Expert Mole-Checking Tips After Katherine Ryan Melanoma Diagnosis

Comedian Katherine Ryan raised awareness of melanoma and self-checking in her podcast Telling Everybody Everything, after receiving a diagnosis herself. 

At 41, Ryan initially suspected melanoma but received an all-clear from a doctor who had worked in the NHS as well as a private clinic that also dismissed her concerns. However, she remained suspicious of the blemish and sought a 3rd opinion, only to discover that tit was in fact melanoma, as she’d feared.

She pursued her hunch as she’d already had a similar experience as a younger woman. In her 20s, she had an irregular mole on her leg which doctors initially dismissed, but turned out to be stage two melanoma, which was subsequently removed.

She shared her experience with Telling Everybody Everything listeners, saying:

“The only reason that they agreed to remove it was because I went to a fancy, private place in South Kensington, and I paid them a grand. I don’t believe that on the NHS they ever would have removed this mole, because (I don’t know how long ago, I’m looking through my emails to find out how long ago, I think six to eight months ago), I went to another private clinic and gave them £300 for a seven minute consultation.

“I was in that room for seven minutes, and the doctor was like, ‘I do melanoma on the NHS, it’s all I do, I know all about skin cancer, I’m the man, this is not melanoma, goodbye’.

“He was really nice to me, and he gave me the news that I wanted, I think it’s really easy to take a diagnosis of you’re healthy and just walk away.

“But the mole kept changing, and I know a lot about melanoma. I just felt like this mole wasn’t right, it’s on my arm, I showed pictures of it on my social media. I went in and I wanted the doctor to remove a bigger piece of it and stitch it up in a straight line, but even when he looked at it, he was like, ‘not melanoma, totally fine, I will do the shave and send it away for histology, and then if it comes back with anything, if there’s any borders that we missed, then we’ll do the deeper cut’.

“And I was like, ‘just do the deeper cut now, like just do it. He’s like, ‘well, it’s half the price for you, and you don’t need the deeper cut, let’s just take it off and we’ll test it.

“And I thought, ‘alright, we’ll take it off and we’ll test it fine’. So he rang me today, and it did come back melanoma, and he said, ‘it’s early melanoma’.

“And he was shocked, he’s like, ‘it doesn’t look like melanoma, but it is melanoma’.”

Ryan urges listeners to never ignore health concerns, to schedule appointments and take time to put their health first.

Expert Advice on Mole Checking

As Katherine Ryan has put mole checking into the public consciousness, a number of publications have sought expert medical information from Dr Ross Perry, GP and medical director of Cosmedics Skin Clinics.

He explained any unusual or changing moles need checking out to be on the safe side. He advises the ABCDE rule of mole checking to help people know what to look for:

Asymmetry

“These moles look a bit lop-sided. They are different shapes and/or sizes from left to right.”

Borders

“If they are uneven, scalloped or notched rather than smooth, then this might indicate an early melanoma.”

Colour

“Moles should be a fairly uniform block of colour. Any variation within a single mole is another warning sign – those colours can include brown, tan, black, red or blue.”

Diameter

“If the mole is larger than the size of a pencil eraser, then it is cause for concern. However, early melanomas might start out smaller than a quarter of an inch, so don’t discount any that are suspicious yet small.”

Evolving

“Any moles which seem to be changing in size, shape, colour or height are deemed risky. Also, watch out for itchiness, discharge, bleeding or crustiness.”

If in doubt, check it out

Dr Perry emphasised the golden rule of “if in doubt, check it out” and advises those with any concerns or hunches about a mole that is just ‘different’ or ‘odd’  to seek advice from their GP.

Source

Dr Ross Perry’s advice was published in a number of publications including:

• https://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/other/doctor-explains-life-saving-abcde-after-katherine-ryan-diagnosis/ar-AA1BKGhv
• https://uk.style.yahoo.com/five-common-warning-signs-melanoma-150000794.html
• https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/health/doctor-explains-life-saving-abcde-31289786
• https://www.kentonline.co.uk/news/trending/how-to-tell-the-difference-between-skin-cancer-and-a-harmles-322017/
• https://www.msn.com/en-gb/health/familyhealth/five-common-warning-signs-of-melanoma/vi-AA1BHRLM 

Dr Ross Perry

Dr Ross Perry regularly provides expert comment and advises the media on a range of skincare and health-related issues.

He has particular expertise in skin surgery mole removal and melanoma; having removed thousands of moles in his career, both within the NHS and privately through Cosmedics Skin Clinics. He has provided expert advice on sun damage and sun protection for a variety of UK media and publications.

He also comments on the latest cosmetic and anti-ageing treatment methods.

DR ROSS PERRY

Cosmedics Skin Clinics

Cosmedics Skin Clinics was established in 2003 and has built up an excellent reputation for cosmetic and medical skin treatments, carried out by GMC Registered Doctors.  The company offer a full range of cosmetic treatments, including popular lip enhancement and wrinkle relaxing injections, dermal fillers; plus medical treatments including mole removal, thread vein treatment and excessive sweating injections.

Cosmedics Skin Clinics has a team of skin treatment doctors and surgeons in their skin clinics across London and Bristol led by Dr Ross Perry.

Call 020 7386 0464 or email enquiries@cosmedics.co.uk to book an appointment.