Paying attention to what is on your skin can be a lifesaver
A good number of people have demarcations or flaws on their skin that they don’t pay much attention to. As long as its not painful, they may not think anything about it. But, this man from Australia has a warning for everyone
When In Doubt Check It Out
For Ryan, it was a mole on the back of his neck that changed his life forever. Ryan is from Australia, and he had a mole on the back of his neck that he didn’t think much about. Until someone suggested he get it checked.
Ryan Had A Skin Check Option At His Place of Work
Fortunately, Ryan followed through with having the spot checked which no doubt has saved his life.
The Diagnosis
The mole that Ryan had is called a nevus spilus. It doesn’t usually turn to cancer, but unfortunately for Ryan it did.
Ryan’s Cancer Journey
One may think that even though the mole was malignant that it would be just a matter of having it removed. But what Ryan went through was far beyond that.
Ryan had to endure 40 biopsies, which included one on his lung and then aggressive surgery. The problem was they could not get a clean boundary around the affected area during surgery.
After the fourth surgery Ryan required a skin graft with skin being taken from his legs to be applied to the surgical area on his neck and back.
Turning Something Horrific Into Something Positive
What Ryan and his wife have had to endure this time is more than what one could imagine, unless they have experienced. It would be understandable for this couple to just want to put all this behind them. Their mission, however, is to tell their story in the hopes of creating awareness for others that may be unsuspecting of the potential dangers that may be lurking for them.
The message that Ryan’s story delivers is that nothing that appears on the body should just be assumed as nothing. It doesn’t take much to bring something that is irregular to the attention of the health care providers. They are the experts at knowing whether something is suspicious or not.
Not As Rare As Some May Think
Although, in Ryan’s case it was rare for the nevus spilus to turn to cancer, skin cancer itself is not a rare condition. There are some statistics that prove this such as an estimation that 9.500 individual in the US will be diagnosed with some form of skin cancer DAILY!
According to the American Academy of Dermatology Association, for the year 2019, it was indicated that skin cancer takes the 5th spot for being the most common cancer to affect both genders.
The ABCD Criteria
A stands for asymmetry
B stands for border
C stands for color
D stands for diameter
Remember! When in doubt – check it out!
It is much better to be safe than sorry.
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