Key early warning signs on your scalp you have killer cancer (original) (raw)

Sarah Lee spoke to her doctor about the 'fungus which had appeared on her scalp and was told not to worry about it. She asked for a second opinion and discovered she had skin cancer

This early warning sign can be spotted on your scalp

Warning signs you have a killer cancer can emerge on your scalp, experts say.

People have been urged to people to pay attention to changes in their skin after a journalist told of finding a mole on her head on July 21. Sarah Lee took a picture of her scalp when she was dyeing her hair and discovered a dark spot on her scalp. She wrote about her experiences with Melonoma on the BBC News website and spoke to her doctor about it and the "fungus" which had appeared and was told not to worry about it.

Sarah, 29, then noticed "satellite" moles over the space of several months. and was told by the health professional it was "impossible" to get skin cancer on the scalp. This, she was told, was because hair prevents sun’s ultraviolet rays getting through. She was also told she was "too young" to have skin cancer.

Sarah decided to get a second opinion where she discovered the mole was melanoma, the worst form of skin cancer. She was later given a devastating diagnosis that she had stage three malignant nodular melanoma. Dr Harvey Lui, a dermatological oncologist at BC Cancer, says melanoma on the scalp is unusual it shows skin cancer can emerge anywhere.

He said: "It can occur on the soles of your feet, it can occur inside your mouth, and that's not an area that gets a lot of sunlight." Lui, a professor of dermatology and skin science at University of British Columbia said: "Wherever you have skin, there's a possibility that melanoma could develop at that site."

According to the Canadian Cancer Society, melanoma is a cancer that starts in melanocyte cells of the skin. They make melanin and give your skin, hair, and eyes their colour. There are four types of melanoma, including superficial spreading melanoma and nodular melanoma.

Lui said: "When those cells become cancerous, they seem to have a higher chance of spreading locally or spreading through the bloodstream or spreading through the lymphatics to other parts of the body so it's for that reason that we consider melanoma to be the most serious of all skin cancers." A change in the size or shape of a mole will be the first indication of melanoma skin cancer. Lui said: "Most melanomas initially show up as flat spots on the skin and they expand, they grow from side to side and they often have an irregular pattern of pigmentation."

Who is at risk?

Anyone can be affected by melonoma no matter what sex, age, or race they are. Risk factors, experts say, include family history, excessive exposure to sun and having light skin, eyes and hair. The Melanoma Network of Canada says the leading cause of melanoma is too much exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun or tanning beds in salons. People who have had severe sunburn are also at risk of the developing the condition. The earlier melanoma is found, provides more of a chance of treatment and survival.