Skin Cancer Awareness Month

May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month in the UK, providing the opportunity to raise awareness of the disease. Skin cancer tends to develop most often on skin that is exposed to the sun, so it’s important that that you check your skin regularly. We understand that this is an especially worrying time, but if you notice any usually changes you should contact your doctor.

What is skin cancer?

There are two main types of skin cancer – non-melanoma and melanoma - both of which are treatable if detected early.

Non-melanoma skin cancer is the most common and easiest to treat. This type of skin cancer has nothing to do with moles on your skin. They tend to be sores or lumps that become inflamed and don’t heal. The two seen most often are Basal cell carcinoma and Squamous cell carcinoma. According to Cancer Research UK, there are nearly 152,000 new non-melanoma skin cancer cases in the UK every year.

Melanoma skin cancer is a more dangerous form of cancer as it can spread. It can develop in existing moles, or as new marks on the skin. There are around 16,200 new melanoma skin cancer cases in the UK every year. Melanoma skin cancer is the 5th most common cancer overall in the UK and the number of people diagnosed with melanoma has increased over the last few decades. 

What are the risk factors?

Most non-melanoma skin cancers are caused by exposure to the sun. This may be long term exposure or short periods of intense sun exposure and burning. Your risk of developing melanoma skin cancer depends on many other things including lifestyle factors and some medical conditions.

The older you are the more likely you are to develop skin cancer, but skin cancers can develop in younger people too.

What to do if you think you may have a claim

Discovering you have skin cancer is distressing enough, but finding out it could have been detected earlier adds to the stress and upset. If you have experienced sub-standard treatment or bad medical advice, you may be entitled to make a claim.

We understand that medical negligence is a particularly sensitive topic at the moment. Whilst we recognise the fantastic work the NHS is doing in exceptional circumstances, unfortunately there are people who have suffered historical medical negligence. Many of the claims we bring are against the private sector rather than the NHS.

If you think you may have a negligence claim we are here to support you and can discuss your options with you. Our expert solicitors deal with all kinds of cancer claims and they can help you receive the compensation you are entitled to. Call us, request a call back at the top of your screen or start your claim here.