Service Information

How to reduce my risk of skin cancer

How can you reduce your risk of skin cancer?

It is recognised that unprotected exposure to UV radiation can increase your risk of skin cancer. It is therefore important to be careful in the sun.

The British Association of Dermatologists (BAD) have compiled the following ‘Top Sun Safety Tips’:

Protect your skin with adequate clothing, wear a hat that protects your face, neck and ears, and a pair of UV protective sunglasses
Choose sun protective clothing (with permanently sun-protective fabric, widely available for adults and children) if you have fair skin or many moles
Spend time in the shade between 11:00 – 15:00 when it’s sunny
Step out of the sun before your skin has a chance to redden or burn
When choosing a sunscreen look for a high protection SPF (current recommendations are SPR 50 or 50+) to protect against UVB, and the UVA circle logo and/or 4 or 5 UVA stars to protect against UVA
Apply plenty of sunscreen 15 – 30 minutes before going out in the sun, and reapply every two hours and straight after swimming and towel-drying
Keep babies and young children out of direct sunlight
Sunscreens are not an alternative to clothing and shade, rather they offer additional protection (no sunscreen will provide 100% protection)
Do not use sunbeds

Checking moles and lesions

It is important to check your skin regularly for any change. You may want to ask a family member or a friend to examine your back.

Following the ABCDE – easy rules can help you identify potentially worrying features:

A: Asymmetry – the two halves of the lesion may differ in shape
B: Border – edges of the lesion may be irregular, blurred or notched
C: Colour – the colour may be uneven
D: Diameter – report any mole larger than 6mm or a change in size or shape
E: Evolution – changes in size, shape, colour or elevation or any new symptom such as bleeding, itching or crusting

It can be helpful to take images of your lesion to see if the lesion is changing over time as it can be more reliable than using memory alone. It can be useful to do this every few months using a phone with a camera.

If you are concerned about any lesions or skin problems, or notice any of the changes about a mole or patch of skin described above please seek advice from your GP as soon as possible.

Your GP may refer you for a Teledermatology assessment. You may also be referred for an appointment via another route.