Skin Cancer

Blue light therapy sounds fairly straightforward. Put on some cream, apply light to the skin, and sort the problem out. That’s the general idea, but the treatment is a little more involved than that.

Can tattoos cause skin cancer? Dr James Wilson explains the evidence, warning signs and when a changing area needs checking.

A mark on the face can be easy to ignore.

Most moles are harmless, and having several moles does not mean that you have skin cancer.

Stage 3 lung cancer is a serious diagnosis, but it does not automatically mean that treatment is only aimed at controlling symptoms.

Being offered more than one treatment for skin cancer can make what initially sounded like a straightforward decision feel considerably less simple.

Mohs surgery, also known as Mohs micrographic surgery (MMS), is a specialist procedure used to treat certain types of skin cancer. Unlike standard surgical excision, Mohs surgery removes the cancer one thin layer at a time, with each layer examined under a microscope before more tissue is removed.

Discovering a hard, horn-like growth on your skin can understandably be worrying. Although a cutaneous horn has a distinctive appearance, it is not a diagnosis in itself. It is formed from compacted keratin, the same protein found in the outer layer of the skin, hair and nails.

Actinic keratosis (AK) is a common skin condition caused by years of sun exposure. It appears as rough, scaly patches of skin and is considered a precancerous lesion because some actinic keratoses can develop into squamous cell carcinoma if left untreated.

Itchy skin is one of those things that most people dismiss without a second thought. Dry weather, a new washing powder, too many hot showers. Usually, that is all it is.

There’s something that has always struck me about the way tanning beds are sold. The language around them tends to be about control. A measured dose. A consistent result. The sun, but tidier, more predictable.

It’s a reasonable-sounding pitch.. Biology, unfortunately, does not back it up.

The nose is one of the most common areas for skin cancer to develop because it is frequently exposed to ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Its shape also means that the bridge, tip, and sides of the nose often receive direct sun exposure over many years.