at the mole, and determined that it needed to be removed. The Dr said that he couldn't say whether it was cancerous or not but once it was removed they would pop it in a jar and send it away for testing.
So now I nervously await my appointment on the 22nd of March for my toe to be cut into and the mole removed.
What to Look For:
Get to know your skin so you can recognise any sudden changes on your body that might suggest a skin cancer.
- any crusty, non-healing sores
- small lumps that are red, pale or pearly in colour
- new spots, freckles or any moles changing in colour, thickness or shape over a period of weeks to months (especially those dark brown to black, red or blue-black in colour).
If you are unsure if a spot is cancerous, see a professional. Your regular doctor isn't trained to the extent that the doctors at a Skin Cancer Clinic are to spot skin cancers.
It's confronting, but if you don't put if you see something and put off getting it looked into, then you're only doing more damage to yourself in the long run.
I'll keep your updated on what happens with my annoying toe mole. Fingers crossed. Toes crossed?
PS. If any local babes were interested in which Skin Cancer Clinic I go to, it's in Bolton Street just off the Hunter Street Mall. For more info
go here. xx
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