Examine your skin for signs of cancer

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Skin cancer strikes more than a million Americans every year. And most of those cancers could be diagnosed much earlier if people would examine their own skin.

Skin cancers are on the surface of your body, where you can see them - if you look. But most people don't. And the most dangerous skin cancer, melanoma, is becoming more prevalent.

Dr. Allan Izikson, a dermatologist with Roswell Park Cancer Institute, said, "75 to 80 percent of people actually are missing the chance to find an earlier melanoma when it's most treatable."

Dr. Izikson teaches his patients how to examine their skin, and what to look for. There's an "A-B-C-D-E" method of recognizing potential dangerous lesions. "A" stands for asymmetry.

"Is the lesion a perfect circle, or is it irregular?" questions Dr. Izikson.

"B" stands for border. Is the border regular, even, or is it jagged and irregular? "C" stands for color. Is the color uniform, or is the color irregular, blotchy? "D" is for diameter. If it's more than five millimeters, bigger than a pencil eraser, it should be watched. And "E" is for evolution. Is it changing?

Dr. Izikson asks, "Has it grown? Has it tripled in size? Has it become more irritated, red, itchy, burning, painful?"

You should do a thorough exam in front of a mirror. Don't leave out anyplace.

"First of all, examine the face, neck, trunk, arms, legs, and then, with a hand-held mirror, turn around and take a look at the back, the back of the neck, the posterior arms, the buttocks, the backs of the legs. It's very important also to look in the private areas," said Dr. Izikson.

You can prevent skin cancer with the right kind of sunscreen. Click here for a list of the top sunscreens.

Dr. Izikson said, "It's important to make sure that if you're using a sunscreen. It has the capacity to protect against UVA and UVB radiation."

So we have two messages here: one is to use sunscreen to prevent skin cancer, and the other is, if you are developing a skin cancer, you can find it before it becomes dangerous. All you have to do is look all over.

The sunscreens have SPF numbers that are supposed to mean how much protection you get, but there's such a wide range. What number should you use? SPF 30 is all you need, and the higher numbers don't block that much more ultra-violet. ut you should use enough - about a shot glass worth each time, and you should re-apply it every few hours.