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Traci French thought she was only dealing with an ordinary stubborn stain, when she noticed the stain on her lip five years ago.
"It was very scaly, it looked like dry skin," said French, who lives in Monrovia, California.
In the video above: A young mother from Melbourne urges people to get tested for skin cancer
"It would blush a little, then it would be like a button started. Then it would disappear and the drought would recur. "
The 50-year-old woman began to worry when the spot kept coming back, so she showed it to her dermatologist during her annual skin exam.
"It looked like a skin color bump"
"From the habit, I know right away that it's a skin cancer. But in this case, it really looked like a pimple, "said dermatologist Shirley Chi.
"It looked like a bump of skin color."
Patience game
She recommended that the French wait a few months before seeing if it would go away.
When that was not the case, Chi took a sample for a biopsy.
Diagnosis: Squamous cell carcinoma, a common skin cancer that develops most often on areas of the body exposed to the sun, including the head, neck, back of the hands and lower legs.
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French had spent a lot of time in the sun during high school while playing sports like football and softball.
She used sunscreen, but not all the time on her face, she said.
Threatening life
Chi calls this the second type of skin cancer after melanoma because it can spread to other parts of the body and become potentially fatal.
But if it is detected early, squamous cell carcinoma is considered highly curable.
People may not think so much about the area around the lip when they put sunscreen, Chi says, so lips can be vulnerable.
Surgery
French had removed the stain, which required a reconstruction of his face.
She is satisfied with the way the operation was successful, relieved that the cancer has disappeared and surprised by the healing of her lips.
She now puts on more sunscreen and wears a hat every time she spends time outdoors in the sun.
What to look for
Look for a new lumpy or flaky area on your skin that does not go away, Chi advised.
People with weakened immune systems, such as patients who have had organ transplants, who are infected with HIV, or who are taking medications that suppress their immune systems, are at increased risk of skin cancer with squamous cells.
Protection tips
- To protect your lips, wear a lip balm with SPF every day, even in cloudy weather and especially if you like outdoor activities.
- To protect the eye area, try using a sporty sunscreen, which tends to be less effective than the usual preparations.
- Always wear sunglasses when you are outdoors or driving on a sunny day
- Some make-up powders also contain SPF.
- Do not forget to apply sunscreen on your ears, including lobes and spikes.
- Be careful: if your skin does not heal, consult your dermatologist.
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