Dental hygienist saves mum’s life after spotting cancerous mole
A dental hygienist saved her mum’s life after spotting a cancerous mole. Joanne Elmes encouraged her mum to consult her GP urgently after noticing a suspicious looking mole on her arm.
Joanne, a dental hygienist, had recently completed a training programme in early melanoma detection known as Masced Pro, which is run by the charity, Skcin, when she spotted the mole and urged her mum, Julie to contact her doctor immediately. Julie sent photographs to her GP and was given an urgent referral to have the mole removed.
Joanne said that she had noticed an unusual looking mole on the back of her mother’s arm and it prompted her to take a closer look. On inspection, the mole had uneven edges, it was different colours and it measured around 6mm.
Having recently completed training in early skin cancer and melanoma detection, Joanne was worried that the mole looked exactly like the images she had been looking at during the programme.
Tests revealed that Julie had ‘in situ melanoma,’ which means that it has not spread. Joanne said that her mother had risk factors for skin cancer, including spending four years enjoying the sun in New Zealand and sun bathing a lot when she was younger, usually with no sunscreen for protection.
In light of the experience, Joanne urged her dad to get in touch with his GP to have a suspicious looking lesion on his foot examined.
The story has prompted calls for more medical professionals, including dental workers, to undergo training to help to detect cases of skin cancer early. CEO of Skcin, Marie Tudor, said that the dental profession is “vital” in the detection and early treatment of skin cancer, a form of cancer, which has become more prevalent in the UK.
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